FAMILY HISTORY2

Family history is not just about your ancestors. It’s also about you. You are making history just like your ancestors did before you. Think about it. We all are born and someday we will die. Between the events of birth and death, other events did take place in the life of your ancestors. And, some of the same kinds of events have taken place in your life. In family history we will investigate those events in two ways.

Genealogy Chart (Family Tree) and Family Time Line To begin the research, we will write letters to two not easily contacted relatives. In addition, ask

your parents, grandparents, and other relatives to start accumulating items that will help you. The following places might be helpful locations:

Family Bible Baby books, scrapbooks, photo albums Many organizations and web sites also have lists of ship passages, entrance information

into the US, lists of battle rosters, etc. Use the Internet to conduct these searches from home.

GENEALOGY Guidelines 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

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Write your full name on the line numbered 1. Include information about yourself as well. Write your father’s full name, and information about him, in the spaces under FATHER. Write your mother’s full “Maiden” name, and information about her, in the spaces under MOTHER. Write dates using day, month, year (05 MAY 1946). Calculate unknown dates if possible. For example, a person age 2 in 1926 was born in 1924. Write: 1924 (age 2 in 1926). Write place names as completely as possible (city, county, state). If there are documents and records about your ancestors, in your home and in the homes of your relatives, you will want to copy them by hand or photocopy them. Be very careful if you are given the chance to handle very old documents or photographs. If you are real lucky, maybe your relative will give you the actual document, record, picture, etc. to keep. If you do not have any information to record in a specific space (e.g., death date or death place), do not write anything in that space.

TIMELINE Guidelines 1. Research/investigate important events or experiences in your life and the lives of your relatives. 2. Research events such as: places where you lived, schools attended, awards/recognition,

illnesses/injuries, jobs held, news events that affected your/their life, first meeting with good friend, vacations, wars fought in, etc.

3. Although birth’s and marriage’s are important, they should not be part of this timeline. (They are the focus of the Family Tree)

4. Arrange the events in chronological order. 5. Number each event you described. REQUIRED: 10 events before your birth, 5 after and you must

include your birth. (Total of 16 events)

Revised 12-11-02