Why it is important to know the history of your family

Studying family history engenders a sense of belonging. This is a great opportunity to get more information about how ancestors lived. Not only about the vicissitudes of their fates, but also about who led the state at that time. Life stories are sometimes very confusing, sometimes the plots of the most exciting TV series cannot be compared with them. The study of the family tree allows you to learn interesting facts, for example, about the participation of great-grandfather in World War II, about the feat he accomplished. Or that great-grandmother’s family was subjected to dekulakization. Such events are not an empty sound, it is important to know about them and remember. They engender a sense of pride for their ancestors, because they were able to cope with the hardships of life.

Despite all the difficulties, great-grandparents were able to continue the family line. Among them were certainly worthy people who faithfully served their homeland.

Such information helps many people to cope with the difficulties that accompany modern realities.

Drawing up a genealogical tree allows you to see how it has grown and multiplied. To understand that you are not just family, but that you are descendants. Some people need to know this so they do not suffer from a sense of loneliness.

You can always rely on family, but you also have to take responsibility for it.

Thousands of people around the world are interested in the history of the origin of their family name. Many families have photo albums, which the family members and visiting relatives gladly look through on holidays, indulging in memories. They share their knowledge with the younger generation.

How to learn the history of your family?

Many people ask: how to learn the history of the family? This can be done in a variety of ways. A good idea would be to make a genealogical tree. Be sure to look at the city archives.

Memories of living relatives – grandparents – should be appreciated. Each person’s life path is unique, it’s important not to lose personal history.

Young people often dismiss old people as nonsense. This behavior is fundamentally wrong. They can tell many interesting stories, not only about their lives, but also about what happened to their ancestors.

Among modern people, there are not many who can tell what their great-great-grandparents’ names were.

An independent research of family history will reveal many interesting facts. For this purpose, it is recommended to visit archives, interview relatives, including distant ones.

How to study the history of the family? – Collect information by the scraps. Not only paper archives, but also the Internet can help. There are whole communities, forums, participants of which have common interests, keen on family history. They willingly share the collected information with like-minded people, give useful recommendations.

You can also enlist the help of specialists; they can help you find information, but their services cost money.

Collecting information about the family is a painstaking job, but it is necessary to compile a family tree. Colleagues and acquaintances may be interested in this topic.

Historical events are reflected in the lives of ordinary people, there is even a whole science that studies the origins and family ties, it is called genealogy.

Everyone can become a curator of the history of their family if they want to. If you find interesting facts, they must be made public. Write a story about a great-grandfather’s deed done in the name of the Motherland and publish it on the Internet or just tell it to people gathered together on the occasion of a holiday.

How can you store information and then pass it on?

The information collected should be carefully preserved to pass it on to our descendants. Sometimes it happens that interest in family history fades and found documents, photos are lost. It is worth thinking about your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Inheritance is not only material values, but also interesting facts from family history.

There are many ways to preserve information from the life of the family. You can start a home archive, make a genealogical tree. Collected information is best kept not in paper form, but in digitized form – on a computer. It is desirable that the files were not in a single copy, because the technique can also fail.

Duplication allows you to save the information found and make it part of the cultural heritage. The most correct decision is to store copies on different media. One digital medium can be placed on your desktop and the other in cloud storage.

Old family photos should definitely be restored. It won’t hurt to videotape the stories of older relatives, either.

Keeping the history of the family means increasing the glory of the ancestors.

The post The Importance of Studying Family History appeared first on Gen-Home.

It is easier to manage with the following services, which are available online.

Family Tree Builder comes first, followed by RootsMagic. In some cases, a particular person needs to pick up a program to suit their needs. Consider a list of the most common genealogy services.

MyHeritage

After registering with the service you can create your own online genealogical tree, create a calendar of family events and more. It is possible to order a DNA test for an additional cost.

Family Tree Builder

The Family Tree Builder program is described in detail on the official website.

Using the program you can build a family tree with photos, with the program you can set a background image for the tree. If desired, you can display the place and dates of birth and marriage, place of residence, profession and other information. Creates family trees, you can display statistics.

RootsMagic

Program with clear interface for making a family tree and saving documents from the past of your family, your relatives.

