Author Topic: What do people use to create a Family History Book  (Read 2187 times)

Offline mikebrunger

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What do people use to create a Family History Book
« on: Monday 12 December 16 17:44 GMT (UK) »
I've been collecting family history information for several years now using Ancestry,FindMyPast and Family Tree Maker software to document it all. I'm now looking at starting a Family History book and wondered what others do to create their own book. Do people use any specific online publishing tools or simply use a free offline publisher tool or even a photobook creator? Just fishing for ideas on how to start and get going with it....thanks

Offline cristeen

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Re: What do people use to create a Family History Book
« Reply #1 on: Monday 12 December 16 18:10 GMT (UK) »
I have been turning my research into a 'book' over the last year! I looked into various methods and eventually set up a master word document with basic headings such as census dates, birth marriage death details etc. I then insert images of maps, buildings, newspaper articles etc to build the story. I have set the margins so that family groups can be printed allowing for binding. It has been time consuming, partly because I have revisited my original records and found so much more online than even a few years ago, so there has been more detail to include. I bought folders and posh paper from a company called springback binders which allow for easy alteration of pages. Each line starts with a contents list of the main families and a pedigree. I have attached an example of the first three pages from one family.
Newson, Steavenson, Walker, Taylor, Dobson, Gardner, Clark, Wilson, Smith, Crossland, Goldfinch, Burnett, Hebdon, Peers, Strother, Askew, Bower, Beckwith, Patton, White, Turner, Nelson, Gilpin, Tomlinson, Thompson, Spedding, Wilkes, Carr, Butterfield, Ormandy, Wilkinson, Cocking, Glover, Pennington, Bowker, Kitching, Langhorn, Haworth, Kirkham.

Offline dawnsh

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Re: What do people use to create a Family History Book
« Reply #2 on: Monday 12 December 16 19:11 GMT (UK) »
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Sherry-Paddington & Marylebone,
Longhurst-Ealing & Capel, Abinger, Ewhurst & Ockley,
Chandler-Chelsea

Offline lanercost

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Re: What do people use to create a Family History Book
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday 13 December 16 00:18 GMT (UK) »
I played around a lot with different book presentation software at first too, but really it's best just to write and worry about the presentation afterwards. I've been doing mine on WordPress for the past year, just retelling their stories as I've learnt them and will worry about putting them all together in a book once I'm finished in another year or two.

My WordPress blog example:

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=761006.0;attach=452029;image
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=761006.0;attach=452030;image


Offline crowsfeet

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Re: What do people use to create a Family History Book
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 13 December 16 01:08 GMT (UK) »
Good Question Mikebrunger

I am interested in the responses you get as I have been pondering on the organisational aspect of the multiple digital copies I have for varying families.

Regards Crowsfeet
cole, crow, taylor, ricketts, trustrum, pigott, kaye, bedford, blackwell, hill, archer, harris, williscroft, sanders, baggot, bayliss, isles, eaton, tooth, day, english, cherry, bashford, hubbard, leslie, cameron, whiteford keough, galvin, gray, gilchrist, davidson, currie, english, shuker, morgan, buchanan, parker, beard, pratt, orme, aylett, lawrence, penberthy, martin, bryant, nicholls.

Offline Rosinish

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Re: What do people use to create a Family History Book
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday 13 December 16 04:46 GMT (UK) »
Hi Mike,

I have an FTM Programme & it has it's own facility for creating a book i.e. have you not got the same with yours?

I also have a Charting Companion which I haven't used which I bought with my FTM.

I have never used that facility as I like to do my own on a word document.

I firstly print a report which obviously has everything in date order anyway.

I then go through it incorporating/adding Certs, Census', MI's. Pics, Army Records, Newspaper Articles & anything else of interest in order of each event as it occurs whilst reading.

I add above a doc. whether BM or D or the year of the census in Bold.

Any photo's I add below (centered) what/where the photo is of & a date if I have one.

