(Kimberly Powell is a professional genealogist, web developer, genealogy blogger and proud mother of three children. Click here for more information about Kimberly)
Yes, the research is the fun part. Writing a family history book just seems too daunting to be fun. But when the relatives start nagging, try the following 10 easy steps for making your family history book a reality.
Choose a Format for Your Family History
What do you envision for your family history project? A simple photocopied booklet shared only with family members or a full-scale, hard-bound book to serve as a reference for other genealogists? Or, perhaps, a family newsletter, cookbook or Web site is more realistic, given your time restraints and other obligations. Now is the time to be honest with yourself about the type of family history which meets your interests and your schedule. Otherwise, you'll have a half-finished product nagging you for years to come. Considering your interests, potential audience and the types of materials you have to work with, here are some forms your family history can take:
- Memoir/Narrative: A combination of story and personal experience, memoirs and narratives do not need to be all-inclusive or objective. Memoirs usually focus on a specific episode or time period in the life of a single ancestor, while a narrative generally encompasses a group of ancestors.
- Cookbook: Share your family's favorite recipes while writing about the people who created them. A fun project, family history cookbooks help carry on the family traditions of cooking and eating together.
- Scrapbook or Album: If you're fortunate enough to have a large collection of family photos and memorabilia, a scrapbook or photo album can be a fun way to tell your family's story. Include your photos in chronological order and include stories, descriptions and family trees to complement the pictures.
Most family histories are generally narrative in nature, with a combination of personal story, photos and family trees. So, don't be afraid to get creative!
Define the Scope of Your Family History
Do you intend to write mostly about just one particular relative, or everyone hanging from your family tree? As the author, you next need to choose a focus for your family history book. Some possibilities include:
- Single Line of Descent - Begins with the earliest known ancestor for a particular surname and follows him/her through a single line of descent (to yourself, for example). Each chapter of your book would cover one ancestor or generation.
- All Descendants Of... - Begins with an individual or couple and covers all of their descendants, with chapters organized by generation. If you're focusing your family history on an immigrant ancestor, this is a good way to go.
- The Grandparents - Includes a section on each of your four grandparents, or eight great-grandparents, or sixteen great, great grandparents if you are very ambitious. Each individual section focuses on one grandparent, and works backwards through their ancestry or forward from his/her earliest known ancestor.
Again, these suggestions can easily be adapted to fit your interests, time and creativity. For example, you may choose to write a family history covering all people of a particular surname in a particular region, even if they aren't all necessarily related to one another!
Set Deadlines You Can Live With
Even though you'll likely find yourself scrambling to meet them, deadlines force you to complete each stage of your project. The goal here is to get each piece done within a specified time frame. Revising and polishing can always be done later. The best way to meet these deadlines is to schedule writing time, just as you would a visit to the doctor or hairdresser.
Choose a Plot & Themes
Thinking of your ancestors as characters in your family history story, what problems and obstacles did your ancestors face? A plot gives your family history interest and focus. Popular family history plots and themes include:
- Immigration/Migration
- Rags to Riches
- Pioneer or Farm Life
- Rising Out of Slavery
- War Survival
Do Your Background Research
If you want your family history to read more like a suspense novel than a dull, dry textbook, then it is important to make the reader feel like an eyewitness to your family's life. Even when your ancestor didn't leave an account of his or her daily life, social histories can help you learn about the experiences of people in a given time and place. Read town and city histories to learn what life was like during your time period of interest. Research timelines of wars, natural disasters and epidemics to see if any might have influenced your ancestor. Investigate your ancestor's occupation to gain greater understanding into his daily activities. Read up on the fashions, art, transportation and common foods of the time period and location. If you haven't already, be sure to interview all of your living relatives. Family stories told in a relative's own words will add a personal touch to your book.
Organize Your Research Create a timeline for each ancestor that you plan to write about. This will help you arrange the outline for your book, as well as spot any gaps in your research. Sort through the records and photos for each ancestor and identify the ones you'd like to include, making note of each on the timeline. Then use these timelines to help develop an outline for your narrative. You may choose to order your material in many different ways: chronologically, geographically, by character, or by theme.
Choose a Starting Point
What is the most interesting part of your family's story? Did your ancestors escape a life of poverty and persecution for a better one in a new country? Was there an interesting invention or occupation? A war time hero? Pick out an interesting fact, record or story about your ancestors and open your narrative with it. Just like the fiction books you read for pleasure, a family history book doesn't need to begin at the beginning. An interesting story will grab the reader's attention, with the hope of drawing them in past the first page. You can later use flashback to fill in the reader on the events which lead up to your opening story.
Don't be Afraid to Use Records and Documents
Diary entries, will excerpts, military accounts, obituaries and other records offer compelling, first-hand accounts of your family's history - and you don't even have to do the writing! Anything written directly by your ancestor is definitely worth including, but you may also find interesting accounts that mention your ancestor in the records of neighbours and other family members. Include short excerpts within the text of your writing, with source citations to point readers to the original record. Photos, pedigree charts, maps and other illustrations can also add interest to a family history and help break up the writing into manageable chunks for the reader. Be sure to include detailed captions for any photos or illustrations that you incorporate.
Make it Personal
Anyone who reads your family history will likely be interested in the facts, but what they'll most enjoy and remember are the everyday details - favourite stories and anecdotes, embarrassing moments and family traditions. Sometimes it can be interesting to include varying accounts of the same event. Personal stories offer a great way to introduce new characters and chapters, and keep your reader interested. If your ancestors left no personal accounts, you can still tell their story as if they had, using what you've learned about them from your research.
Include an Index and Source Citations
Unless your family history is only a few pages in length, an index is a really important feature. This makes it much easier for the casual reader to find the portions of your book that detail the people in which they are interested. At the very least, try to include a surname index. A place index is also useful if your ancestors moved around a lot. Source citations are an essential part of any family book, to both provide credibility to your research, and to leave a trail that others can follow to verify your findings.