Ancestry Magazine

Overwhelmed with the challenge of writing your family history? Never fear! It can be done in ten easy steps.

My father spent much of his early life in an orphanage. His mother died when he was six years old, and his father felt unable to care for his two sons during the Depression. Growing up without either parent, my father knew little of his background; consequently, he had little to pass on to his children. When my father retired and began investi gating his family history, he found two extensive family histories, one representing his father’s ancestors, the other his mother’s. While perhaps not without some error, both of these have been helpful in identifying ancestors, locations, and sources to help my father and me in our research endeavors.

Growing up, I had heard rumors that my family was related to the founders of the nearby town of Holladay, Utah, but we knew nothing beyond that. I have since learned that John Daniel Holladay, my great-great-great-great-grandfather, settled the area in 1847. In the 1830s he owned a large plantation in Alabama and many slaves. According to people who knew him, “he was a good man to the poor people and was very good to his slaves when he was sober.” Then he found religion, sold the plantation, freed the slaves, and came west—just in time to miss the Civil War, a fortuitous choice as it turns out. By 1851, his family had left Utah and settled in California, where John Daniel was also one of the early founders of the settlement of San Bernardino, a surprisingly diverse ethnic melting pot of Southerners and their former slaves, as well as Polynesians, Jews, Mexicans, and Indians.

Many aspects of John Daniel’s life can be verified; others, my father and I have yet to document from original sources. While the author of the book about the Holladay family was a university professor and presumably a careful researcher, he wrote this book twenty years ago; new information may have been discovered to dispute some of his claims. At any rate, it’s never wise to accept everything in print without substantiating it, and if you’re going to pass it along to others, you’ll want to make sure it’s correct first.

For my father, learning about his ancestors has, in a sense, given him the family roots he didn’t have growing up. For me, learning about my father’s family has helped me understand and better appreciate the choices made by my ancestors, choices that gave me t he life I have now, with all its opportunities and privileges. Without the efforts of people who wrote these two books and others, my father’s efforts to learn of his family could have been doomed to failure.

The opportunity to share the knowledge you have about your ancestors with other family members is a vital reason for writing a family history. When you feel ready to begin writing your family history, jot down a list of ancestors whose lives you feel are particularly worth recording, or begin with a list of stories you’d like to pass on. You might even write some brief biographical sketches or the family stories you grew up hearing. Using your pedigree chart as your outline, create a timeline to show the events of their lives or trace your ancestors’ migrations on a map.

You don’t have to have a Ph.D. to write your family history. The desire to put the story of your family in print is a good beginning place, coupled with a willingness to speak to as many living relatives as you can. Two more essential qualities of a serious family historian are the fortitude to sort through all the available records on your family, and a determination to weed out any claims that cannot be traced to an original source and cross referenced to other sources.

Deciding the Type of History to Write
A family history can take several shapes. It can be a chronological timeline of your ancestors’ movements since their arrival in a new country, or a simple collection of pedigree charts and family group sheets with brief biographical sketches of as many individuals as you have done research on. It could even be a compilation of family stories (although documentation is still important). Below are some forms your family history could take.

Pedigree charts. While this option relays information, it isn’t a lot of fun to read. You can begin with yourself and work backward, or begin with a specific ancestor and work toward the pres ent day, using pedigree charts, family group sheets, or other forms. The various software programs offer lots of choices.

Memoir/narrative
A combination of story and personal experience can be very effective. One benefit of this form for the writer is that neither memoir nor narrative needs to be all-inclusive or objective. Also, many people find these forms the most enjoyable to read and to write.

Pictorial history.
A collection of photos where people and events are identified is another fun way to tell your family’s story. Place your photos in chronological order and add biographical sketches and descriptions of events to complement the pictures. You can also include images that reflect the family’s life such as schools, homes, tombstones, churches, farms, businesses, etc. (This could be made into an electronic file or video to share with the family.)

Family profiles. Even without pictures, a collection of remembered stories about family members and ancestors is a valuable gift to your family. (For variety, set these profiles in newspaper or magazine style.)

Letters and diaries. You don’t need to write everything yourself. Include the voices of your ancestors wherever possible through their letters and diaries. Depending on your end goal, a compilation of letters and diaries may be all you want to do.

Official documents and maps. Collect copies of documents such as wills, land grants, military records, court records, educational transcripts, copies or extracts from letters, or journals. Maps can be incorporated chronologically or they can be placed in their own section as appendixes.

Cookbook family history. Compile family recipes and intersperse them with family stories. This is especially effective when cooking and eating together are popular family traditions.

A combination of personal story, photos, and family trees. Most family histories fall into this category. T he stories and photos combine to create an informative and enjoyable family history; the family trees provide information at a glance.

As you plan your approach to writing your family history, it may help to start gathering your research together—pedigree charts, photos, documents, transcripts of oral interviews, and so on. You’ll be in a better position to decide what you want the final product to look like if you’ve realistically considered what you have and what you still need. When you are ready to begin, these ten simple steps will take you through the entire writing process.

1. Begin by doing a little background study on any available family histories.
Go to your local library or historical society and see what family histories have been done and what form best fits your personality, writing style, and lifestyle. You will also want to investigate what’s already been published on your family. No doubt you’ll want to include some information that has been previously published, but keep in mind that your history should offer something new.

2. Recruit a family member to help you.
Is there someone else in your family who is interested in the family genealogy? Not only will a good partner cut your work load in half, but you can also keep each other motivated and on schedule. Or perhaps one of your friends is working on a family history. While you can’t share the work, you can compare notes on successes and challenges. Remember: Your goal isn’t the Pulitzer. You simply want a finished book that your family can read and enjoy and learn from. Make a commitment with your partner to meet on a weekly basis and discuss what you have done.

