RootsChat.Com
General => Technical Help => Family History Programs, Tree Organisation, Presentation => Topic started by: anniebelle on Tuesday 23 February 10 11:39 GMT (UK)
-
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 This is not for publication, just for the benefit of myself, my siblings and our families.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
-
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
-
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!!!!
-
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 :D) 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
-
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
-
Thank you teaurn,
Shall try and access at my local libraries and family history centre. Ann
-
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
-
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
-
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.
-
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 agree that you can put in some historical context but the bit about understanding of why my ancestors have taken the decisions they have.
please make sure that you include that this is your thinking as to why an ancestor did something. WE can never know why someone did something 100 years ago - we weren't there - unless it is recorded in a diary. The reason that I am saying this is because I have come across something similar in my research for my paternal grandmother's family. Someone writing up the family history has stated as fact that her grandfather jumped ship & went to the goldfields to search for gold - I have searched & cannot find one piece of evidence to support this. This is how fiction gets turned into fact & gets passed on down the generations. It is very important to make sure that you have included that these are your assumptions only.
Cathy
-
I've started writing my family history, like Berlin Bob I have a website that contains much information which will eventually be in the book, and I have the John Titford book mentioned by Teaurn, it really is good.
I agree with most of the posts in this thread:
1. Make a start, even though your research isn't finished (it never will be, and you could find yourself waiting forever for that last piece of information).
2. Don't second guess your ancestor's motivation. By all means include commentary, but make it clear what is your opinion and what is fact.
3. Give your sources for everything.
4. It may be more manageable to start off just writing a few pages about one person in your family. When that's finished, choose another person and write about them and so on. Pretty soon it'll build up into a book without too much trouble and you just need to decide how the individual pieces need linking together.
5. Definitely use a word processor e.g. Word, or for a great free alternative go to www.openoffice.org - it makes changing what you've written much easier to alter.
6. If I'm sending someone a copy tend to send them a pdf file rather than a word document - openoffice has a pdf creator built in or try cutepdf. My reasoning for this is that it preserves my formatting and makes it harder for someone to alter (although not much!)
Good luck and go for it.
-
Thank you for the comments, much appreciated. I fully appreciate not making assumptions about my ancestors lives and decisions. My idea was to provide a general summary of the environment in which they lived and the issues impacting on people generally living in that location at the time. Any comments re my ancestors decisions will be clearly recorded as my thoughts only.
Braindead, I like your practical suggestions. I have started writing individual stories and have been including source references. This has forced me to revisit some research as I was less particular and knowledgeable in the early days about ensuring I have adequately recorded source documents. It also helps in leading to new areas to research. Thank you also for the suggestions re Word and openoffice. I am currently using Word but shall look at the openoffice and note your comments re sending to others.
Thanks again.
Anniebelle
-
If you already have Word, it probably isn't worth downloading OpenOffice - especially if you've already started formatting documents using Word as, although Openoffice provides a pretty good match, some more complex documents (with pictures, text boxes etc) may not format exactly & will possibly leave you frustrated - I've been there! If you are starting a new document from scratch it should be a lot easier.
I also use an uncommon font and you have to remember that if you send someone a Word document & they don't have the same font installed on their computer, the formatting will alter. This is another reason for exporting docs as pdfs.
-
If you wanted a skeleton structure to work with, some family history software has an option, I know Rootsmagic does. And you can include personal notes etc. I am doing one for my brother's big 50 birthday this year. It helps you to build up the different pages and what you want in the book. Even if you dont use that software for the final book, it may give you ideas about what to include.
Roofy
-
Interesting comments from everyone, I'm glad I joined this forum as there are some great ideas here. I have gone through the agony of how to write up our family history as well. Having never really come up with anything satisfactory so far I haven't made much of a start either. Damn procrastination! I also sometimes frustrate myself when I neglect to write down small snippets of general info I come across as I research which when all put together would probably make an interesting historical narrative. Sometimes there are interesting stories contained in the bland mix of dates and places we come across.