Canva

Service for creating a variety of graphic objects: design citations, group covers, media objects. The site also has original layouts for building a genealogical tree. The convenience of the service is that the created family trees can be downloaded and printed in a photo salon or print shop.

Search the site for “family tree”.

GenoPro

With GenoPro you can build a genealogical tree and a family tree. After the data on relatives is entered, a graphic representation of the family tree can be fully displayed.

Family Tree Builder: 4 types, how to build a family tree beautifully and correctly

GRAMPS

Free genealogical software, for managing genealogical databases. In the program you can create and track the life path of ancestors. Works with many formats for storing databases.

Personal Ancestral File (PAF)

A free program for Windows, a software platform for completing and creating a family and ancestral family tree.

Relatives

The program Relatives is suitable for building genealogical trees of any complexity. It has powerful tools, clear and visual graphics with a convenient search for a family tree.

Geni

Free service for creating a genealogical tree. The worldwide Geni family tree reunites over 132 million people worldwide.

GenealogyJ

A free program for making a family genealogical tree. Great for structuring information about relatives.

The post Top genealogical tree software appeared first on Gen-Home.

All data should be scanned (keeping everything only in paper form is not too reliable), and then used to make a digital chart. The original documents should be put in one folder and put in a place where you will not lose them.

Next you should interview all relatives. Do not delay, the most information you can get about older relatives, and they are not eternal. It is worth making a list of questions in advance, so as not to miss anything. First of all you should be interested in:

• The name of the relatives;
• Date and place of birth;
• places of work (by year);
• years and places of education;
• marital unions (also by year);
• Number of children, their names and dates of birth;
• dates of death, where they may be buried.

Knowing most of these data, you can make requests to archives and collect information there.

But you should not neglect the stories about the life of your relatives. Traditions, legends, memorable events unite generations and give a sense of belonging to something greater.

Put all collected information into the scheme at once, so as not to lose anything, not to mix up and not to forget. Structure the data, it is best to have a separate file for each branch or relative.

What information to collect first: 7 basic points

First of all, you need to collect a family archive. Find any surviving official documents, photos, certificates or awards that belonged to your relatives:

• Birth, marriage, and death certificates;
• employment records;
• certificates;
• Diplomas and certificates;
• letters of commendation;
• Certificates of merit; award certificates.

Digitize information and put it into a computer right away. Structure the data, record all conversations with older relatives on a tape recorder, and only then transcribe the audio into text format. Make backup copies of the data (technology can fail at the most unfortunate moment).

During the conversation with your relatives, first of all try to get information about:

• dates of birth;
• First and last names and patronymics;
• places of study (and years of study);
• places and times of work;
• marital unions and children (with their names and dates of birth);
• places and years of service and death;
• notes, family legends.

The post How to make a genealogical tree: on your own and for free appeared first on Gen-Home.

The scheme of the family tree includes:

• The tree is the most ancient symbol of Life. The image of the family tree reflects the connection of three generations from the past, present and future.
• Usually the roots of the tree represent the ancestors, the oldest members of the family.
• The trunk symbolizes the present, the people now living.
• The branches, crown, and leaves represent the future of the family and the continuation of the lineage.

Usually the depth of branching of such a tree covers several generations at once. In this case, the information that is indicated on the scheme or tree can be different:

If all direct descendants of one particular person are indicated on the tree, the schema will be highly branched with a large number of relatives on the outer levels.
Only the researcher’s known ancestors are entered into the schema. Side branches in such a tree are usually cut off in order to present the information in a more compact format.
There are also trees that cover only members of a family with a particular surname (for example, all men of the family). Married descendants in the female line are removed from such a scheme.

There are several varieties of schemes that are most often used to visually represent a family tree.

Horizontal family tree

This type of tree can be quite often found in European family archives. In such a tree, the ancestors are depicted on the left, and the branches go in a horizontal direction. In addition to direct ancestors and descendants, this sometimes includes other relatives by blood, in which case the scheme will be called mixed.

The vertical family tree: the top-down scheme

In this type of tree at the head of the scheme is located the ancestor of the dynasty or family, and descendants are distributed to the branches and go down to the roots. It is possible and to locate the ancestor at roots of a tree while descendants in this case will rise on branches from roots of a tree.

