Writing Up the Family History

[anniebelle]

I am going to write a book on my family history.  This is not for publication, just for the benefit of myself, my siblings and our families.  I would like it to be factual but also an interesting book to read.  I expect it will take some years. As I learn more about my family I will build on each person and each generation's stories.  I would like to start the first draft now and build on it over time.  Has anyone done this? Can anyone make suggestions as to how to approach the various generations?  what struture would you suggest I adopt? What software is the best for recording the writing to ensure it is eventually able to be printed into a readable and well present document.
 Any comments would be welcomed.  Thank you. Ann

[r973g]

Hi Anniebell
I have followed a similar path and having added notes to all individuals in my tree  I have then extracted them from my programme in generation order and written my first draft from there. Obviously further info. was obtained later which I had to decide at what point to add it. A bit of a bind but still ongoing.
Ray

[lizdb]

My brother and I did this.
We told it as the story of the family. Had numerous chapters working through the generations with a few sidelines.
Illustrated with copies of certs etc and lots of photos of places they lived in, old maps etc, pictures of gravestones etc.
Took ages to do, but so worthwhile!

trouble is family History is never finished, and we have recently produced a supplement!!!!

[cathyaus]

Hi anniebelle
I am in the process of writing up my husband's side of the family tree - we have 2 sons to carry on the surname so hopefully down the line someone will be interested in what I have researched.

I didn't want to just put John Doe* (name changed to protect privacy  ) born day/ month/ year, married Mary Brown (as above) day/ month/ year & died day/month/ year. When my research gets passed on to the next holder of the records (after I am gone) they may not understand all the copies of census material, maps etc, so to make it easier to understand & make it more interesting I am writing up a story about each person & the informaton that I have found.

I started with my husband's father & basically wrote the information that I had found as a story - birth details (place & date), census details, navy records(researched the different Naval Bases in the UK that he had served at & included a map showing each base), his place of work details,places that he lived with photos from Library archives or maps of the area, marriage details & pictures of the church, death & burial details. After the "story" I have included the relevant  sources like maps, pictures, copies of census & a picture of his headstone. I also have a page for each person with all the major dates summarised in a table format so that at a quick glance you can see when a person was born, parents names, sibling names, marriage details, death details . I will eventually then do a story on his wife's side (the Mother in law !  .

One of my husband's sisters has her paternal grandmother's maiden name as her middle name but knew nothing about that side of the family (her father was very "closed" when it came to talking about his family) so I did a "story" on her father's mother's side including details on her life through census material, details about her parents, their life in America (for 15 years), newspaper articles that I had found about the family in America, & went back to the next generation back in England where the family  ran several pubs over the years & how from the census worked out that children who lived next door to each other would years later marry.
 
I typed all this information just in a Word document, printed it off, put the sheets of the "story"  in plastic sleeves & printed off photos of where they used to live, headstones, certificates ,copies of the newspaper reports, census info & anything else that was relevent. It turned out to be about 130 pages in all & then put it all in a ring binder & gave it to my sister in law. I am pretty sure that she was impressed as I received some money months later when it was my birthday as a thank you ( & we would normally only send a card).

I am working my way back through the generations & will do the same with each one - takes a while but it keeps me happy!

Good luck
Cathy

[teaurn]

Hi Anniebelle,

I think writing a family history book is a dream of alot of people - it is certainly something I would like to do at some point in the future.

I found a really useful book - should be able to get it from the library

Writing Up Your Family History- a do it yourself guide by John Titford
(www.countrysidebooks.co.uk)

It is full of really useful ideas

[anniebelle]

Thank you teaurn,

Shall try and access at my local libraries and family history centre.  Ann

[Chicago-Jones]

I am going to write a book on my family history.  This is not for publication, just for the benefit of myself, my siblings and our families.  I would like it to be factual but also an interesting book to read.  I expect it will take some years. As I learn more about my family I will build on each person and each generation's stories.  ....... Can anyone make suggestions as to how to approach the various generations?  what structure would you suggest I adopt? ......
 Any comments would be welcomed.  Thank you. Ann

I'll make a public comment through the Board, and a private comment to Anniebelle through a PM.

