Celebrate Mother's Day with Family History

Family holidays are always a good time to think about our personal histories. For Mother's Day,
consider asking your mother questions about her life. The responses can help you craft a written family history and enrich your genealogy research. Or record your own memories of your mother or what motherhood has meant to you. These make excellent stories to share with children and grandchildren.

Here are some writing prompts taken from FamilySearch's #52stories project to get you started:

• How has your mother or being a mother enriched your life?
• What lessons have you learned from your grandmothers’ life experiences?
• What are some of the stories you loved hearing from your mother’s youth? From your grandmothers’ younger days?
• What is the best thing about your relationship with your mother or grandmother?
• Who are some important mother figures besides your own mother who have been influential in your life?

Family History Writing

How do you write an interesting family history?

Of course you want to include all the names and dates and events you've uncovered but to make your family history more engaging, you'll need to personalize the story and add social context.

Here are a few writing prompts that personalize and add interest to a family story:

• How has your research changed your view of your family history? 
• Was your family’s life impacted by important historical events? 
• Has your research given you a better understanding of US history? What about the history of your family’s homeland? 
• Have you visited a location where an ancestor lived? What does it look like now? What would it have looked like when your ancestor lived there? 
• Do you remember any stories your grandparents told you about their lives or the lives of their parents or grandparents? Has your research backed up those stories? 
• Do you know how your grandparents met and fell in love? How about your parents? 
• Have you inherited any family heirlooms? Are there stories associated with these keepsakes? 
• Write about an ancestor you find particularly fascinating. Why does their life interest you? If you could have a conversation with that ancestor, what would you ask?

Add social context to flesh out your ancestors' lives. To do this, look at the facts of your ancestors' lives and start asking yourself questions. For example: Did they live in the same place their entire lives? What was that place like? What was their occupation and what would their responsibilities in that job have been? Were they religious? What holidays would they have celebrated? You will want to think about the following themes when adding social context:

• Emigration & Immigration 
• Geography & Environment 
• Property & Housing 
• Community & Neighbors 
• Ethnic Groups 
• Religious Affiliations 
• Childbirth & Childrearing 
• Education 
• Occupations 
• Culinary Traditions 
• Military Experience 
• Civic Engagement 
• Fashion 
• Hobbies & Sports 

Genealogy Memoirs

Most genealogy narratives outline a family's history and keep the researcher largely out of the story but the following books are memoirs about the genealogist and the research process itself. The writers discuss not only their family histories but share their reasons for starting their search, their stumbling blocks along the way, and the insights they've gained while doing their genealogy.

It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree by A.J. Jacobs

A.J. Jacobs has received some strange emails over the years, but this note was perhaps the strangest: “You don’t know me, but I’m your eighth cousin. And we have over 80,000 relatives of yours in our database.” Who are these people, A.J. wondered, and how do I find them? So began Jacobs’s three-year adventure to help build the biggest family tree in history. Jacobs’s journey would take him to all seven continents. He drank beer with a US president, found himself singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and unearthed genetic links to Hollywood actresses and real-life scoundrels. Jacobs upends, in ways both meaningful and hilarious, our understanding of genetics and genealogy, tradition and tribalism, identity and connection. It’s All Relative is a fascinating look at the bonds that connect us all.


The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty
In this unique memoir, culinary historian Michael W. Twitty traces the roots of his own family and the charged politics surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue, and all Southern cuisine. From the tobacco and rice farms of colonial times to plantation kitchens and backbreaking cotton fields, Twitty tells his family story through the foods that enabled his ancestors’ survival across three centuries. He sifts through stories, recipes, genetic tests, and historical documents, and travels from Civil War battlefields in Virginia to synagogues in Alabama to Black-owned organic farms in Georgia. Along the way, he reveals the power that food has to bring the kin of the enslaved and their former slaveholders to the table, where they can discover the real America together.

My European Family: The First 54,000 Years by Karin Bojs
After the death of her mother, Karin Bojs decided to use DNA research to learn more about herself and her family. She went deep in search of her genealogy, having her DNA sequenced and tested, and effectively becoming an experimental subject. The narrative travels the length and breadth of Europe, from the Neanderthals of central Germany to the Cro-Magnon in France. This fresh, first-person exploration of genes and genetics goes well beyond personal genealogy and reveals much about the shared history of European peoples. This is a good introduction to how DNA research tracks the movement of people across history.


Journeys Home: Inspiring Stories, Plus Tips and Strategies to Find Your Family History
This compelling narrative addresses ancestry tourism and travel. Actor and award-winning travel writer Andrew McCarthy's featured story recounts his quest to uncover his family's Irish history, while twenty-five other prominent writers tell their own heartfelt stories of connection. Spanning the globe, these stories offer personal takes on journeying home, whether the authors are actively seeking long-lost relatives, meeting up with seldom-seen family members, or perhaps just visiting the old country to get a feel for their roots. Stunning images, along with family heirlooms, old photos, recipes, and more, round out this unique take on genealogical research.

Write Your Story

At some point during your research, you'll probably start considering if you want to write your family history. Writing is the best way to preserve your history. Creating a family tree is great but stories add depth to your genealogy. Personal anecdotes and details make your ancestors feel like real people and not just names and dates.

A writing project may sound intimidating but it's easy to get started.

First decide what sort of family history you want to write. Do you want you write a memoir or a biography? Are you creating a scrapbook filled with memorabilia? You also need to focus on the scope of your work. Many writers like to trace their line from themselves to the earliest known ancestor but maybe you would prefer to focus on the life of one specific person and their descendants?