Interesting example is on my wife's side. Her great great grandmother lived in the Whitechapel area of London. After looking up some of the streets mentioned in the census and the dates involved she would have been only a few hundred metres away from where some of the Jack the Ripper murders occurred at the time when she was living there. Goodness only knows what they would have been thinking and feeling at the time. Don’t know terribly much about them personally except facts on census sheets but the conditions they must have lived in and the happenings at the time with the murders would provide some context for their daily lives.
We have some biographical notes about family members which I have entered into our FH software against the individuals as notes. I think as per Braindead’s and roofy's suggestion I will just keep doing this for the moment. I just need to be disciplined at writing down stuff straight away. At some stage perhaps I can knit some of it together in a Word document or similar.
-
Hi Nugget,
Welcome to rootschat. I agree. I have got lots of info from this site and lots of help when I have posted a query. :)
-
Hello Anniebell
It is very useful to go to a family research library where people have deposited their family history books.
This can give you a lot of ideas about how to put together your book.
It is now remarkably cheap to get your manuscript digitally printed and bound. There are many firms that do this, try searching "self publishing". Many give lots of information on how to put a book together—layout, margins etc.
The question about how to structure the book and deal with the various generations is hard to answer. I think the best thing is to start the first draft and then see if you can somehow make the stories flow to some point. That point might be yourself! Or your mother or father.
Once you are under way you will see where the gaps are in your story. This will prompt you to fill in those gaps with research, which won't be only who was married when etc but also what a village was like in such and such a year and what being a farm labourer involved and so on.
It certainly will take years but is great fun and well worth while.
The best advice really is to...start writing.
Regards, Charlie
-
I still haven't written up my family history! But what I have found helpful is keeping a timeline of every event with a brief comment. What was surprising to find was the number of events that occured much at the same time across a number of families -the births and deaths of children, men going off to war, families migrating. It is possible to see where the families may have attended family gatherings or at least exchanged letters/news. I could then see what other community, historical events were also happening - strikes, economic depressions/wars etc. But I am a good one to talk, as I am still putting off writing up the story. I have done some chapters though on important incidents - convict transportation and what happened next to those left behind in the UK and how did the family get on without the bread winner. Best wishes, Gazania
-
Hi Nugget,
saying about the goings on in whitechapel at that time has given me an idea that id like to share. im going to onto some history sites that have historical timelines, print it out or copy the image and write in where various members of the family are. It gives you a good overview I think.
Also, like you, ive not typed all my little tidbits in, but have started to now. Quite a lot of genealogy programs have a place for notes for each person. eg highlight the person, click edit, then enter any notes. if it covers more than one person, just copy over,
Roofy
-
Roofy, and gazania, I like your ideas about using timelines. Might try and see if I can use something like that too.
I’ve started using the notes a little bit more and I found it useful that I can attach notes to families as well as individuals. Been using Brother’s Keeper FHS but I’m tinkering around with Family Historian at the moment which seems to allow me to have a ‘general’ note record and link (attach?) a number of people to it. Still feeling my way around there but it may be useful for more general historical items.
Now I just need to retire so I can find the time to do all of this ;)
Richard
-
I just had a word count tonight, my word count is about 10,500 so far, still plenty more to do: I've got a couple of 3000+ word articles, the rest are about 1000 each.
I've found writing the small pieces rewarding as it's easy to see the completed article and it can be approached in short bursts - I got another one done over the last few nights, now I'll leave it for a while until I've decided who to do next.
-
Writing up your family history shouldn't be just a dream. ;)
I have co-written one and am on my second one. Both entirely different in style and structure.
The first - standard dates and names and general information. I enjoyed writing it and am very proud of what I achieved.
The second, the one I am working on now, is more of a fancy for me. I am doing it in the form of a novel. But I make it clear that I have allowed myself the freedom of using my imagination and that relevant source notes are provided at the back of the book.
Margaret
-
That's great Margaret. :)
Your right it shouldn't just be a dream, i have put so much effort into getting all the facts together I should start putting into some semblence of order.