Pick an ancestor or family and start work on a narrative. Don’t worry about grammar and syntax, just start with the facts–vital dates and places, places you’ve found them in censuses and directories, occupations, historical events that took place and may have affected them–anything you have on record and any facts that come to mind. Arrange them chronologically and fill in as much as you can. As you progress, you’ll start to see their story take shape and you may just pick up some clues for further research along the way!
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Great idea! This is the section of my family history that is sadly neglected. I have always put off developing narratives because it seems like a mammoth task, but taken in easy bites (one ancestor or family at at time) it is do-able. So I say, just ‘do-it’. I even have my first ancestor lined up!
I too put this seemingly daunting task off for years. however I recently corresponded with an aunt who had a previously unidentified family bible with a “brick wall” name in it. when I sent her a copy of her family tree, she remarked that she too had learned some information such as the names of a grandmother’s parents. this inspired me to write a narrative of that person’s life for her as a thank-you for the information from the family bible. it was actually much easier than I thought (took about 5 hours for a 2 pager), I did find a new source as the project encouraged me to double-check all the facts I was using (a territorial census from 1889 with a previously unconsidered alternative spelling), and in the end really gave me a lot of confidence in my own genealogical skills. I sent the narrative out to several other relatives as well in hopes of spurring additional memories or sources, or even just to bring our family a little closer together! I highly recommend that every genealogist try writing a narrative at some point, its a great way to get all that information out of the database and into a format that relatives that are not necessarily genealogy buffs can understand and get excited about!
I’ve become a big fan of narratives also. I usually choose one person from a line to focus on and then build up the information on anyone that is attached to them, parents, siblings, children etc for at least a few generations. The most fun, I think, has been tracking ancestors who made the journey from England to the US in the mid to late 1800’s. I had gotten to know them so well by then that I felt as if I was stepping off the boat into NYC with them!
More practically, it really makes one double check ones facts as Jon noted and catch any odd leaps in logic.
I use timelines as my source for the narrative. I started one for my father first and have added others as I get to them. (It shocked me to find that one relative was only 21 when he died. I thought he was older.)
I add any stories that have been told, everything that needs to be documented, sources. The timeline I use is set so that the year keeps expanding whenever I add anything. I gave my father a copy to use for additions, corrections. It sparked more memories and names also. I am doing this for others.
What a great idea, like all the other comments I too have put off a seemingly endless task but am encouraged to try this time! In fact my mind is so full of ideas I don’t know where to start first! Congratulations on encouraging us all to add a little bit of extra ‘life’ to our descendants history.
I recently decided to do a narrative on my g-g-grandfather, who was in the civil war. I had a lot of dates and other information, but, what I was really missing was what happened in between. At first I listed everything in a timeline form with the earliest date in my record up to today. That helped me to place people/places/events in the proper chronological order. I then filled in the years that were missing, this was done with old letters, a diary of a gentlemen who was in the war with my ancestor, and from interviews with family.
That so inspired me that I am workin on narratives for a lot more of the family members. I just found a book about the years my grandfather was in WWII so I am going to work with him next. Since he passed, I feel a little obligated to do this since although I knew him, I knew very little. Maybe this will help to bring me closer to him.
My comment; I have been trying to do my family history and jump around from one individual to another. Seems like I am not gaining ground. I am a senior, rely on my computer, and wish to leave stories of my Ancestors to my descendants. I think the above suggestions are very helpful to me. Wish I could have started this long ago.
Thank you,
Ina
I have started what I call a Biographical Sketch of my father. I want to use the format as a template for later sketches.
The outline , so far, consists of;
Name (picture), birth & death dates.
Parents (pictures), etc.,
Siblings ( pictures, etc.
The Early Years
Family – Wife, Children, etc.
The Family Years
Hobbies and Interests
Career Highlights
Rememberances – contributions from children, nieces and nephews etc.
The latter years
I’m using software called “Notebook” on my Mac.
I can “publish” in Word, HTML or pdf when completed.
I would appreciate any thoughts o r suggestions!
[email protected]
Hi I am really new at family genealogy and would love a narrative about family members but have no clue how to even start. Could someone send me one they have done so I have some idea of how to even begin? I wanted to do that with a picture of the person so that the future generations don’t have just a name and date. How do you do it for generations way back that you don’t know much about? Sorry for all the questions but if I don’t ask I won’t learn or know how to do it. lol I wish Ancestry Weekly Journal would go more in depth on how to do it and show examples for newbies like me. Thank you so much! I love the Journal and am learning so much.
I have not written a sketch about other family members, but I have completed writing my personal memories, up to the age of 20. However, I have taken the time to create an extensive timeline of world events, inventions, discoveries, product developments, and general living conditions, so that all my family history can be viewed in the context of our civilization at the time my ancestors were living. It is a fascinating read, and it adds a lot of “flavor” to my family history.
I plan to write biographical sketches of family members in the future, as well as extending my personal memories to my later years.
sorry for anyone that wants to email me my email addy is:
[email protected]
I have written narratives about all families in my line and included what things were like when they were alive. It reminds one that they WERE REAL people just like we are. My paternal line shows that most the direct line men died in their 50’s. Later generations have proved they died of heart problems. I am a real history nut.
I, too, have tried to compile my genealogy information in a narrative format, but I don’t always have the time or inclination to compose something for each person represented in my research. To balance this I record the information in chronological order of occurence as I find it. This gives a very clear picture of individual or family events over time. Here is an example of the Gray family and their immigration from England to Victoria, British Columbia
http://www.phillipsplace.net/genealogy/ps01/ps01_419.html
Sue,
Thanks for providing an example of how you lay out your chronologies. Very interesting. I do something somewhat similar but write as I go along. I also stress interrelationships within the family to the extent I can.
