Bring
Your Ancestors to Life
~
~ Where to Find the history and the Details ~ ~
Collecting names and
dates in your genealogy research is a primary goal, but what happens when
you’ve built a good family tree? Does your research stop there? Do you want to
know more? How do you share what you’ve
found with other interested family members and make it interesting?
Searching for More. . .
Continuing your research
to find the details of your ancestors’ lives will bring them alive to other
family members. It might also provide answers to nagging questions that have
developed in your mind and it might aid in your research to go back even
further on your family tree.
Begin with the Records you already
have. . .
The details of your past
family members’ lives are everywhere. It starts with the records you’ve already
accumulated in your family tree thus far. Comb through the following records to
pick up any and all of the small details. Look at the ‘actual image’ not just
the transcribed portion of each record. You will glean a lot more information
from the actual image.
Census
Records – Different information is available
based on the census records accumulated for your ancestors. The most
information can be found beginning with the 1850 census moving forward. But,
don’t count out the older census records. You can find some small details in
them, as well. Look through each census record you have for the details that
are available, such as:
* Address of their residence (this will
allow you to track their movements every 10 years. Utilize state census
records, if available, to fill in the gap every 5 years in between.
· * Did they rent or own?
· *What was the value of their property?
· * What were their occupations?
· *Who lived with them? Did parents move in
with their adult children in their later years? Did they live next door or near
each other or other siblings? Did nieces, nephews or a sister-in-law live with
them?
· * What was their level of education?
· * Could they read or write?
· * What state or country were they (and their
parents) born in?
· * Were they slave owners?
· * What was their religion?
Land
Deeds and Tax Records – provide property descriptions and
the amount of land owned. See if you can find the location of the property on a
map. Sometimes old plot records are available that might list your ancestor’s
name on their property. Locate a copy of a homestead land grant for your
ancestor, if applicable.
Baptismal
Records – will provide the name of the church
where a person was baptized, as well as the names of godparents.
Marriage
Records – might also provide the name of a
church, the attending minister, and the sponsors. Marriage Banns and/or Bonds
will indicate the sum of money put in trust for the future marriage. Marriage
records for a couple’s children will provide you with the names of who each
child married.
Death
Records – contain many clues:
·
Date, cause and place of death
·
Name of person providing the information
·
Place of burial (which might lead you to
know their religion). If the cemetery belongs to a church you will want to
research the history of that church. Church histories can be found by Googling
the name of the church. You may find that your ancestor was very active or was
a founding family.
Military Records
– help trace the men (and possibly women) who registered and the branch of the
military for those who served.
Other
information includes: the regiment he
served in and who he served under. Research to see if he fought in any well-known battlefront
skirmishes, and where he was located (town(s) and/or countries) throughout his
service. How long was he involved in military service? Was he killed in battle,
deserted or honorably discharged? How much was he paid? Did he receive a bounty
land warrant in exchange for his service? Did his widow received a pension
later in life?
Wills
– What did you ancestor bequeath in his will and to whom?
Passenger Ship Records
– Include the details of your ancestors’ trips to the new world. The name of
the ship, the port of departure & entry, and the date of arrival. Did one
come alone or with family? Search for the history of the ship and perhaps a
photo to include in your story.
Search for New Records. . .
Town
& Country Histories – Simply Googling the history of a
town or locating an ebook will provide you with plenty of material to include a
brief history of the town where your ancestor lived, whether they were a
pioneer family or not. If they were a pioneer family you might get lucky and
find some additional information, as well as photos.
If they weren’t a pioneer
family do some research on what was life like in your ancestors’town during the
time period they lived there. Not only will you find the history but you will
also find images you can use to add a visual understanding to your family’s
story.
Why did your ancestor leave his/her
home country?
Why did they choose their city and
state of destination in the U.S.?
Did you ever wonder why
your ancestor emigrated from Switzerland or France in the 16th or 17th
century? If you know where your ancestor came from you can do an Internet
search to discover the history of why people were leaving that particular area
during that time period. This search can be done for whatever time period your
ancestor emigrated from their home country.
The same goes for the
area where they immigrated to in the U.S. or Canada. Why did they immigrate to
Pennsylvania or to upstate New York? Your
ancestors immigrated for specific reasons and to specific areas for a reason. Discovering
this history will enhance your understanding of your ancestors and their lives
in the old and new world.
Why did your Ancestors’ migrate
southward or westward?
Did your ancestors
migrate in the U.S. from north to south or east to west? If so, include a brief
history and/or some information about each town and state they lived in.
Research why people were
moving to a specific state during the time period your ancestor moved there.
What was happening in that state? What were the new opportunities afforded to people
to move there? Were they escaping from something happening in their previous
state?
Include
Maps – Maps are a great visual aid. Use maps to:
·
Show their homesteaded land
·
Track your ancestor’s migratory path
·
To show the proximity of the town and/or
county where your ancestor lived in a particular state.
·
To show the distance between two cities in
which your family might have moved from.
Newspaper
Clippings – are rich with details about your
ancestors’ daily life. You might think these bits and pieces of information
such as - relatives who were visiting, someone who was hospitalized, etc. are
mundane but they along with other information help paint the picture of your
ancestors’ life.
There are many
interesting bits of information that can be gleaned from newspapers clippings
such as – details of accidents that resulted in deaths, homes destroyed by
fire, local clubs or groups your ancestors’ were involved in, church
involvement, land purchases and sales, marriage announcements, perhaps even
photos of your ancestors. The variety of information could be limit less.
Don’t Forget the Information you
Already Have. . .
·
Photos
·
Family letters and memorabilia
·
Stories from other relatives
·
Family recipes
Create the Stories of your Ancestors.
. .
Now that you’ve gathered
all the details how will you put it all together for others to read about it?
Decide who and what you want to write about:
· Do you want to write about generation
after generation OR do you want to pick out a few select ancestors and write
about them?
·
Do you want to focus on one particular
family line or do an overview of all the family lines together?
·
Do you want to focus on one person in your
line?
Organize the information
that you have by category. Then give it some thought as to how you want to
proceed and what kind of story you want to write. Once you decide, create an
outline to keep you focused and on task.
Choose a format in which
to write about your family history: Here are a few ideas to choose from:
·
Book or Notebook Form
·
Blog (private or public)
·
Scrapbook
·
Recipe Book
·
Facebook Group (private or public)
Resources:
How to Write a Family History:
How
to Create a Family History Blog:
Family
History Blogs to Draw Ideas from:
2 – Family Gen
5 – Kindred Roots
