Family History

Kimberly Powell of About Genealogy wrote an interesting article on the “5 Steps to Writing Your Family History”.

Though titled “10 steps”, the article covers only five, but they are part of a very simple but solid plan for starting your family history research project. Basically, she instructs you to choose a format for displaying and sharing your family history, define the scope of your family history (not trying to cover everyone), set deadlines, choose a plot and theme so you can tell your family’s story from a perspective like rags to riches or rising out of slavery, and do your background research, uncovering the elements to help tell your story.

If I were making my own step by step guide for starting your genealogy research project, I would tell you to start with one person, a grandparent or great grandparent, and research everything you can find about that person. Dig into records to find birth, marriage, divorce, and death certificates. Dig into court documents to see if they ever filed papers in court for or against someone. Check land records for property ownership, rental, lease, or mortgages. Check military records. Go through photo albums and dig up every picture, note card, letter, and every item that gives you information about this person.

Then turn to living relatives and ask them what they know and remember. Ask them about the rumors and the true stories. See if they have any papers or photographs of this person for you to copy to add to your collection.

Along the way you will learn about this person’s children and grandchildren, as well as their sisters and brothers, parents, and grand parents. Maybe their great grandmother was alive and living with them, which influenced your ancestor’s life. As you learn about the other people who impacted and revolved around the life of your ancestor, add their notes to your research, but stay focused on the one person.

When you have completed their story, then choose a format and figure out how to share that information with others.

When you’ve completed their story and the project, you should now have a fairly good idea of what it will take to research other family members, and off you may go, digging into more past lives of your ancestors.

Julie Miller, Genealogy Columnist of the Bloomfield Enterprise wrote “Using Style to Enhance Your Genealogy”, helping to explain a problem I’ve been running across in many genealogy files I’ve downloaded and have been sent.

I recently received a genealogy file with more than 3,500 names. The data in the file was a mess. Names, dates and locations were entered differently from person to person. I found Nov. 29, 1937 was written three ways: 29 Nov 1937, 11-29-37 and 11-29-1937. There was no consistency, which made many entries unclear. I worked hours correcting the data. Used regularly, a simple style sheet could have prevented this problem.

A style sheet defines the details of writing style such as presentation, punctuation, grammar and spelling. Every genealogist needs a style sheet. The style sheet will bring clarity and consistency to your genealogy.

Many items on a style sheet should conform to writing and genealogical standards while others are a matter of preference. In some cases, there are several equally correct options. A style sheet is about making choices and using those choices consistently throughout your work.

Miller continues with step-by-step instructions on how to set up your genealogy file stylesheet to create a consistent and clean presentation. If you share your genealogy files with others, take note of Miller’s advice.

“5 Ways to Get People to Share” is another interesting article by Kimberly Powell of About Genealogy.

We’ve all been there. Tracked down a family bible only to learn that the distant cousin who possesses it won’t let anyone else take a look. Or discovered a possible genealogical connection on the Internet only to find that your new “cousin” won’t divulge their sources. Like any good story, however, there is more than one point of view.

As selfish as it may seem to you, there are any number of good reasons why an individual may be a bit wary of sharing their treasured family heirlooms or hard-earned genealogy research. The trick to encouraging these people to share is understanding their possible reservations and treating them in a polite and respectful manner.

Luckily, I’ve found most of my relatives eager to share their stories and photographs, but there are some who are a little more reluctant. Powell’s tips will help you figure out how to help your family members share their family records and photographs with you by helping them understand that they are contributing to something that will give them something even more: their history preserved.