Writing up my research

[g forgeron]

I've obtained all the information I can on my ancestors, but it is just a jumble of facts obtained from various sources. I now wish to "write it up" in to  a readable form. Can anyone advise of any web site which can give - or can any member - advise on how to go about this ?

Is it best to start from yourself and work back, or start with your furthest back ancestor and work towards yourself ?

[philipsearching]

Everyone has their own way of doing this, so you will probably get plenty of good suggestions.

The method that works for me is to do mini-biographies for each direct ancestor:
Name, BMD data, spouse, parents, children.
Images and details of all sources
Photos (if any)
Wills or other documents (if any)
Newspaper articles (if any)
Description of what their occupation and daily life involved
Views of where they lived
Family stories/memories

Depending on the amount of information, this could range from half a page to several pages!

This keeps the basic tree uncluttered.

I find it more useful to organise lines by surname, starting with the earliest known ancestor and listing them forward in time until the surname changes (on marriage).

Hope this helps
Philip

[KGarrad]

I use RootsMagic (other software is available!).
One of their tools is a Narrative Report, with various options.
I can . report as Rich Text (RTF), Web Page (HTML) or as a text file - which I can then edit.

[AntonyMMM]

A lot depends on the intended audience ...

If you are writing it as a genealogical document, proving the links as you go, and building a pedigree then the conventional way is to start with the most recent records and work backwards one generation at a time. Most (but not all) researchers tend to follow that approach, but it can make it difficult to understand for those not used to doing their own research

For a general audience, and maybe relatives who have never studied any genealogy, a narrative approach starting from the earliest ancestor and working forwards can be much easier to read and follow.

Both are valid - and a lot comes down to personal preference.

Gill Blanchard has a useful book on the subject:

http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Writing-Your-Family-History-Paperback/p/7224

[Kiltpin]

I make a spreadsheet for every person in my tree.

Columns for year, month and day. Then what event, when, age (automatically inserted) , what happened and do I have an artefact.

A new row can be added easily for every new event and once dated the age will be automatically displayed.

It makes it easy to spot errors in ages and gives an easily readable overview of a person's life. I have found a couple who were supposedly married at age 10, 3 illegitimate children who were registered as having being born to the grandmother (who was over 65) and a sea voyage to India that took only 4 days!

I find it invaluable and is a task that can be delegated to younger members of the family to whet their own interest in their family tree.

Regards

Chas