Writing Family History Made Very Easy

A practical guide to writing family history, designed especially for family historians and inexperienced writers.

You've done the research but now it's time to write it all into a fascinating history that will do your family's story justice. Researching family trees and genealogies has never been more popular, and there are many courses, books and websites to assist the amateur researcher. The problem is, while family historians are enthusiastic and skilled researchers, most are not trained or confident writers, and the task of writing their family history may seem overwhelming. This book offers practical and straightforward advice to help you write your family story in an interesting and accessible way. A no-nonsense guide for the beginner, this simple step-by-step approach to writing family history will prove invaluable to family historians, genealogical organisations, local and community historians, students of writing programs, teachers of writing, and libraries. Dr Noeline Kyle has used her extensive knowledge and expertise on family history research and writing to develop and facilitate writing support groups for family historians. She has also published her ideas in newspapers, community journals, popular books and bulletins, and is the author of several books including The Family History Writing Book and We Should've Listened to Grandma: Women and Family History.

Writing a family history does not have to be an overwhelming task. This book outlines a simple process that will aid your research and create pages of information that can be read and understood by all family members. Your research will become faster and more accurate and your family can enjoy the family history. Remember, our writing should go beyond finding documents and filling in charts. Hopefully, the methods discussed in this book will show the reader a simple format that will make this task much easier. You may be reluctant to write down these stories because you do not consider yourself a writer. Our ancestors were ordinary people. Why should we write about them? All of our immigrant ancestors contributed to America’s history and their stories should be saved for our grandchildren. Our family histories should give clues of their roles and this will help us understand our roots.

Do you have a box of mementos you'd love to turn into a book? Discover where to start and how to choose a format to bring your ancestry to life. Have you inherited the responsibility of preserving your family history? Do you wish you could transform your old photos and artifacts into entertaining tales? Want to record all those great remember-when's but worry your writing will bore your relatives to tears? Author and writing instructor Annette Gendler has helped countless eager writers over her many years of teaching at StoryStudio Chicago. Now she'll show you how you can turn your treasured family saga into a captivating narrative you'll be proud to share. How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History is a concise guide for converting your heirlooms and oral anecdotes into engaging prose. Following Annette Gendler's step-by-step instructions, you'll learn how to decide which memories are best suited to chronicle your loved ones' unique journeys through life, and what makes them an absorbing read. Supported with personal examples and writing prompts at the end of each chapter, you'll quickly be giving voice to your ancestors' adventures. You'll discover: - How to prioritize all those photos, letters, diaries, and official documents- Sample passages and an extensive reading list to inspire your creativity - Ways to craft stories that won't put your readers to sleep - Tips for dealing with negativity, missing materials, or too much information - Methods for conducting research to ensure accuracy, and much, much more! How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History is a must-have resource for anyone interested in preserving their lineage. If you like actionable advice, no-frills-added instructions, and guidance from a memoir specialist, then you'll love Annette Gendler's easy approach.

This easy-to-use reference book draws on successful professional experience writing and publishing family histories to create a universal method for novices and seasoned genealogists alike. Demystifying the process of writing and publishing a family history, this book guides future authors beyond their research using 10 basic steps to help them shape the story, develop a narrative, and establish characters. It also aids in writing biographies, constructing chapters, editing text, utilizing technology, and, ultimately, explains how to publish and promote the finished product so that it reaches the widest number of readers possible.

“Inspirational and very useful . . . quite literally packed with valuable tips and exercises and is almost a mini-course in writing your family history.”—Bedfordshire Family History Society Gill Blanchard’s practical step-by-step guide to writing a family history is designed for anyone who wants to bring their ancestors’ stories to life. She looks at ways of overcoming the particular problems family historians face when writing a family history—how to deal with gaps in knowledge, how to describe generations of people who did the same jobs or lived in the same area, how to cover the numerous births, marriages and deaths that occur, and when to stop researching and start writing. Her book provides examples to help readers find their own writing style, deal with family stories, missing pieces of information and anomalies. It also offers advice on key aspects of composition, such as adding local and social history context and using secondary material. The focus throughout is on how to develop a story from beginning to end. Exercises are a key feature of the text. There is guidance on the various formats a family history can take and how to choose the appropriate one, with examples of format and layout. Production and publishing are also covered—books, booklets, newsletters, websites, blogs and ebooks. “If you’re toying with the idea of writing a family history-themed book, whether it be for general publication or simply for family members, read this first and then take the plunge. Who knows, it could be a bestseller!”—Family Tree Magazine

A small girl’s fascination with a battered old box of letters and photographs from a pioneer family in Queensland leads to the discovery of a tale of industrial unrest in the mining communities of County Durham in the 1880s. Covering the years 1880-1942 and chronicling poverty, exploitation, destitution, adventure, love, tragedy and an incredible coincidence, The Horsekeeper’s Daughter tells the true story of the County Durham mining village of Seaham, its people, and one remarkable woman. Twenty two year old Sarah Marshall left the Durham pit villages in 1886 and travelled alone to start a new life on the far side of the world. Spanning ten thousand miles, the narrative weaves between County Durham and Queensland, and explores the lives of ordinary folk who faced extraordinary circumstances. The book unravels the social, political and economic factors which resulted in thousands of British women leaving their homes and families behind for the new state of Queensland, through the government-sponsored Single Female Migrant Programme. The prejudices, hardships and challenges these young women encountered on arrival in Australia are revealed. The experiences of Sarah and her family are paralleled with those of the loved ones she left behind in County Durham, as they faced their own struggles through times of political upheaval and financial deprivation. Drawing upon family links, original letters and photographs, The Horsekeeper’s Daughter offers a unique perspective on the forgotten story of a working class girl, and the experiences of the hundreds of young North East women who left North East England who sailed to Australia to forge new lives in the late 19th Century.

Easy Family History takes the stress out of family history research. It guides readers through the most important information sources for family historians in the UK including family documents, official records, archives and websites. From what to expect on a birth cert to how to use newspaper archives each chapter focuses on an area of research and takes you through the basics. This book focuses on UK records and archives. Fully updated, this new edition includes information on recently released archives such as the 1911 Census and recently digitised military records and archives that are now online. This book features screenshots of useful websites and images of sample archival documents throughout. Author David Annal draws on his expertise and experience as a professional family history researcher to help budding family historians to get started and keep their findings in order and in perspective.