I stick with B & W pics. If I can only find colour pics online, I change them to B & W on my comp.

I use Publisher a lot for images regarding size & cropping to fit in a presentable fashion.

I then Format it so that each family have their own page(s), not shared with others but separate per each marriage.

I colour code Direct Line in red & e.g if I was giving a copy to a cousin, would do their Direct Line in red with my own in another colour so they can see the connection.

Where we have a common ancestor I do that one in both colours to highlight we both initially descend from that person.

The formatting can be very time consuming though!

I also do an Ancestor/Descendant Tree which the reader can follow.

I probably give myself a lot of unnecessary work but I like the dimensions to be as close as I can get.

I also use Paint to tidy up/erase big black ink dots or marks simply to save ink & make it more presentable.

Annie
South Uist, Inverness-shire, Scotland:- Bowie, Campbell, Cumming, Currie

Ireland:- Cullen, Flannigan (Derry), Donahoe/Donaghue (variants) (Cork), McCrate (Tipperary), Mellon, Tol(l)and (Donegal & Tyrone)

Newcastle-on-Tyne/Durham (Northumberland):- Harrison, Jude, Kemp, Lunn, Mellon, Robson, Stirling

Kettering, Northampton:- MacKinnon

Canada:- Callaghan, Cumming, MacPhee

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Offline mike175

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Re: What do people use to create a Family History Book
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 13 December 16 09:09 GMT (UK) »
... really it's best just to write and worry about the presentation afterwards ...

I second that. I find it best to get the narrative written as a simple plain text document. Notepad is good for this as it doesn't impose formatting. Once a chapter is complete (bearing in mind the need to rewrite when you discover new information) you can play around with layout, including pictures. For this I use PagePlus as I've had it for many years and you can see on screen exactly how the finished page will look, but any DTP package will do the same.
Baskervill - Devon, Foss - Hants, Gentry - Essex, Metherell - Devon, Partridge - Essex/London, Press - Norfolk/London, Stone - Surrey/Sussex, Stuttle - Essex/London, Wheate - Middlesex/Essex/Coventry/Oxfordshire/Staffs, Gibson - Essex, Wyatt - Essex/Kent

Offline Guy Etchells

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Re: What do people use to create a Family History Book
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday 13 December 16 09:35 GMT (UK) »
I initially use Brothers Keeper, (the family history program I use to store my FH records) to compile a ‘Register Book’ which is exported from brothers keeper as a RTF file which is compatible with Microsoft Word (M.W.).
I then use M.W. to expand and manipulate the basic data and notes in the ‘Register Book’ output to compile a more in depth history of the families involved in my family history.

This is then imported to Scribus (a free desktop publishing program).
At this stage I can add any additional text, maps, images, photos, etc.

The Register Book option also includes an index allowing the reader to quickly find any particular person and I also add an index of illustrations to complete my book.
By using the computer to compile the book it automatically adds the people in generations and allows me to add as much or as little information I want to each generation or indeed person.

I am now in my fourth edition of the book which I print on an A3 printer and fold the pages in half to form an A4 size book.

Cheers
Guy
http://anguline.co.uk/Framland/index.htm   The site that gives you facts not promises!
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Offline JACK GEE

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Re: What do people use to create a Family History Book
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday 13 December 16 10:21 GMT (UK) »
Hello Mike,
you have received plenty of suggestions and software options.
I wish you well in your project.
I have had similar process with my several books.
A collector of information and you get to a stage and ask yourself - What do i do with this?

I chase the simple approach on a Word document list you sub headings in a chronological order .
Fill it up with facts and then sort into Chapters.

Transfer  each chapter to a separate Word document and then add photographs,  individual stories and diagrams or tables.

If you try and use all on one Word document it will become unstable.

I have been lucky to have a local Printer who can adapt the above at a reasonable cost to good order.

It might be a little daunting put the journey is worth it in end.

Good luck and have a crack.

cheers
jack Gee
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