First, let me say I have never written a "narrative" or "book" but always thought one day I might.  I was involved in researching my US JONES extended family with a co-researcher and several contributors; my co-researcher composed "The Descendants of Thomas Price JONES" in the usual fashion (one chapter per generation, with short sentences describing each fact with a citation as to the source).  All chapters were distributed to all descendants of our common JONES ancestor "Lizzy" and selected chapters only to those who contributed their ancestor's info.

Second, I read somewhere that a better way to compose a good family history "book" is to include perspective and context.  That is, what world (or local or neighborhood) events defined each generation in the book, and how did world history determine their decisions or actions (to emigrate, pick a location, pick an occupation, etc.).  It is not merely a collection of names and dates, statistics and citations, maps and photos.  (The avid family historian researcher will read it, but the average child or grandchild may not - unless it has a good "story line" - and a good title, especially if you plan to donate a copy to a local historical or genealogy society along with all your neatly organized research.)

To illustrate:  the current generation (my nephew) is being defined by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and 9-11-2001; my generation was defined by the Vietnam War and JF Kennedy's assassination, and the "Baby Boom"; my father's by World War 2, the Depression and the interstate highway system (shopping centers or offices in the suburbs); my grandfather's by World War 1; etc.  So do a little background research on world history and try to fit your ancestor's decisions within the context of national or local events going on around them.

For example, why did one's Irish immigrants come to the US  - was it to escape  Potato Famine starvation, or to escape the police (such as during "the Troubles")? Why did one's Prussian ancestors come to the US - because as youngest son he did not inherit the farm, to escape a bad marriage, or to avoid the draft?  Why did one's Australian ancestor emigrate - was it voluntarily for a better opportunity (or to strike it rich in the Gold Rush), or involuntarily (as a convict)?  Why did my Danish or Norwegian ancestors come to the US (and why did they pick the US over Canada)?  I think you see my point - that including some background (some of which may already be in family stories you plan to include) changes a family history collection of names, dates, places, photos, maps (and don't forget those footnotes or source citations)... into a narrative that is fun to read.

Chicago-JONES

[Berlin-Bob]

Hi Ann,

there are also several topics here about writing family history books:
Topic: RootsChat Topics: Organising and Presenting your Family History
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,158638.0.html

I have two "books", one is public - my website - and the other is private. The public book is about my grandfathers generation and their ancestors, and the private book is a CD which includes the website plus stories and details about the descendant generations.

Apart from telling their biographical stories, I have included the search for the information as part of the story. A further step will be to include historical background and time-lines, as suggested in some of the replies here.

The website is constantly being expanded, and I also try out new ideas for "presentation" here, and now and then (every few years) I burn a CD for distribution to the family.  I have deliberately "programmed" the website/CD so that I can also make a printable version for the older family members who don't use computers a lot.

My daughter has 4 grandparents, so these are the main family groups.  Each hs a "general" section, and each person has a "mug-sheet" with a standard layout, plus a biographical section, with all the information I have.

It's not finished (is it ever ?  ) so I find the website approach is handy for the continual changes.

Bob

[anniebelle]

Thanks for the great responses - really making me think what I should include and how I should structure the writing. I agree that putting in some historical context for each individual/generation's situation will give a more interesting and understanding of why my ancestors have taken the decisions they have.

I have no plans to provide copies to anyone other than my immediate and close family so I don't imagine copyright should be an issue.  I would have thought that personal research would extend to my 3 siblings and their children. Any information sourced will be cited/acknowledged as part of my verification and authenticity of the information provided.

Are you using Word or some other software to enable easier reading or printing.   Anniebelle.