Why Do You Write?

My students know that I am a follower of Bobbie Christmas, editor, and writer. She is one of the most astute people on the subject of writing that I know. I subscribe to her free newsletter and save every one of them for future reference. 

In a recent blog post, Bobbie answers questions from writers. She answers with a question of her own. Why do you write?

https://www.zebraeditor.com/blog/writing/

That is a good question to ask yourself if you are a beginning writer or if you have been writing for a while but are not sure what you want to write, who you are writing for and what you want to say. Successful writers make plans. They outline a book or have an idea of the ending before they write the first sentence.

When writing a memoir, I suggest the writer keep in mind the audience he expects to have for his book. When I wrote my family history, Profiles and Pedigrees, Descendants of Thomas Charles Council, I knew this book was for the Council family. I knew that the descendants of Thomas Charles and his ten children would be the people who would read this book. I have been very pleased when others have read it and found it interesting as well.

The memoir I am writing about my own life is for my family as well, but I hope it carries a theme that will appeal to others. What is my story? What theme will thread through the book or books? When writing memoirs one doesn't have to put it all in one book. In fact, I like to write about various parts of my life that are relatable to the lives of others. My childhood growing up in the deep south on a farm in the 1950s is like historical writing to most people alive today. What makes my life unique is my family, my place in my family, my father's illness, four much older brothers, my sister, 15 years older than I, and my baby sister. The setting for this memoir is a 125-acre farm in deep south Georgia. My stories are about the relationships with my parents and my siblings, my love for pets, especially horses, and all the years I longed for my own horse, but could not have one. A horse just for me to ride was a ridiculous idea that would cost far too much. 

I hope I can write this story well enough that my readers will feel the emotion stirring in them, will hope that this child will someday have that pony she dreams about. I want my readers to understand that no one was punishing me. They just looked at it from a monetary viewpoint. "A horse eats as much as a cow. But the cow can be sold for a profit or killed for meat for the family."

So, I hope I can hook readers and they will find my stories interesting. 

As I plan to teach a class in March for the Carl Sandburg Home Historic Site, I want to motivate and inspire the students to write and know why they write.  

We all have unique stories to tell. What is your story and who are your readers?

What do you know about your family history?

Family History

In 1998, I published a compilation of stories about my grandparents, and ten aunts and uncles on my father's side of the family. The project took me ten years to complete and could not have been done without the careful and painstaking penning of memories by my cousins, Monteen Council Hayman, Omie Gilreath Baker, Patricia Daharsh, Vivian Gant, Kathryn Council Buckingham and Mary, her daughter. My mother's memories shared with me over the years were vital to this book as were my father's stories of his youth.

Two of my Council cousins Monteen Council Hayman and Charlie Council

In this book, we tell the family history of Tom and Sallie Council who lived in Wakulla County, Florida and raised their kids on a farm. Life was hard, but like most of the people in that community, they enjoyed family gatherings and accepted the work that kept them housed and fed. They hunted deer and other wild animals for meat and grew vegetables in gardens. They were self-sufficient in the late 1800s and early 1900s. To buy other necessities Tom and his sons hauled farm goods to Tallahassee, Florida and sold them to merchants. The trip from the farm was usually an overnight venture by horse and wagon. 

Each of Tom's and Sallie's children have stories, but that of John Henry, the oldest boy, was short. He died when he was only fourteen years old. Still, he has his chapter, and we learn what kind of young man he was.

I wanted the book to include facts of birth, location and death, but also I wanted this book to be entertaining. For the basic facts, I included the genealogy of the family, the complete names, birth dates and place, marriages and divorces, and the children of each of my aunts and uncles. The genealogy was researched for proof, but the stories of the people come from memories and oral accounts passed down through generations.

No family is perfect, no person is perfect, and no life is perfect. Nine of the Council children grew up and married, moved away from home which had become Pelham, Georgia at the turn of the century. Tom Council died and left Sarah a widow with children at home. The older brother, Charlie, became a father figure for the younger siblings and helped his sisters and his younger brother, my father, Coy Lee Council during very hard times.

Both Charlie and his brother Horace took active parts in the first world war.

Family photographs were shared by my cousins and are included throughout the book. I treasure those images and often thumb through the book just to look at them.

