Not expensive, not an in-depth project, just a brief take on an important movement in history that had a major impact on Wood family history. I'm forever grateful to a 2c1r who did a deep-dive to follow the Wood lineage back to these Mayflower ancestors.
Before I order multiple copies of the book, I want to be sure it looks the way I envisioned it. Once I have the actual book in my hands, I can examine it carefully, decide on any edits, and then order another single copy to check how the second version looks. Ordering with discount codes, of course ;)
At top, the front cover and spine of my book, the first I've made with Mixbook.com. For the covers, I selected a glossy background with a look of linen texture. Inside pages are light tan background with brown title text and black body text, blue for captions. I found it easy to align headlines and body text on facing pages. Also I learned how to shift pages or photos or spreads when rearranging the order of some content. There are more features to learn, but this was a fun intro to a site I've never used but heard good things about.
In addition to bite-sized bios of Isaac Allerton, Mary Norris Allerton, Mary Allerton, Francis Cooke, and Degory Priest, I wrote about the social and historical context of the Mayflower voyage. Above, the two-page spread I created to briefly explain the Mayflower Compact, written and signed in November, 1620 as the ship was anchored off present-day Cape Cod. I added the inkwell for visual interest, and used a shadow effect to set off the atmospheric image of the handwritten Compact (not an original, but a later copy).
My book notes that the Compact was signed by three of the five Mayflower passengers in the Wood family tree. (The other two were female and not eligible to sign.) Every schoolchild in America is taught about the Mayflower Compact--now my grandchildren will be able to feel a more personal family-history link to this pivotal event in history. Just as important, this part of family history is less likely to be forgotten in the future.
I can't wait to turn the pages of my book, in about two weeks!
