Beyond the family relationships and timelines automatically included in your book, we recommend adding relatives' stories and special memories, or those of your own, to personalize the book further. If you do not have stories at hand, interviewing your family members is a great way to incorporate their experiences and personalities into the project, which will allow stories to live on and help future generations connect to their ancestors.
In this article:
Interviewing Relatives
The following is an excerpt from How to Interview Elderly Relatives for Genealogy Research by Our Public Records.
Today you have the benefit of being able to conduct much of your research online while also compiling important papers and documents, journals, or diaries directly from family members.
Yet, supplementing these with actual interviews with your relatives can add a whole new personal dimension and provide special insight into the emotions, traditions, cultures, and events throughout the span of their lifetimes. They can help you uncover details, discover surprises, and tie in history with your particular family.
More importantly, interviews with your elderly relatives lead to stories, and these stories make your research more personal. You can gain insight into all the names, dates, and events and establish a more thorough history of a family member’s lifetime experiences. You can also gain context surrounding historical eras first-hand.
Interviewing is key to uncovering family history because it can uncover key information or confirm what you have, such as the names, important dates, and locations, while also providing more detailed information. Another way interviewing helps is that it can provide a recording of oral histories, such as of a relative’s younger years, which can become a family treasure to future generations.
If your great-grandparents immigrated to America but are no longer here to tell you of their experiences, your living relatives may be able to provide clues that you can then research to gain a historical perspective. You may find a jumping-off point to refocus your research or enjoy the confirmation of what you’ve already found. The possibilities are limitless.
Continue reading how to prepare and conduct an interview with a relative about family history, see How to Interview Elderly Relatives for Genealogy Research by OurPublicRecords.org.
To get an idea of what questions to ask, see Ancestry.com's article:
Build a Story Page
You can insert an anecdote or story on any existing page in your project. In this guide, we'll build a page from scratch.
Step 1: Add a new page to your book.
Step 2: Add your page title, summarizing the story. Double-click the empty text box at the top of the page and type in the title.
If you want to add a subtitle, you can add a subtitle text box under the Text tab and place it below the title.
Step 3: Add a text box to your page to begin typing or pasting in your story.
Step 4: Add a photo that helps tell the story. Photos can be uploaded from your computer or added from your Ancestry Tree gallery. Check out this article for more information on adding and editing photos in your project.
Step 5: Format your text size, placement, and appearance to your liking. See these articles for more information on text editing and effects.
Step 6: Add visual interest by adding a background and embellishments that complement the story. Check out our Help Center for more information on customizing the page.
Ready to get started?
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