Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The Follow-Up..


You've had your first visit and interview with an older relative. Its time to take that information and place it in your own files along with any extra items you acquired. Here are some thoughts and suggestions:

1. Send a "Thank You" note to that relative. You would be surprised how much that means to them and most likely they would have you over again and offer you additional information.

2. Transcribe the recorded meeting to the best of your ability.

3. Enter any pertinent information into your genealogical database software so that it is not lost.

4. Scan any photos, documents, newspaper clippings that they shared or allowed you to have and return them if they were only on loan.

5. Write up a little report for your own records, creating a story of that person and their family.

6. Be sure to get permission to share the stories, pictures and other items you acquired while visiting.

7. Share photos and other interesting stories you learned with other family members.

8. Creating a blog and/or add the story and pictures to FamilySearch FamilyTree for others to learn more about that individual. 

9. Pace yourself with each of these steps, review everything and ask another person to also review them with you. This will help to make sure all the information is collected and nothing is missing.

10. Store any items you now have in a file for that family so that you'll have them to refer to again in the future if needed.

11. Determine what additional information you need to locate from the new found information to continue your desire to fill your family tree.

Comments Are Always Welcome!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

claire@timelessgen.com

 (c) 2005-2014, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved



Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Monday, October 13, 2014

Acquiring Information from a Relative


When it comes to gathering additional information, after you've added what you can, it is a good idea to ask other family members. Often in the same family, individuals remember events differently. An example of this is when a group of people look at a painting, each one in the group sees different things in that painting.

 Additionally, older members of the family will have memories that younger family members may not even be aware of as they were not part of the family yet. Case in point, my mother was the youngest and my aunt was the oldest, so when I approached each of them for family history information, while some of the information was the same, a good majority of it was different.

 Some preparation is suggested in order to have greater success, not everyone remembers everything when just asked on the spot. Placing a phone call, writing a letter or even sending an email with some pre-set questions is often very helpful for the older family member. This gives them time to perhaps look things up and write them down so that when you visit they are more prepared.

 Set a time that is convenient for them and bring some recording equipment, as recalling specific events can sometimes trigger interesting family stories or situations that help to bring life to the typical birth, marriage and death dates.

 Be sure to let them know how much you appreciate their time and to send a 'Thank You' note once you have visited.

 So what kinds of questions do you ask? There are a number of online articles to help with this,  Family Tree Magazine has put together a simple list of 20 Questions for Interviewing Relatives which is a great start. Another help is from Climbing Your Family Tree called "Good Questions for Family Interviews" which is also printable. FamilySearch also has a simple sheet that can be printed to help from their youth section in the FamilySearch Research Wiki entitled "A Family History Interview".

 There are plenty of helps to make this a wonderful time spent with older and other family members. Spending time with family is always a great opportunity to create lasting relationships with those we love!
Comments Are Always Welcome!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

claire@timelessgen.com

 (c) 2005-2014, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , ,

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Budding Updates..New Beginnings


It's been a few weeks since posting an article but we've been packing since the middle of July to move from Utah to Missouri. 

 My Social Media presence was dramatically affected with the task of packing our whole home, loading PODs, driving here and then unloading and now setting up a new home.

 Here is a picture of my boxes...to unpack and organize:

I'll soon be posting my tips, hints and articles to help those who are just beginning and/or consider themselves to be "Budding Genealogists".

To end on a happy note, here is a view from a bay window:


I come sit here and gaze when I need a break from my boxes.

Comments Are Always Welcome!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

claire@timelessgen.com

 (c) 2005-2014, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)