How to Solve One of the Biggest Challenges When Writing Family History Based on Letters: Context

This is the carbon copy of my grandfather’s tightly typed letter, on which I based my story The Flying Dutchman, that also became a pivotal chapter in my memoir Jumping Over Shadows. The left photo shows my grandfather in the late 1930s, the right shows the area he was from.

Letters are a great vehicle for writing family history.

They give us a personal report from the front, from the trenches of history. They also give us the voice and personality of the writer, and sometimes their intimate tho...