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Messages - Mike Griffiths

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For Sale / Wanted / Events / Family History Writing Service
« on: Saturday 30 April 22 11:19 BST (UK)  »

So, you’ve researched your family history.  You’ve identified ancestors, discovered references to them in parish registers, passenger lists, census reports.  You have records of births, marriages, deaths, and perhaps you’ve even sourced old photographs and documents that hint at the kind of lives your forebears lived.

​How, then, do you bring all of this information into a form that can be shared with your extended family and preserved for future generations?

​My name is Mike Griffiths.  I’m a writer specializing in writing and privately publishing family histories.  I use a combination of genealogical research, historical context, and some creative license to create a narrative around your family story.  My books are therefore part biography, part history, and part novel.

My rates start at a little under £30 per chapter.

​For samples of my writing and further information, please see the links below:

www.yourfamilyhistorywritten.com
www.facebook.com/yourfamilyhistorywritten


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The Lighter Side / Re: It's all Greek to me!
« on: Saturday 30 April 22 10:41 BST (UK)  »
I must confess I've seen nothing quite like that before!  I first wondered if the pastor was using the records as a chance to practice his Greek, but that seems unlikely.  Your idea that he was protecting identities is interesting; it would make quite a story if that was true!

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The Lighter Side / Re: What's In A Name......
« on: Saturday 30 April 22 10:22 BST (UK)  »
Quote from: Forthefamily on Thursday 28 April 22 18:44 BST (UK)
I have spent a wee bit of time (hours) looking for an Anastasia Ryan born about 1870 in Scotland not realizing I had her record since 2018. Take a look.

Anastasia = Hannah-Stacey!!!

I guess the poor registrar had never run across that forename before and just winged it.

That's one of the best I've seen.   At least this Registrar had neat handwriting, I suppose :)

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The Common Room / Re: What Will Happen When I Become a Death Certificate
« on: Thursday 28 April 22 09:48 BST (UK)  »
Quote from: Andrew Tarr on Thursday 28 April 22 09:18 BST (UK)
Quote from: Mike Griffiths on Thursday 28 April 22 06:10 BST (UK)
I wrote a book on my mother's family history, had it printed, and distributed it to every relative I could think of on that side.  The response was overwhelming, and I discovered an obscure relative who had done her own family research and who has asked me to write a book on her branch of the family.  I am confident that some of the books will be passed to future generations, so if a descendant wants to do research they will have a strong starting point.
An old friend of ours has done this for his line and his wife's.  I'm not sure how widely it has been distributed, and his children both live in Oz, so there is 'posterity' to carry it forward.  But having read it I was mostly impressed by the work that had gone into it, not the content.  For me it has to be connected to the wider world and local contexts for me to find it interesting.  Of course if the ancestors have left big footprints that is different.  Mine haven't as far as I know.

Andrew, I agree entirely.  My ancestors were all working-class types, so the only bits of information I had about many of them were dates of births and deaths.  I filled in a lot of gaps with historical context (the Irish potato famine and subsequent waves of emigration, etc.) but I also used quite a bit of creative license.

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Family History Programs, Tree Organisation, Presentation / Re: How can future generations access your family history research?
« on: Thursday 28 April 22 08:31 BST (UK)  »
Thanks Guy.  I actually write family histories, and have been pleasantly surprised with how costs of self-publishing have fallen in recent years.  I can now print 50 paperback copies of a 180-page self-published book for under AUD500.  Of course, your point about postage costs is relevant for those with relatives spread all over the world.

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The Common Room / Re: What Will Happen When I Become a Death Certificate
« on: Thursday 28 April 22 06:10 BST (UK)  »
I agree with Chiddicks - write your story anyway!

I wrote a book on my mother's family history, had it printed, and distributed it to every relative I could think of on that side.  The response was overwhelming, and I discovered an obscure relative who had done her own family research and who has asked me to write a book on her branch of the family.  I am confident that some of the books will be passed to future generations, so if a descendant wants to do research they will have a strong starting point.

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Family History Programs, Tree Organisation, Presentation / Re: How can future generations access your family history research?
« on: Thursday 28 April 22 04:04 BST (UK)  »
Thanks for this interesting question.  I'm on the side of those who believe that hard copy books are the best way of preserving family histories.

I wrote a book on my mother's family history and privately published 50 copies.  I sent these to every relative I could think of who might be interested, so copies are scattered throughout members of the family tree.  I would like to think that these will be passed down to future generations.

One other option to consider is that for a few hundred dollars extra I could have had the book included in the Amazon catalogue where it would in theory remain available for purchase indefinitely.

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Family History Programs, Tree Organisation, Presentation / Re: Writing my History
« on: Wednesday 27 April 22 07:29 BST (UK)  »
Sharon, I wrote a book on my family history by focusing on just one grandparent and tracing their ancestry.  I also included details of historical events like the Irish potato famine, Melbourne 1880's property boom etc. to give context.  Finally, I didn't hesitate to use creative license when facts were scarce, just to keep the narrative flowing.

I suggest that trying to write the histories for all four of your grandparents in one book will be a real challenge.  I have written another family history where I traced the family lines of a husband and wife, and it was really difficult to find common threads to link up the stories. 

In any case, best of luck with your project.

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