Welcome to Deeper Stories

Welcome to the Deeper Stories blog! Here is where I’d like to share aspects of the personal history stories I’m working on, tips on gathering and organizing your family histories, and my own reflections on history, family and culture. If there are topics you’d like to read about, please drop me a note at info@deeperwellhistory.com.

First off, I’d like to share a little more about my family history and what led me to found Deeper Well. For those who don’t know me, my name is Rachel Roberts Quartarone and I’m as about as Southern as you can get. Both sides of my family trace their roots five generations back to North Georgia – before that North Carolina and Virginia. I’m one of those English/Irish/Scottish/Western European “mutts” (confirmed by Ancestry.com) who probably had ancestors on the early ships to British colony. I wish I knew more!

I grew up Cumming, Georgia in a little community called Coal Mountain. My grandparents (mom’s parents) lived about two miles down the road. My dad’s parents living in Buford. Both lived in sweet little houses they had built themselves and added on to over the years. I loved going to their houses and am blessed to have storytellers on both sides. I loved to hear my Grandmama Ovice’s tales of growing up the daughter of sharecroppers. My Granny Kate grew up down the dirt road from her Daddy’s store. She loved playing sports and running wild with her siblings and cousins. My Papa Pierce loved to talk about who all we were related to and who was kin to whom. Papa George was a man of few words but he was an avid fisherman and gardener. I remember getting excited seeing his boat at our house when we would get home from school so I could see all the fish that he caught on Lake Lanier.

I was that kid who wanted to listen and absorb it all – even if I had to eavesdrop. I remember hiding in the stairwell listening to my mama talk on the phone or trying not to breathe too heavy as I listened in on another phone in the house. Who, what, why, where and how were my favorite words. (Now that I’m a mom myself, I imagine I probably was a little annoying!)

I think growing up with such a tangible sense of family history is what inspired me to study history as a discipline. I majored in History and minored in Spanish and then went on to work in the museum field. Museums are all about stories — and that has always been what engages and inspires me. A few years later, I completed by Master of Heritage Preservation Degree with an emphasis in Public History. Again, it’s all about people stories. I firmly believe that there’s no such thing as a “boring life story.” We’ve all lived through interesting times and have unique experiences to share. I would love to help you tell your story or that of someone close to you. It’s so important to capture our stories while we can and pass them on to the next generation so that they can pass them on, too.

Are you ready? Let’s get started!