You've given me the encouragement to start my family history book. There are so many interesting stories handed down from my great-aunts. Now I know to include those stories and not worry so much about stressing over and proving the boring things. Thank you!
Devon, I liked your video very much, this is not a criticism just a observation. The Register Style could be a good starting point to make sure you had all the fact. Then broaden the fact with historical and family information. It is similar to starting a project with an outline and then expanding the content.
Thank you for the appendix idea, because I absolutely hate the genealogical proof standard way of writing your family history. No one cares about the research, they are trusting you know what you're doing. It's the genealogists job to provide sources, of course, but leave them out of the story.
Thanks Heather. There is a time a place for the GPS style of writing. It all depends on the audience for your books. I'm a general audience writer and they want the sources as the end, if at all.
Great advice and timely. I have been thinking of starting some narratives around the information that I have been gathering and agree with you that they should crafted in a more interesting manner . . . Not boring.
I opened this on my TV to watch and had to run over here to the phone because Reinold Marvin is my grand-uncle...I hadn't added him to my tree, yet, but I recognized his father's name (my 10th grandfather!) and the grandfather he was apparently named after 😂
Awesome, My uncle did our family history in this style and it is just a really boring legitimately each segment of my aunts and uncle’s there birth Are literally written the exact same way and I know for a fact that they were born in different hospitals was different circumstances three of my aunts were born at home and my uncle has been born in a hospital he has it really straightforward and boring thank you so much for this video
Michelle, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I hope you'll improve upon your uncle's family history. He laid the foundation. You can add the details. What were the different circumstances of the different births?
Family History Fanatics my Grammy was born at home her mother was alone when she went into labor in 1928 my great grandfather was off at the mill they didn’t have a phone they were over a mile away from all the neighbors so she delivered my Graham home alone did everything on her own. My grandma told me that my great grandmother Joanna felt empowered to be doing it by herself she wasn’t scared and my aunt Bernice which was born 16 months later was born during the depression era and there really was no money to go to the hospital and her birth she was a breech baby and my grandmother once again gave birth at home she had a midwife with her this time which was one of my great aunts i’m grateful my uncle laid the foundations I’m hoping with all that my grandmother has told me through the years I can put a very interesting family history together I just discovered that my poppy was on a minesweeper ship in World War II we were only ever told he was in the Navy his exact specialty was mine sweeper we didn’t know that. I also two years ago did ancestry DNA and I found my father’s father my grandfather and in that process I didn’t realize I was finding me and my lineage so I myself have a great story to tell also it has been quite a journey but I’m still learning a lot about my biological grandfather and his family my family i’m just not the greatest of storytellers.
Thank you for this video as it has given me a lot of ideas on not writing a boring story. That is something that has been holding me back from write ups for awhile. On a related topic, a question I have is: we have a murder trial from the early 1900's. I have pre-trial info, trial info, and post trial info, but I'm not sure how to fill in the pieces I don't have to create the full story and remain truthful to the research. Any advice? Thanks!
You have enough information to write without creating a Perry Mason novel /television show. You can add historical context by using newspapers or nonfiction books. You can explain what things in the documents mean and give biographical sketches of the people involved. You might not be able to add dialogue but it'll be enough for your family.
Thank you for the appendix idea! I had trouble figuring out where to fit in 4 sets of census records, where it takes a leap of faith to see it's actually one and the same family- and (I believe) one totally fictitious late birth registration. (Also my reasoning in accepting a 15 year age difference between Gram's -grandparents? Traditional in a certain group- a man didn't marry until he could support a wife & family - the group that links to grfather 's probable DNA) My grandmother pretty much raised me until I was 6, and her name had nothing to do with her DNA. (There are 2 separate family groups, appropriately distanced for a parent & a grfather - grmother is appropriately represented.) I m ight have second cousins, but no one closer. I'm only now seeing how much she never told us - & a pattern of burying what really hurt. I have nothing but DNA, memories, and a determination to make those screwy records tell more than they say. I want to tell - to figure out! - Kate's story. Wandering down the garden paths of records would kill it - so, thanks again!
You're so very welcome. Be sure to check out my new family history writing channel. ru-vid.com/show-UCQakaEPtI2RyMzL5-XoO36g There will be more frequent videos. Plus, it won't take me so long to see comments like these. DNA rules the comments section on this channel. So, that's why I made a new one.
This is great. I just want to add: for context, use some good History books (not Wikipedia, please) and do an appropiate citation of the books you use the same way you mention your archive sources! This is the right way to do: give the credit to those who deserve it. For a good citation style, check some guides or books about citation in History.
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics I haven't written anything yet. I'm still struggling with my first steps in genealogy. Even I have second thoughts about my great-grandpa. It's hard because I have a marriage record with his parents' names. But: I found birth records for all their childrend (one every two years since they married) and birth record of my GGF doesn't came up. So... I don't know. That's weird. I want to write someting about my GGGG Grandmother. She and four of her siblings, and a couple of in-laws all died in Palme (Italy) on an epidemy of cholera. It would be a sad but interesting story to tell. A lot of context of that cholera epidemy should be needed.
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics You know: work gets me a little apart from pleasure recently. I'm not complaining. I love my work and it has a lot to do with History, but not with genealogy (and definetely not my genealogy).
No, I don't advocate writing 'normal family history books.' Those books are not page turners and those who dislike family histories because they are boring and not bring the reader into context. Since we have online trees, there really isn't a need to keep publishing family registers any more. However, if you disagree, have fun writing what you wish.
sure it is, those things help someone understand what was going on in the world at the time your familly was living in. People want to know more than just names and dates