I fell in love with this family of hard working, determined and persistent men and women who never gave up. They cared for their families and never stopped even when life knocked them to their knees. I saw what love can do when it seems there is no hope. The children of these ten brothers and sisters grew up with the same values of their parents and grandparents.  I am proud to be a descendant of Tom and Sallie Council, Coy and Lois Council and grateful I grew up with the love of family and appreciation for my ancestors.

The family history book, Profiles and Pedigrees; The Descendants of Thomas Charles Council (1858 - 1911) is a hard back book compiled by Glenda Council Beall in 1998, published by Genealogy Publishing Service, Franklin, NC.

The book can be purchased by contacting me, Glenda Beall, gcbmountaingirl@gmail.com. I am offering discounts. It regularly sells for $35.00 but at this time:  $20.00 plus shipping costs. 

Have you researched your family history or written about your grandparents and their struggles and successes? What do you actually know?

Writing about our lives, our families and ourselves

Today is Sunday already. I slept most of Saturday. I needed the rest from the chronic pain I seem to live with daily now.

But I am working on getting it under control. I have a writing class coming up on April 30, Tuesday at 2:00 PM. This is a memoir class sponsored by ICL, the Institute of Continuing Learning at Young Harris College.

ICL has been around for a number of years and they engage talented instructors in varied subjects that teach classes for adults, most of them retired people who live in our area. I have learned from some excellent teachers there, and I have taught several times as well.

Once an older adult told me, "My grandchildren think I grew up when people traveled in covered wagons, so I decided I needed to write about what my life was like."

I have been told, "I don't know how I can write about seventy years of life. It is just too overwhelming!"

That is why I help my students write about the most important parts of their lives and they can take it one small part at the time. You know the old saying How do you eat an elephant? One bite at the time.

When I wrote my family history book, I decided to write about my grandfather and grandmother and their ten children. I told the stories of each one of them in a few pages, and then I added the genealogy of each of them. They were not rich or famous, but their lives were examples of rural life in the late eighteen hundreds and early twentieth century in north Florida and south Georgia.

My grandfather, Tom Council, was born in 1858, a short while before the Civil War began. His father served in the war and was taken prisoner. They lived in a rural area south of Tallahassee, Florida. Everyone in the family worked in the fields on the farm.

Tom's first child, a girl, was born in 1878 or 1879. His first son, born in 1883, died at the age of 14 from malaria. He is buried at the Council Cemetery in Wakulla County Florida.

The family moved up to south Georgia after John Henry died and the other children had a completely different life. The cotton mills were being built in the south by men from the north. Since there were no child labor laws at the time, all of the children in the family worked in the mill. The girls enjoyed their new life much better than working on the farm. In their teens, they married and began families. 

In the 1920s, Florida began booming with growth and drew most of the family members to the Tampa area. All of my father's brothers and sisters ended up down there. I still have many cousins in the Sunshine State.

I was so fortunate that my mother and my cousins told me their stories. I had to edit most of them and tried to include only the most interesting parts for my readers. 

Now I am working on writing about my brothers and sisters and my parents. Each one of them has a story that is unique and interesting. I hope I do them justice.

My mission in teaching is to help my students create interesting nonfiction narratives while including the facts in their lives or the lives of their family members. We can only do our best to tell the truth as we know it and remember it because no two people will remember exactly the same things. 

I look forward to my classes, hearing the stories written by my students and helping them create the best narrative they can. We write short pieces that I use to teach the basics in writing. 

My classes are listed on www.glendacouncilbeall.com under Studio Classes and Off site Classes. I am so pleased when students write to me and tell me how much they enjoy our time together.

A Trip to Palmetto, Florida and family history

You know it is Florida when begonias are blooming in February

Monteen, 99 years old, in a lobster bib, and Beverly, her lovely daughter

Cousins, two resilient Council family women, took me on a tour of their home town, Palmetto, FL.  Monteen celebrated her 99th birthday in January, 2014. I enjoy talking family history with her. I asked that I be invited to the 100th birthday party next year. She asked me for a copy of Profiles and Pedigrees, Tom Council and His Descendants, to give to her son. I was glad I had one with me.