When writing about ancestors that you know little about personally, use general historical information. Ask yourself: What was their profession? What would their typical day have been like? Are there any significant stories from their hometown that would have impacted their lives? What about national or international events or catastrophes? Did they move to a new area? How would they have adapted? What languages did they speak? What cultural or religious celebrations would they have observed? Using social history can help you pick out a common theme or plot for your story. For example, you can focus on the immigration experiences of your ancestors or on life as a pioneer settler.

Remember to cite and document your sources! They give your research credibility and help others with their own research.

If you want to get started or need moral support, join one of the NSGS writer's groups.

NWSCG MEETING

Mike Karsen will present “Write Your Family History NOW” at the next meeting of the Northwest Suburban Council of Genealogists. The meeting will be held on Saturday, Sept 8, 2012 at 10:00 am at
The Arlington Heights Senior Center, 1801 W Central Rd, Arlington Heights, IL

At 9:30 am, prior to the presentation, there will be casual discussion and exchange of information with others who enjoy genealogy. No prior registration needed, and there is no fee.

The program will be in two parts. First Mike will explain how and why you should publish your family history and share it with your family. He will also explain how to organize your findings. In the second part members are asked to share their own written histories.

A professional speaker, Mike Karsen is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG), and is currently President of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois. He speaks on family legacy topics locally and nationally, presents conference programs and has presented at Newberry Library and Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in Chicago. Mike is the author of the JewishGen website "Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Chicagoland" and has published articles on genealogy. He holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics/computer science and a master's in operations research alongside 30 years in telecommunications management

Organizing and Writing Your Family History

Steve Szabados will present “Organizing and Writing Your Family History” at the next meeting of the Northwest Suburban Council of Genealogists. The meeting will be held on Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 10:00 am at The Arlington Heights Senior Center, 1801 W Central Rd., Arlington Heights, IL

A Copy of Family Tree Maker 2012 will be raffled off.

Arrive at 9:30 AM, prior to the presentation, for casual discussion or to exchange information with others who enjoy genealogy.

The presentation discusses a process and format that helps make research efforts more efficient and makes the results easier to read, digest, and share. Your information will “come alive” for everyone. Please note that this presentation is not a "How-To" on publishing a book or organizing your file cabinet. It instead will discuss how to organize the information extracted from your documents and family oral history.

Steve Szabados is a retired project manager with a Bachelor of Science degree and an MBA who started researching his ancestors in 2004. He has given numerous presentations to groups in Illinois and Wisconsin and wants to share his passion for Family History. He is a member of the Polish Genealogical Society of America, Illinois State Genealogical Society and also a genealogy volunteer at the Arlington Heights Library. His roots are Polish and Hungarian plus he has also had success researching Slovenian and Bohemian records.

How To Self-Publish Your Genealogy Book

You can self-publish a book and sell it on Amazon.  They have a service to help anyone self-publish books, and list them in Amazon's catalog.

Here's how:

1.Go to Amazon's self-publishing web site, CreateSpace, and create a free account.

2.Select the size of the pages in the book you wish to publish and then download a Microsoft Word template for that size of book.

3.Copy your manuscript into the template. That template will determine left and right side pages, generate page numbers, generate the table of contents, and other formatting.

4.Make a cover. You can do all the artwork yourself, hire it out, or use one of CreateSpace's pre-defined formats.

5.Save the result as a PDF file and then upload it to CreateSpace. The CreateSpace service will even assign the ISBN number You also need to determine the price of the finished book.

CreateSpace will send a proof to you. If you approve, the finished book will be in Amazon.com's catalog within two or three business days.

The royalty paid to you varies widely, depending upon the price you set and the size of the book.

CreateSpace has excellent customer support.  Click on the Call Me icon  and, within 30 seconds, a customer service representative will call your phone.

No products are manufactured ahead of time so there is no inventory to worry about, and your titles are shipped directly to the end customer.

Marketing and promoting the book is entirely up uo you.  But the Glenview Public Library has many wonderful books about marketing your product that you can check out.  Try A Simple Guide to Marketing Your Book by Mark Ortman 808.02 ORT;  The Complete Guide to Book Marketing by Cole David  070.5 COL. or The Complete Guide to Book Publicity by Jodee Blanco  002.068 BLA.

Upcoming Genealogy Workshops at NARA

Telling Your Family Story -- Saturday, May 14, 2011: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM As you conduct research and locate documents, have you wondered how to share this information with family members? Staff from the Chicago-based organization History Works, Inc. will discuss ideas for telling your family's tale. From the use of free print-on-demand software to the creation of an engaging, focused storyline, History Works' hints and "tricks of the trade" are sure to inspire and impress your relatives. The cost for this workshop is $10.00 per person, payable at the door.

Using Court Records to Find Local and Family History -- Saturday, June 11, 2011: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Have you considered checking court records in your family history hunt? In this workshop, archivists from the National Archives at Chicago will give an overview of how court records can be used to uncover a wealth of information about people’s lives as well as the social, legal, and economic issues that brought them to court. The cost for this workshop is $10.00 per person, payable at the door.

All workshops will be held at the Great Lakes Regional Archive near Ford City Mall and Midway Airport, 7358 S. Pulaski Road, Chicago.

To register, send your name, e-mail address, phone number, and mailing address to Kris Maldre, Education
Specialist, at kristina.maldre@nara.gov. Upon receipt workshop registration will be confirmed via e-mail. If
you have further questions, please call: 773-948-9001.