Genealogy Fan Chart
If you use familysearch.org you can create a fan chart with your family history. All of your ancestor's names that are available through familysearch.org will be automatically filled in to create your chart. This is a great way to see what ancestors are known in your family history and where you need to do research to see if you can find other family members who are missing. This chart can be printed out on a 8 1/2" X 11" sheet of paper or it can be printed in larger sizes through a copy shop. It is a wonderful visual way to see your family history. With it you can see what lines you need to work on to find the names of more of your ancestors. Getting to know your ancestors helps you to know yourself better. Check out your family's fan chart at the link above.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Learn How To Research Your Family History
Finding information about your ancestors is an important part of your story. What happened to your ancestors has affected your life, even though you may not realize it. Researching your ancestors is very interesting, but it can be challenging. You can take a online class to learn about researching your family history here.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Resolve to Preserve Your Family's Story
Have you resolved to preserve your family's story?
Have you thought about preserving your family's story? Is it hard to do because it seems overwhelming? Sometimes I think of all the pictures that need to be organized. Then I think of all the stories that should be written down. Sometimes I think I'll never get it all done. That is true for as long as we live our story keeps on being added to. Recording your story will never be completely done. It isn't something that can be done perfectly. You may not have pictures of important events from your life. You may not be able to remember details of important events. Another family member may have a different memory than you have of a certain event. Whatever you write down is valuable for it is your perspective. Whatever pictures you do have are valuable especially if you take the time to write down what was happening and what you feel about the picture.
My family didn't write a lot down. My mother wrote a page giving a summary of her life and she helped my dad write a summary of his life up to a certain point. My sister wrote a few comments on a calendar on what was happening in her life during that year. There are letters that tell some of what happened. Photos are another source of what happened. Then there is my brother's memory of what happened. These few things trigger memories for me and are valuable to me. I write a few things at times. I try to organize a few pictures. Hopefully what I have done to preserve my family's story may some day be valuable to my children. For now it brings back wonderful memories of my family, and it helps me to understand where I have come from and why I may have become the person that I am.
Don't get discouraged if you can't get your whole story completed in a short time. Just keeping a little here and there. Write every week for fifteen minutes, or half an hour or an hour--whatever amount of time you have available. Organize a few pictures in albums, scrapbooks or online. All the little things you do will add up and create memories for you and for your family.
Have you thought about preserving your family's story? Is it hard to do because it seems overwhelming? Sometimes I think of all the pictures that need to be organized. Then I think of all the stories that should be written down. Sometimes I think I'll never get it all done. That is true for as long as we live our story keeps on being added to. Recording your story will never be completely done. It isn't something that can be done perfectly. You may not have pictures of important events from your life. You may not be able to remember details of important events. Another family member may have a different memory than you have of a certain event. Whatever you write down is valuable for it is your perspective. Whatever pictures you do have are valuable especially if you take the time to write down what was happening and what you feel about the picture.
My family didn't write a lot down. My mother wrote a page giving a summary of her life and she helped my dad write a summary of his life up to a certain point. My sister wrote a few comments on a calendar on what was happening in her life during that year. There are letters that tell some of what happened. Photos are another source of what happened. Then there is my brother's memory of what happened. These few things trigger memories for me and are valuable to me. I write a few things at times. I try to organize a few pictures. Hopefully what I have done to preserve my family's story may some day be valuable to my children. For now it brings back wonderful memories of my family, and it helps me to understand where I have come from and why I may have become the person that I am.
Don't get discouraged if you can't get your whole story completed in a short time. Just keeping a little here and there. Write every week for fifteen minutes, or half an hour or an hour--whatever amount of time you have available. Organize a few pictures in albums, scrapbooks or online. All the little things you do will add up and create memories for you and for your family.
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