Help on Genealogy?

Question

i have a project that has to do with this. i've never done it before, i don't really know what to do!?

our options:

CHARACTER: Use tools like the internet and research a family member. go back in history as far as you want. after finding out about the person, draw a family tree and document a lineage from this person to you. write about this person's historical life. 3-5 pages

We can also draw a map of the movement of a family moving to America and discuss why trhey moved. 2-4 pgs

interview a family member over 65 years old. concentrate on their role in US History.4-6 pages

I need an idea to start out. which of the three should i do? any ideas? i want to do my own project, i just need a booster.

thanks!

Answer 1

Most people in genealogy are very happy to find the date and place of birth of one of their ancestors and even find it more exciting that they find out who their parents were.  

To write 3-5 pages on one of your ancestors, the best thing to do is get as much information from a living family member who has memories of your grandfather or great grandfather and get information from them.

The only other way you could come up with 3-5 pages is if you know of a particular ancestor that was very important and well known.   Now, you probably somewhere in your family tree have ancestors like that, everyone does, but you find them by researching your family tree starting with yourself and working back one generation at a time.  It might take you 10 years to find such an ancestor.  

I am 72 years old and I could tell a lot of family about some of my uncles and aunts.  I also knew my paternal grandmother. My other grandparents were already dead when I was born or died shortly after I was born. Actually you might interview several elderly people in your family and can come up with some good ideas.  Otherwise make something up.  

I would love to tell my daddy's great grandchildren some day about him.  He had to become the man of the house at 13 when his father died from burns due to an oil refinery explosion.  One time an uncle said something to me about a woman,"she sure is ugly."  Later he apologized and said my Daddy taught him he was never to talk about a woman like that.  If we had ladies visiting at the house and talk became disparaging about another woman, he would get up quietly and leave the room.  He was an avid gardener, had azaelas, roses, day lillies, amaryllas, irises that look like orchids.  During WWII, we had a victory garden in the back and he rotated his crops each year.  One time he took out the back seat of a car and brought in some fresh sheep fertilizer.  My mother almost died.

When he died, I had a man clean out the garage and he took out 3 truck bed loads of nothing but junk, trash.  It looked like Sanford and Son.  However, whenever anything broke in the house or on the car, he could go out to that garage and find just exactly what he needed to fix anything that needed fixin.  He took care of my sick mother for many years.  She later had Alzheimers.   Whenever she had to go into the hospital, he was constantly at her side.

You see older family members have memories and many would love to share with you.  

I could say I am shocked to find out a teacher would assign something like this but we get questions all the time from kids that have unbelievable school assignments such as asking them to find a "family crest."  There is no such thing. The crest is part of a coat of arms and coats of arms do not belong to everyone with a particular surname. Sometimes they state they need, for instance, a 5 generation family tree by Monday.   When we see them we aren't really sure if the teacher actually asked them to do what the student is stating in their question or not.  Most of us regulars on this board are dumbfounded when we see those questions.  Now if she meant you don't have to turn it in until the end of the school year, you could probably get some info on your family's movement to the U. S.,  Interviewing a family member and finding out their role in U. S. History, you might be able to do, but you might have to interview several to get 4-6 pages.  

There are lots of websites with family trees. You might find some of your family lines but you can't take it for granted that what you find is correct. All the family trees are submitted by folks like you and me.  They are not documented or poorly documented. Even when you see the same info repeatedly by many different subscribers that is no guarantee at all that it is correct. A lot of people copy without verifying.  There is no way the owners of the websites can verify what is being posted by all the subscribers.  You can make up a family tree and put it on one of those websites and they wouldn't know or even care.  

If you would like, print off what I am posting here and put it on your teacher's desk.  You might feel more comfortable doing so when she is out of the class.

Answer 2

A good place to start for tracing your family is genforum.com

go to family message boards (your last name or last name of any of your family) Most people who research their families will be happy to help you find where you came from.

When you get to the message board click on post a new message and for the subject do it in ALL CAPS then for the message itself just type normal. It may take a few days to get any hits on your message but it is one of the best sites for budding genealogists.

I hope this helps you get on your way.

Answer 3

Remember this is a school project - you can continue with more researching if it interests you once you have your A grade :-)

So stay FOCUSED on the most documented and interesting story in your family. Heres some steps to take:

1. Do some basic research quickly just to get started. Write down what you know and make a folder of photos, cuttings. You probably already know who might be an interesting subject: someone who travelled, fought abroad, not to obscure...

2. NOW Ask your oldest, chattiest and least senile relative.

- Personalize and stimulate to get better responses - eg. take what info or photos you have already.

- Get them to verify what you already know - just in case you've been misinformed.

- If you can have a scanner and laptop on hand, people will feel more comfortable to let you scan their photos, rather than taking away their precious originals.

3. Use a program to record stuff and generate the tree, here are some free programs that do this: http://www.cyndislist.com/software.htm#F...

4. THEN Check again the details with online databases. (again listed at http://www.cyndislist.com)

5. Then map: Google and Live Maps both allow you to draw on top to create your own map.

6. Finally: Participation in history is not as difficult as it may seem and can be second hand. (eg. TwinTowers, JFK, Moon Landing)

Good luck!

Answer 4

You could interview your grandparents and see if they served in the military because that would help in their role in USHistory ~ or if they served on a town council or in some public office.  Everyone who is a US citizen contributes to US history, whether they be a ship builder that US citiizens serve on, a ticket taker for airlines helping troups come and go or a food server that served those who serve.  Think about it and you could come up with a good paper.  

Also, if you know when your particular family came to the US shores and where they landed, a map would be great, tracing their movements to your area, and where they stopped in their travels.  

Have fun with this!

Answer 5

Before you start gathering names from your living ancestors, you will need somewhere to store the information. Bits of paper and even books are fine but can be misplaced. So a good storage program is what you require. I have been using the LDS Personal Ancestral File (PAF) for some twenty years and find it the most simple to use, and it is a free download. If you would like to try it go to ancestry.com this is the LDS official site where you can access millions of names for free.

Once in the site click on Order/Downloads, then click on Software Downloads. At the top of the list you will see Personal Ancestral File 5.2, click in this and download the program. Once you have the file downloaded click on all of the tabs and set up the program to suit your needs. On one of the tabs you will see RIN, put a dot in this, this will not only show you the names you have entered but give them a number.

One thing to remember is that whatever or whoever you wish to work on make sure that you highlight that person or event.

If you need further help you will receive free help at any LDS Church or from myself at [e-mail]

Good luck

Robert