Recording Your Genealogy

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Researching your ancestors is one thing, but preserving your findings for future generations is another, so let Marina Garrison show you how.     

For most of us, genealogy becomes addictive after a short time and this is why I think it is so hard for us to commit to actually publishing our findings.  We know we are "that close" to finding the next missing link and, for every ancestor found, there are at least two more (the parents) to discover, so our work never seems complete. 

I for one have had a hard time committing even just a small family history story to paper, so here are some ideas to try to help you overcome this fear.

  • Try focusing on just one family or a few generations.  For me, it is my Rayner/Aggio family that I have been concentrating on.  This family are particularly interesting as the family were in and out of Workhouses (Marylebone and Mile End) for four generations. 

  • Similarly, you could work on a theme - such as the Workhouse theme above.

  • Don't worry about only having enough material for a small booklet.  The cost of publishing has come down hugely in the computer age.  Check out www.lulu.com.  This is a self-publishing service where you submit a book for publishing, order copies for yourself and provide a web address to your relatives so they can order a copy of your book for themselves.   For $39.95 US it even has the option of applying for an ISBN number as well as using the Amazon bookstore.  Other similar services exist outside of North America such as the UK based publishers www.livewirebooks.com.

If writing isn't your thing and for many people it is not, then try creating a heritage album instead.  My second hobby is scrapbooking so I am creating a scrapbook of my family history. 

I like this idea because pages can be created out of order (chronological, alphabetical etc) and new pages inserted in-between.  As I write up each family story I just create a one or two page layout for each family. 

Like a book, my album will eventually have a table of contents and an index, although these will need to be created either in a temporary form such as pencil, or re-printed on paper each time something new is added to the album.

With a scrapbook, photos are easily added as either originals, scanned copies or photocopies, in addition to other items such as ships passenger lists and newspaper cuttings.  Other 3-dimensional keepsakes can be added (either the original item or a colour copy) including baby tags from the hospital, tickets or postcards from a trip, which cuts down the need for lots of written materials. 

Remember, even if you don't have a lot of documents for your ancestors you can add information about the town where they lived, or the events in their lives, and always come back to it when something new has been uncovered.

Genealogy is hard work so we should take the time to share and enjoy our work with our family while we still can. 

By Marina Garrison

Marina's website can be found at www.hamersleyfamily.com, "Home of Hamersley Genealogies, London's Lord Mayors and the Westminster Poll Book."  You can also read Marina's Genealogy Blog at www.hamersleyfamily.com/blog/blog.htm

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