Steps in Assembling a Family History
History is mainly the stories of those who've lived, dreamed, loved, warred and worked and the difference they made during their lifetimes. As you research, you may find heroes and villains and just plain, hard-working people. Assembling a family history is vital to preserving the history of the family and that starts with discovering who ancestors are and uncovering their stories. Let your family know what you plan to do and promise to share the results.
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Instructions
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Step one in assembling a family history is to talk to the older members of the family. Record their stories. Ask about their lives, parents, grandparents, siblings and other relatives. Seek concrete information on births, deaths, places lived, work, and how world events impacted them. Take a recorder with you and make sure to have plenty of batteries. Prepare questions ahead of time. Don't press too hard and don't hog the conversation. Make the interview low-key. You might be surprised at the gems you'll get just from listening. Gently direct only when required to stay on topic and ask for clarification when that is needed. One person can lead you to others, who might lead you to other information.
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Always take pictures of those with whom you speak. Ask for photo albums or pictures you can look at. Ask for identification of individuals in the pictures. Ask if you can make copies. Be prepared to scan them into your computer or at least make photo copies. Once identified, make sure to save copies of the pictures with their identification.
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Ask for any letters, diaries or other personal papers or information the family would be willing to share with you. Ask for birth, confirmation, baptism and death certificates. All these may add to your knowledge of what happened and when. Be sure to treat anything you're allowed to view and/or read with respect. Do not make copies or share information gleaned without permission. If possible, make copies of information to add to your family history.
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Start a search of church, school and public records from information you discover from interviews and letters. Some of these may be available online. Many are not, especially if the church or school is small or has ceased to exist. Then you may have to go to the location and seek information on where the records for these entities might have ended up.
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Check genealogy websites. Genealogy websites may help you uncover more information and put you in contact with other family members. These also help you add information as you uncover it. Either on paper or with the help of software made for that purpose or a genealogy website chart your family to get a perspective of who was who, and who is who in the family.
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Assemble the family history you've uncovered into notebook with a genealogy chart, family information and personal stories. Add pictures and present to family members.
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References
- Photo Credit relaxing with great grandma image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com
