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I've reached a point in my family history research where I have reams of data on both sides. All of my information has been neatly stored and documented in software (Family Tree) with additional computer files holding documents, scans of photos, and other information that I also have hard copies of. I have also printed out family trees for the family that show key dates and lineage.
But, my daughter recently pointed out that she would have no idea how to access that software or those computer files or how to use them should something happen to me. She is worried that a lot of the stories I've gathered over the years will get lost or not be accessible. So, she and my son have asked me to put together some sort of printed book (or even a notebook) that they could more easily read and reference and pass down to their children and grandchildren at some point.
Has anyone tackled a project like this? It seems very overwhelming. Where did you even begin with putting something together that other family members (i.e., those who are not genealogy nuts!) can appreciate and understand? What form did it take?
Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions on how to get started and tackle this project. (And, yes, this is probably something I should have thought about a long time ago, so for anyone who is new to genealogy, plan ahead!)
I would print out a bunch of charts and reports. I would probably print off a pedigree as a basic reference chart, then maybe do either a descendant report for each most distant ancestor, or a family group sheet for each ancestor.
Also, FTM has a "smart story" option you might find useful.
My grandmother had done a lot of genealogy work long before I got into it after she died. She had left a bunch of handwritten descendant reports, which were very useful.
RosieSD - that's what I'm doing now ... creating "books" because you're right, no one will know how, or think about, or even find useful a database and bunch of different computer folders with scans.
PA2UK gives good suggestions about print outs. You can put them all in a 3-ring binder (buy a ream or two of pre-punched paper - saves tons of time :-) You can keep it simple or get some dividers and label sections.
OR you can be more ambitious and write a book (in MSWord), which is the form I chose. I've taken it a bit to the extreme by including histories of times and places, but that's totally not necessary.
Currently I'm doing my father-in-law's family. He's Generation One, and I have four sections in his book: his father's paternal and maternal lineage, and his mother's paternal and maternal lineage. In each section I start with the first-known ancestor, Generation Whatever-Number-Applies (like Ten or Five or whathaveyou), and include whatever dates, stories, documents, and list the spouse(s) and children with any dates, stories, documents. I highlight the child who is the direct ancestor, and then that child starts off the next chapter "Generation (whatever)". I continue with this format and keep working my way forward in time to my father-in-law Generation One.
I'm a writer, so I'm comfortable doing it this way, and I have the time to write. But I could also accomplish the same by printing out family data sheets and using my software's version of FTM's smart story option.
My first book for my mother-in-law was simply placed in a 3-ring binder. I made a couple of copies for family members. That worked really well. My father-in-law's may get printed and spiral-bound - I haven't decided yet. But I may keep it in two 3-ring binders as Volume 1 (paternal lines) and Volume 2 (maternal lines). However, I'll need to make a few more copies of his. I'm also working on my father's and that, too, may get spiral-bound or just stay in 3-ring notebooks. This latter will need 11 copies, so I'm thinking that having it printed and bound will be a better idea.
Putting your data and stories and documents in any sort of print format is a great idea.
Thanks so much PA2UK and mawipafl. You've both given me some good starting points. I like the idea of putting the stories into writing, in addition to printing the basic data, as that may make it more interesting and accessible to future generations. Putting everything in notebooks is a good organizational strategy -- it's amazing how many loose bits can start floating around, despite my best efforts to stay organized.
I also really appreciate the idea of working on things generationally by one branch at a time. That seems less overwhelming to me.
I guess I just have to get started and see where it leads. I know it is important to put this into a form that doesn't involve my brain as storage.
One thing my father's and father-in-law's books-in-progress contains in many places are the words "Under Construction". I have gaps in information, and I bamboozled and stagnated myself by not temporarily skipping over these gaps. This meant I wasn't getting the projects into print. But I finally realized that if I came to a gap I could put "Under Construction" there with a brief explanation and keep going.
Just recently I finished a rough draft of my father-in-law's paternal grandfather's lineage, and it feels great. Yes, it still has a bunch of "Under Construction"s in it, but it's really neat to see that family line in print form, and it honestly didn't take that long to accomplish once I realized that perfection was not mandatory!
One thing my father's and father-in-law's books-in-progress contains in many places are the words "Under Construction". I have gaps in information, and I bamboozled and stagnated myself by not temporarily skipping over these gaps. This meant I wasn't getting the projects into print. But I finally realized that if I came to a gap I could put "Under Construction" there with a brief explanation and keep going.
Just recently I finished a rough draft of my father-in-law's paternal grandfather's lineage, and it feels great. Yes, it still has a bunch of "Under Construction"s in it, but it's really neat to see that family line in print form, and it honestly didn't take that long to accomplish once I realized that perfection was not mandatory!
Hee hee. "Under construction." I like that.
But, seriously, I also think it's a useful tip. Like you say, I know that part of why I've been putting off this project are all those maddening gaps or places where I know I have to go back and do more work to tie things up. Your tip for "under construction" will give me a way to take breaks when I hit those road blocks. I can also see that this process will help me see what still needs to be done in a clearer way; it's too easy to skim by those areas in FTM. This will force me to be more honest with myself.
