How to create stories about your ancestors

[Talmage2]

We are often enjoined - instead of merely collecting names events and dates - to develop stories about our ancestors and cousins. Unless, of course, you can locate newspaper references or accounts written by other people, I've found only one generally useful method. Where, for an individual, you have a sequence (ideally) of  censuses, these will show how (in combination with BMD and inferentially, why) he/she joined/left a household or changed employment. For married women with numbers of offspring, infant mortality can be inferred and gaps in the births record may reveal stillbirths.
Can anyone suggest other generally useful ways to develop such stories?

[aghadowey]

Checking out the history of the area or the address often brings up interesting snippets and don't forget to check the neighbours (they could be long-time family friends or even relatives).
Directories, if available, are another good resource.
Burial or undertakers records can turn up interesting information, especially if you find who is buried in a family plot.

Not all countries recorded stillbirths so that can be a tricky one.
Even 'official' records can be misleading. In the 1930 census a 'son' appears in my great-grandfather's household but none of the 6 family members still alive when that census was released (all with very good memories) remembered 1) that person living there at the time or 2) remembered that person visiting or 3) remember ever hearing about that person. Interestingly, that record is the only one I ever found for that person.

[Stanwix England]

Look at the historic newspapers, your ancestors might be featured.

Court cases, local farm shows, school successes, feats of heroism and so on will often be in the newspapers. It's really worth a look and I've found out loads.

Don't just look at your direct line, look at their brothers and sisters etc. For example, I have one relative who's brother died at sea. It would have been a huge event in his life and is an important part of his story.

[Talmage2]

Thank you for your answers, aghadowey and Stanwix England. As you may have guessed, I'm not a beginner, but I've not tried RootsChat for years and I reckoned this is the kind of question that would fit well on a Beginners board.

Where your ancestors and their relatives lived in the same small area for generations, there's the possibility of creating a story around, not just your direct ancestors, but their cousins and other people living round about, too. And in some cases (in mine for instance, Ramsbury in north-eastern Wiltshire) you might find a published local history of the area that will set your own particular story in context.

[Erato]

Sometimes you might have ancestors who lived in the same place at the same time as someone famous.  For example, I have ancestors who lived in the same small town as Harry Houdini and others who lived right next door to John Muir.  I have found useful tidbits about these localities by searching for information on their famous residents.

[Peter L. Mitchell]

Hi Talmag2. Welcome back!

I have ancestors who were pitmen in Northumberland and Durham. When I discovered that pitmen moved around a lot I struck upon the idea of plotting a timeline of their whereabouts using baptism, marriage and death records as well as census information and GRO records. This has enabled me to find an ancestor who died in a mine explosion, several illegitimate children, family members who died in asylums and workhouses, one illegitimate 12 year-old girl who was left behind when the family emigrated to Australia, several second marriages and blended families, and some potential patterns in the family's medical history. I've also managed to locate some previously unknown relatives who have either confirmed stories I was told by my parents or opened my eyes to new insights.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your searching.

Peter

[mlrfn448]

A lot depends on the timeline, as to what records are available.
However, in most cases the churches your ancestors were married, baptised or buried have survived (in some cases repurposed). And old maps of where they lived. In many cases houses survive, and in some cases I have found photos on the internet of the roads they lived in (from the local records office).
There may be school records, and in some cases the school still exists.
The occupation they had, and did this reflect the area the lived in, etc
Wills are very useful as it is the actual words of the deceased, and this can be insightful.
Local newspapers, re events that happened at the location.