Tag Archives: family history

A Review of Genealogyarchives.com

Genealogyarchives.com is another site available to help you with your genealogy. This site has compiled several different collections to make information easier to find. Many of the records go up to the date 2005 which will make searching for immediate family’s dates much easier. This site is a membership based site, but it does have a seven day free trial that you can use to test it out. The membership is only $39.95 per year, which is a reasonable rate. The site also works uniquely, you can type in your information, and it will work to build your own family … Continue reading →

Genealogy and Family Heirlooms

In addition to passing on the stories and genealogy of a family, it is often common to pass on family heirlooms. Although these items may or may not be of great monetary value, the real value is passing on the story and tradition that comes with the object. It is important to work to preserve both the heirloom and the stories surrounding it. One great way to display heirlooms is to create a shadow box for it. For example if you have an old tea cup from a china set or an old lace handkerchief, both of these items could … Continue reading →

Creating a Family History Video

A Family history video is a great way to share your family history with others. This is a unique thing to do, but it can be even more meaningful to your family. It also gives you the opportunity to see what people looked like, and what they sounded like. This may not work as well for family that you do not have any footage of, but you can still do it. Ken Burns managed to put together great documentaries on people who were no longer alive. First you should examine all of the information that you have available to you. … Continue reading →

Writing a Personal History: The Actual Writing

Once you have a timeline and you have created a basic outline to begin your writing process. It is a good idea to look for themes that can be carried through specific parts of your subject’s life. The themes can bring the stories to life. Additionally you can watch the character development this way. It would be a good idea before you begin writing to decide which events you are going to include and the ones that you are not going to include. This will make writing much easier, because once you are in the flow of writing, you will … Continue reading →

Writing Personal Histories: Creating a Timeline

Once you have completed the interview it is important to sort through the material and decide how you are going to include it in a personal history. Rarely as you interview do you end up hitting all the events chronologically. One way to help you sort through and decide what to write about and the order is to create a time line. Once you have done this you can also include the timeline in the personal history. It can be a great reference point for any personal history. First you will need to draw a basic line that spans the … Continue reading →

Planning a Family Reunion: Including the Whole Family

Often reunions that focus on older lines of the family or extended family reunions usually attract the interest of older family members. Children, teenagers and those who have younger children may have a difficult time attending or show little interest in learning about the family lines. While not all events may be appropriate for people this age, it is still important that they learn about their family heritage and history. Here are four activities that you can do to include the younger generations in your family reunion. First you can have a packet of information, crossword puzzles and word searches … Continue reading →

A Review of FamilySearch.org

FamilySearch.org is a free genealogy search website for anyone to use. It has several different features available on it. This site is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but does not contain any religious information on it. You can do a basic search without registering on the front page. The site has information from seventy different countries. It has old parish reports as well as census information available for you to use. The information can be used and submitted for storage and back up on their site. If you choose to store your information in the … Continue reading →

A Review of Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com is one of the leading genealogical sites on the Internet. It is a subscription based site, but it also has a few free options for people to use as well. The site is compatible with GEDCOM files, as well as several other types of genealogy software. One of the most appealing features of this site is that it allows you to give access to other family members. You can create your family tree online, upload photos, audio files and stories about your family history to the site. Then your family can contribute and view the site as well. This … Continue reading →

Writing a Family History

Writing a family history can be an extensive process. In fact it can be overwhelming to think about writing the history of the entire family. You can start by writing your own family’s history. You can do this for your parents and brothers and sisters and then begin to work backward. One of the best things to do is to gather the memories of everyone who is still alive in the family. If you are working on completing the history of a previous family you may want to ask family members who knew or remember to share the stories of … Continue reading →

Mining the Family Bible

One great resource for doing your family history is to find and use a family bible. Many families used to record the births, marriages and deaths of family members in the bible. These may be some of the only records that you can for generations back. They may also give you a clue as to who to look for and when. When you find a family Bible it is important to handle it with care. Often the Bibles are quite old and fragile. You should be sure to keep the Bible in a place where it will not be damaged … Continue reading →