OK, you've convinced me. I'm off to Staples this morning to buy four fat notebooks -- one for each of my husband's and my parents. Tabs and plastic sleeves too. And, maybe some ruled notebook paper for those "under construction" notes. I think I will start with my parents lines, since they are more straightforward and not as lengthy. Working on one line a time and breaking things down into chunks helps this seem do-able. We'll see!
But, seriously, I also think it's a useful tip. Like you say, I know that part of why I've been putting off this project are all those maddening gaps or places where I know I have to go back and do more work to tie things up. Your tip for "under construction" will give me a way to take breaks when I hit those road blocks. I can also see that this process will help me see what still needs to be done in a clearer way; it's too easy to skim by those areas in FTM. This will force me to be more honest with myself.
OK, you've convinced me. I'm off to Staples this morning to buy four fat notebooks -- one for each of my husband's and my parents. Tabs and plastic sleeves too. And, maybe some ruled notebook paper for those "under construction" notes. I think I will start with my parents lines, since they are more straightforward and not as lengthy. Working on one line a time and breaking things down into chunks helps this seem do-able. We'll see!
Have a ton of fun with this!! Yes, 3-ring binders, pre-punched printer paper, and other sorts of supplies are great tools. AND knowing that imperfect gaps are a-ok.
I have 3-ring binders for each branch of my family. I started out with a binder for "Dad's side" and a binder for "Mom's side." But as the documents grew and grew, and had to increase the number of binders. So now I have 4 main binders, one for each grandparent's branch, plus a binder for both of my step-grandfather's branches (I believe I got "emotional DNA" from them and their lines even though I got no actual DNA from them). Then I have a 6th binder with resources (local maps of townships in the 1700s and 1800s, articles on local businesses, houses, churches or buildings that mention anyone in my family line, some info on military campaigns an ancestor may have participated in, and some "to be confirmed" things that I'm not 100% willing to accept as fact yet and put into my trees.
I did all this while also having a tree on Ancestry. I'm a bit of a "prepper" and I believe in having hard copies of things I would never want to lose if there should ever be a power grid failure, or some kind of damage to internet data on highly-used websites.
I draw trees for the various branches (I still find it easier and clearer to draw them by hand than to use some tree template that might not look great when printed.) I type up "stories" as related by my grandparents, and "stories" of how I found certain pieces of information, in case anyone in the future wants to retrace my steps. I print out copies of documents I find online, like death certificates, marriage records, census records. I also file in the binder copies of documents I've found in real life, or paid for. I also print out e-mail exchanges I've had with relatives I've found online that include info on shared ancestors. I have zipper-sleeves in the binders to hold old photos of ancestors and original documents I don't want to punch holes in, like my grandparents' marriage license, my grandmother's divorce decree.
So if I should get run over by a bus tomorrow, my family will still have the family history info even if they never find my Ancestry login info or don't keep my account active.
Currently I'm doing my father-in-law's family. He's Generation One, and I have four sections in his book: his father's paternal and maternal lineage, and his mother's paternal and maternal lineage. In each section I start with the first-known ancestor, Generation Whatever-Number-Applies (like Ten or Five or whathaveyou), and include whatever dates, stories, documents, and list the spouse(s) and children with any dates, stories, documents. I highlight the child who is the direct ancestor, and then that child starts off the next chapter "Generation (whatever)". I continue with this format and keep working my way forward in time to my father-in-law Generation One.
I'm currently creating an outline for a family history book in Scrivener.
My outline starts out exactly the way you describe except that my mini biographies are of couples. However, I'm struggling with how to handle the numerous female lines on both the paternal and maternal sides as their lines end as their surnames disappear due to marriage.
I have tentatively decided to have a chapter in the book for every surname in my numerous direct lines dating back in some cases to the 1500s and 1600s. A chapter ends with the marriage of a female child and a note advises the reader of the chapter no. (different surname) to read next to follow her descendants down the generations to present day. Of course each time a generation is female the reader will have to switch to another chapter with a different surname. That could mean a lot of flipping back and forth in the the book.
I am concerned that this might be too confusing for a reader but don't know of any other way to set up the book.
Rosie, when I set up binders, I easily created a unique identifier for everyone in my family tree and jotted down the identifier on many of the printouts so that I could easily return them to their proper place.
For example:
Smith 3.0 meant direct ancestor, third generation Smith line
Smith 3.1 meant a sibling of 3.0
Smith 3.2 meant another sibling
Smith 2.0 was direct ancestor and father of 3.0, 3.1, 3.2
Smith 4.0 was direct ancestor and son of 3.0
Smith 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 were the children of 3.1
These identifiers acted sort of like page numbers in the Smith part of the binder. The first page of the section was a table of contents listing the names associated with each identifier.
I liked the numbering system as it was easy to add new people. For example, a child of 3.1.1 would be 3.1.1.1
If I just wanted to focus with my direct line, I could regroup the pages so that 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, were together.
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