Beverly lives at Shady Acres, her mother's peaceful and beautiful home, where the moss drips off the old oak trees and a swing awaits her to sit and watch the sunset. She recently lost her beloved husband Tom. My heart aches for her pain on this grief journey. I'm happy she still has her mother. I remember how much I wanted my own mother when Barry died, but she was no longer with us. I wonder if we ever get too old to want our mothers when we hurt.

Charlie, Tiger's first person, treated me and others to a delicious meal at the Crab Trap in Palmetto. I kind of like his new beard. He is now a great grandfather of twins, Cash and Cabot! Charlie always picks up the tab. He won't let anyone else pay a cent. He has a kind and generous spirit. Quiet and soft spoken, he makes me smile with his dry humor. He is with his family where he wanted to be for a long time and they are seeing that he has the best of care. 

Second cousin, Diane, recently lost her mother who was 92. Diane was a devoted caregiver for her parents. She lives on the land that her grandfather, my uncle Charlie Council, bought many years ago in Manatee County. Charlie and other Council family members settled in the area in the early 1920s.

Diane is Monteen's niece. They are a close and loving family much like my own in south Georgia. 

Pelicans rest along the Manatee River

The mossy trees, the quiet river and the stillness of a winter day

Any angle of the Skyway Bridge is an artist's delight. This was a foggy day, no sun.

How Do You Want to be Remembered - Re-visited

A couple of years ago I wrote an article - How Do You Want to be Remembered? - which is one of the most often read page on this blog. Every single day it is in the top three page views.

Can there be that many people wanting to read how someone wants to be remembered? At the time I posted that article, the thought hung heavy over me. I wondered about my legacy.

Looking back to when I was young, I wanted to be a woman with great talent and ability. I wanted people, certain ones in particular, to recognize me as someone special. But I have never felt that I was someone of special qualities, someone who would be remembered for years and years to come. That's why I wanted to write a book. People have always respected books - at least I have. I would often pick up a book in the library and read about the author. I marveled that this person who had been dead for a century or more was still leaving his imprint on the world by the words he had written in the book.

When I decided to write a family history book back in the eighties, I didn't think then of my lasting legacy so much as I did the people I documented in that book, Profiles and Pedigrees, Tom C. Council and his Descendents. My beloved aunts and uncles where passing on and their stories I'd heard all my life would soon be forgotten, I thought. I dedicated the ten years I cared for my mother to collecting those stories for a book. My cousins were happy to help me with research and photographs. The book was well received by family. Even the youngest ones mentioned have asked for their own copy and want to know if I will continue with the next generations.

I didn't have the technology we have today, no Ancestry.com and no access to records on the Internet. But I did have the benefit of oral history passed down to me. My book is a family history with genealogy listings, not a memoir or a biography. Because the stories of Aunt Oleo's house being flooded, and another home being burned to the ground, and her husband being shot by his brother-in-law, were part of the fiber of the family's oral history, I can't swear that every word is true. But my story gives the essence of who Oleo Council was, her perseverance and tenacity during a lifetime that rivaled Job's for patience.

My story of my parents was the story told to me by my mother and father, my sisters and brothers, cousins and from my own experience growing up in a large family. I have always had a curiosity. I asked questions.  I want to continue that story now with the family history including the lives of my siblings. Somehow, I hope that writing their stories and having them printed on paper in a hard cover book, will keep them alive in the minds of the next several generations.

How would they like to be remembered? I don't know for sure. I think I will find that as I write about them. Just as I learn about myself from writing, I will learn how I remember them and how I want them to be remembered.

Did Your Ancestors Serve in the War Between the States?

Do you know your ancestors or relatives who are veterans of some of America's wars? I did not know until I began researching family for my book, Profiles and Pedigrees, Tom Council and his Descendants.

We have a special page in the book to honor those who served in World War II and wars that followed. I had three cousins who died in plane crashes during training for that war. One was lost at sea, one was killed when his plane flew into a mountain. 

It is easy today to find military records for ancestors on the Internet. My two great grandfathers, John Monroe Robison and John Cecil Council fought in the Civil War for the Confederacy. I have their papers, their wills and their widows' pensions. 

My oldest brother, Ray, was a veteran of the second World War. He served in the U.S. Navy. He was so cute in his uniform. I know from the photos taken of him way back then. I don't think he ever saw combat. The war ended about the time he enlisted.