Beverly
Yea..I really like this idea too, but could you give give me some ideas or a list of questions to ask people. Because like some people mentioned before, I’m pretty new to this and I really don’t know where to start or what I’m doing. Thankss. Monica
I did this for my civil war ancestor. I started with his pension record from which I was able to glean many details about his health conditions. I researched the many battles his regiment participated in and detailed their movements to give a picture of his wartime experiences. I also added everyday details of a soldiers life. Then I added census information, church records and children. I also added a little history of the county where he lived all of his life. I did not have a photo of him but I added generic photos of the area and battle scenes to give a better idea of his surroundings. I put all of this in chronological order. I printed it up on my computer and had it spiral bound for ease of use. It turned out pretty well and I was able to present it at our family reunion last summer.
This is great!! I want to write a biographical sketch on my ggrandmother to read at a family reunion, but had no idea where to start. Now I know how to go about it and that it shouldn’t take forever!! Thanks Ancestry!!
I write a chronology for every person I’m working on — at least the “main” ones. It is invaluable as far as seeing what happened in the person’s lifetime and keeping the records straight. Adding important historical events helps to put the person in the proper historical period, and sometimes answers questions as to why he moved, where he went, etc.
I like the idea of a timeline. Where can I find one that is fairly simple? I am an elderly newbie and can use a lof of help. Thanks
I started by using a timeline to compile my chronology. Free outlines can be had for free at many sites on the web.
My father left a history of his work life which included where he worked, for whom, years, and salary per annum. This was a gold mine. I used it as a template to write a brief history of his life. I knew a little of his life before he started work at nineteen. Then I described his jobs, years there etc. and put any information in that I knew about those years. the years after I was born had more information since I was there, but the early years turned out very well, too.
I’m impressed by the journal both appearance and content. I hope you will continue it for a long time. I especially appreciate this issue. I’m concerned about the potential closing or restricting access to public records. I will follow Juliana’s directions about contacting representatives. Thanks again. Mary Lou
As a creative writing major, I sincerely hope a “narrative” contains more than facts: dates, pedigreees, records, land holdings, accomplishments and chronology. Folks, that is nothing more than an accounting. If you are concerned with how many ancestors served in a war, how many came from whatever country, you haven’t even begun. These were human beings, each with unique personalities encapsulated within their historical setting. Sometimes I worry that we are being too anal retentive in our genealogy. When my Dad turned 90, we five siblings assembled stories we recalled from our collective childhood…some that surprised him. We record the stories he tells about his childhood and siblings. It may have been a poor living, but it was the richest lifestyle. It made all of us the people we are today. Recently, the house we grew up on was burned and leveled to make room for, of all things, an asphalt plant! My younger brother had to go back to the scene and came away with an old soda bottle from 1952, an old tire from his toy tractor, a couple sandstones that we used to scratch our ephemera on in the basement, and a big lump in his throat. He says it was like an old friend had died. You really have no closure until you see them close the casket lid. My sister said that, if there is a spirit that lives on beyond the body in some other plane of existence, to meet her under the big old maple tree at the picnic table. That is a narrative.
A narrative doesn’t have to be about one person or one time period. When doing my research I try to collect stories from all kinds of sources. Eventually I noticed a common thread. That thread was wool. I had an article about my ancestor Rene Oullet (1642 – 1722) having too many sheep for his own use and starting a cottage industry. I had a picture of an “Ouellet spinning wheel” (abt 1796). I had interviewed a grand aunt at the age of 104 showed me a woven blanket done by her mother. She also gave me a picture her own creation, a patch work blanket of hand woven wool squares on which she had embroidered with wool,the historic events of her life (Haley’s Comet 1910). I also had an artcle and picture of a wool tapestry done by a second cousin. To this I added the experience of my mother and myself and was able to weave a story padded with bits of information on the life styles of Ouellet decendants down through the years. I titled the booklet “Tradition with Wool” and gave it to my grand-daughter. The last page had a picture of her father wearing a hand knit ski sweater.
All of these comments are so helpful! I’ve been mentally preparing myself to write narratives of the people in my mother’s family. This posting is just the inspiration I need. Please post more examples of good narratives.
I am now a pensioner and come from a long-lived family. I have written down some of the personal things I remember in connection with my grandparents generation and some of the tales I remember hearing about previous generations. I have filed these in the ‘book’ section of my family tree maker program. At the moment I have not tidied these up, I just add them when I think about them as text pages attached to individuals. I do a 3 generation tree for that individual to keep track and try to arrange things in a rough date order. I have organised each book with the title of a grandparents surname to keep things manageable.
Even if you never manage to produce a polished print-out I am sure that younger members of the family will find your reminiscences bring these long-dead ancestors to life
Rosemary
I’m also started my narratives, but in an effort to “pass it on” I’ve decided along with a copy of the narrative, to put together copies of original documents, photos, etc., and put them on file with the local historical society where my ancestor lived. Sometimes that means two or three different sites, but if something happens to me, or my research, there will be a reasonably complete file of what I found in over 40 years of searching.
I think this is a wonderful idea. I also think it would clear up a lot of brick walls. I just today decided to start with a narrative of my husband who died on Jan. 26 of this year. We were married 57 plus years so I do know a lot of his life. I am finding now that there are many more things I wish I had asked him! I think his children and grandchildren would appreciate it.
Naomi
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