3. Give yourself deadlines to meet.
A deadline forces you to complete each stage of your project. Even if you have to scramble to meet a deadline and you don’t feel your work is adequately polished, you can always go back to it and revise. You can also extend your deadlines when you need another day or so to finish a particular section. But don’t do this too often or your deadlines will become meaningless.

4. Set boundaries on what to include.
What information do you include, and what do you leave out? Do you include that funny but possibly untrue story about Uncle George? How do you know when you’re done? Early on in the process, you’ll want to decide where to begin and what to include. It’s better to limit yourself to fewer ancestors than try to take on the whole history of your family and do a poor job of it. You might begin with an immigrant ancestor or limit your family histories to one geographic region or surname.

5. Get organized.
Establish a system to organize your material (e.g., folders, three-ring binders, etc.). Will each family get its own binder or folder? Or will you organize your work according to different geographic locations, records, etc.? If you plan to use letters, diaries, photos, and other family histories, gather them together as well. Use your timelines (see #6 below) to plan what visuals you want to include in your family history, such as photos, maps, pedigrees, even the timeline itself.

6. Follow a timeline.
Make a timeline for each ancestor you plan to include. This will provide an outline for your writing. Use dates and locations as a framework, then fill in additional events in your ancestor’s life. Include world or regional events like the Great Depression, World War II, or the invention of the automobile, if any of these had an impact on your ancestor’s life.

7. Fill in the blanks.
At some point you will need to switch your focus from gathering information to writing it down. Although extra information that you want to include may appear, if you keep gathering details to flesh out your story, you will never get to the writing. (This is where deadlines and writing buddies can help.)

If you’re missing some information, it’s okay to leave a blank and keep searching f or an answer. If you suspect something about your ancestor to be true and pertinent, give your reasons for believing it. If you don’t know where else to look, acknowledge the fact and keep going. One of my ancestors left no known written record and we know very little about her life as an immigrant settler in the New World. However, she and her husband traveled from place to place with her husband’s siblings, who did leave written records, so I have some idea of what her life was like.

8. Keep your source list updated as you move forward; don’t put off doing it until the end.
It is much easier to document as you go than to try to find your sources when your family history is completed. Make sure that your information can be documented completely, or in cases where you are relating an undocumented family story for interest, be sure to acknowledge this. Remember: family history without documentation is merely mythology.

9. Prepare a detailed index.
Indexes may not be popular with writers, but they are a researcher’s best friend. Since you are writing your history to benefit others, give them an excellent index to rely on to find the information they are looking for. Generally speaking, an index will contain most if not all proper nouns (people, places, and things with names) and some common nouns as well. Remember to include the married and maiden names of the female family members discussed in the history.

10. Ask family members to review copies and offer comments and corrections.
Before taking your completed family history straight to the press so you can have it in time for your family reunion, stop! Once it is in print, you’ll have to sell out that first printing before you can make corrections and do a second printing. Now is the time to have several copies made (a simple spiral binding will keep the sheets together) and have others read it. They may have conflicting information or additional perspectives to add to your family ’s story. A good proofreader will also catch those little typos that always manage to sneak in.

How fortunate it was for my father that when he was ready to start looking for his ancestors, he found the family histories that others had so carefully researched and written. Not only did my father learn about his father’s ancestors, he also learned about his mother’s family in another family history. This was especially meaningful since he had had no contact with his mother’s family since her death when he was six years old.

Writing your family history is a gift like no other. It won’t get broken, thrown away, or replaced by a more expensive toy. It actually increases in value over the years rather than depreciates. It is one that can be enjoyed by many people simultaneously. And if it isn’t used or appreciated right away, it will still be there when the recipient is ready for it. After all, it took my father fifty years before he was ready to learn more about the family he had enjoyed for barely six years. Take the time to prepare your family history. It is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

More Details for Your Family History
Describe the neighborhoods in which your ancestors lived. Collect or borrow any existing photos of the houses in which they lived; take photos of buildings that still exist.

Describe modes of transportation through the years. Include photos of horse and buggy, oxen teams, sleighs, streetcars, and old cars.

Describe sewing machines, milk separators, old typewriters, hand sickles, pitch forks, scrub boards, telegraph keys, telephone switchboards, lanterns, wooden buckets, player pianos, and stereoscopes. Tell the role they played in your ancestors’ lives.

Describe your ancestors’ religious practices. What songs did they sing? An old hymnal or prayer book may give some insight into their beliefs and traditions. Not only did religion often play a major role in the lives of our ancestors, it was also at times the motivating force behind the choice to emigrate. Certainly it was the reason for many helpful records you find.

Use old newspaper ads to give prices for foodstuffs and household items. Deeds, wills, and court cases also provide records to show the cost of certain items.

Include copies of obituaries from area newspapers as well as birth and death announcements.

Describe your ancestors’ possessions. You may have inherited family writings or wills that mention possessions they valued: quilts, lamps, rocking chairs, grandfather clocks, jewelry, toys, books, and so on.

Include family stories and lore. Even if it can’t be documented, a story that has circulated in the family may be included with an acknowledgment that it is part of the family lore and cannot be verified.

Learn about the creative abilities that run in your family. Look for singers, artists, teachers, writers, seamstresses and tailors in your family so family members can appreciate this particular gift of their heritage.

Research the kind of work your ancestor did and describe it. Factory work? Dairy farming? Merchant? Traveling salesman? Determine if the companies for which your ancestors worked have had histories written about them.

Valerie Holladay, a contributing editor of Ancestry Magazine, began writing stories about her family fifteen years ago after taking a family history writing course during graduate school.