My brother-in-law, Charlie, served in World War II. I have a good friend who is celebrating his 88th birthday this month, Ash Rothlein, who is a veteran of that same war.

As I watched the Hatfields and the McCoys on TV, I thought once again, why do men want to kill each other? I hate war and the idea of war. Life is precious, especially if that life belongs to my loved ones, so why do they want to fight? I don't think I will ever understand war. Do you?

Laura Council is being sought by Sarah D. in Jacksonville, FL

It was good to hear from Sarah of Jacksonville who ordered a copy of Profiles and Pedigrees, Charles Thomas Council and his descendants. Sarah was asking about Laura Council, a relative of Charles Thomas and also of John Cecil Council, (right)

In the back of Profiles and Pedigrees is a genealogical chart of the descendants of John Cecil Council, my great grandfather, an early pioneer of north Florida. I must confess that this chart has not been verified but is a compilation of family group sheets sent to me by various members of the Council family.

I think, however, Sarah will find Laura on this chart and will be able to answer her questions.

Genealogy is one of the most interesting hobbies and one of the most time consuming as well. Researching families is like working on a jigsaw puzzle. You find one little piece that fits and then you become obsessed with finding the next and the next.

Mary Mike Keller, distant cousin, but close friend, has discovered her ancestors from many centuries back, and she will teach a class for Writers Circle, my new interprise, in May, in which she will teach genealogy and writing about ancestors. I hope anyone in the area of Hayesville, NC will come and take part in this class. It should be a good one.

And, Sarah D., your book will be in the mail Monday.

(Valoree Luhr did some fantastic photoshop work on the photo of John Cecil Council, above. The original had a bad crease in the middle of his forhead and his face. Thanks Valoree.)

John Cecil Council, Confederate War Veteran, POW at Shipp Island

John Cecil Council, born in Barbour County, Alabama in 1833, was my great grandfather. He was the son of Temperance Weaver Council. John, in 1845, was one of the first settlers in Wakulla County Florida. He, along with his mother, his sister Susan Council Lott and her husband either traveled with the Pelts and Poseys or arrived about the same time and settled in Crawfordville, Florida. John Cecil acquired a good bit of land around the county. He married Frances DeLaura Posey who birthed a large family before she died.

John then married Missouri Redd. She was referred to as Miss Missouri. The two of them raised a second large family.


At the age of 28, and with children at home, John joined the Florida Militia during the Civil War. He was captured off the coast near his home while fishing to provide food for his unit. The Union ships took him and others captured with him to Shipp Island, off the coast of Louisiana.

When the southern prisoners first arrived on Shipp Island, there were no barracks, only tents, no protection from the wind, rain and large mosquitoes that carried disease. John Council took a leadership role among the prisoners and set about building their own huts and shelters.

Back home Fanny, his wife, along with a black woman helper kept the farm going and raised the crops and hogs and cattle. She picked the cotton and had it bailed. Fanny's first born was a daughter, Georgianne Council. Like her mother, Georgianne was strong and resilient. She knew how to use a gun and tramped through the thick woods to kill game for the family.

She lived a long life. A one hundredth birthday party was held for her and written about in the Wakulla County newspaper, but I hear from cousin Sandra that her birthdate might be in question. No matter. Aunt Georgianne was a real pioneer woman who could do the work of any man and actually the work of more than one man from what I've heard. More about her later.

John Cecil Council was highly respected in his community. He helped found a church and was a leader of the church. He lived a long life and fathered his last child when he was in his early seventies.

Over the years I've researched this great grandfather of mine, and I met his youngest daughter as well as hundreds of his descendants. I have copies of his military records, his pension papers, his last will and testament. I've collected stories I've heard about him and hope to one day put them together for my family members.

John Cecil's oldest son, Tom, was my grandfather. Tom and his wife Sarah (Sallie) head the family I write about in Profiles and Pedigrees, Thomas Charles Council and his Descendants.

In this marriage, Tom died young and left Sallie to carry on without him. Tom and Sallie raised ten children, Mae, Charlie, Maude, Oleo, Horace and Hortense (twins), Lillian, Annie, and Coy. Another son, John Henry, died at the age of fourteen from malaria.

I have cousins in Tallahassee and in Crawfordville who I hope will come to the mountains this spring so we can catch up on all the family stories.



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