In this version of the scheme, there are no descendants in the female line (daughters, granddaughters, spouse’s ancestors). The tree is compiled only on the basis of data on the descendants in the male line, since a woman can get married and change her last name, which will lead to the “rupture of the family tree”.

The vertical genealogical tree: the ascending schema

The ascending scheme assumes that a child will be at the head of the tree, from which two branches will diverge – the father and the mother. From each of the parents there will be two more branches (their parents, i.e. grandparents of the child), etc. This tree format makes it possible to combine the direct ancestors of one particular person.

Circular family tree scheme

An atypical family tree scheme. It is often also compared to a bird, as its right wing includes the mother’s ancestors, and the left wing includes the father’s ancestors. The child is placed in the center of such a circle.

Usually, the circle is drawn quite large, so that the first circle can fit inside the second one. The second circle is divided in half: the mother’s name is written on one half and the father’s name on the other half. Next, a third outer circle is drawn, which is divided into four parts. Grandparents’ names are written in these parts, etc.

The post Genealogical tree: what it is and how it is made appeared first on Gen-Home.

• 1940 U.S. Census and all Canadian censuses
• Parish books, cemetery records and marriage indices
• Passenger lists and travel records
• Irish Catholic parish records
• 1881 Census of England, Wales, and Scotland

The post Free entries on FindMyPast appeared first on Gen-Home.

As the use of social media becomes more common, more and more users are finding ways to make their accounts valuable resources for genealogy professionals – either to share information or to facilitate discussion. We’ve compiled our favorite accounts that are interesting and informative and allow you to connect with experts and other genealogy experts like you. Social media is constantly changing, but these accounts are a great starting point for turning social media into a valuable tool for your genealogical research.

Facebook

One of the major benefits of Facebook is the ability to join global forums such as DNA Detectives, national groups such as Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, and state- or region-focused groups. We could devote an entire article to Facebook genealogy groups, so instead we’ve highlighted a few of our favorites below and focused the rest of this list on just the Facebook pages we really like (pun intended).

AccessGenealogy

AccessGenealogy is an extensive directory of free records and resources on U.S. genealogy, especially Native American research. The AccessGenealogy Facebook page is a great way to keep up with the latest free resources and site news. Both the AccessGenealogy website and Facebook page are tools that every Native American researcher should keep in their pocket!

Explaining the Evidence

This page, based on Elizabeth Shawn Mill’s classic book, Explaining Evidence: Citing Historical Sources, from Artifacts to Cyberspace (Genealogical Publishing Co.), is a great resource for those who “use, cite and try to understand historical records.” The posts here mostly link to a website explaining the evidence, which hosts an impressive number of forums on citation, evidence analysis, and more. The Facebook page functions as a sort of overview of what’s going on in the forums, and is a great place to dive into the minute details of record usage and citation.

Twitter

Twitter is the “birdie” of the 21st century for the latest news and gossip. But with access to so much information, this little bird ends up looking more like a whole flock! The following accounts are our favorite tweeters whose songs cut through the noise.

@LegalGen.

Judy J. Russell (also known as “The Legal Genealogist”) is a mainstay in the genealogy community, and her Twitter feed is a great way to keep up with what’s going on on her blog. Russell tweets about genealogy news, research and more, all with her trademark focus on the legal and civil aspects of the genealogical world.

@TNArchivist.

Melissa Barker is a professional genealogy expert and the head of the Houston County, Tennessee archives. She regularly posts helpful tips and instructions about all things archival on her blog, Genealogy in the Archives. But she’s also a regular tweeter. If you’re at all interested in archiving or preserving, her account is definitely worth checking out.

YouTube

Once known for funny cat videos, YouTube has surpassed Facebook as the most widely used social media platform. Free lessons, historical film and brief history lessons are all a click away on this giant video sharing site.
Origins

Ancestry.com has a robust YouTube channel that offers instructional videos on how to use its products and services, as well as some genealogy fun. Barefoot genealogy specialist, Krista Cowan, has an entire playlist of step-by-step instructions and tutorials. You can also watch small snippets of various shows created by Ancestry.com, including “My Family Secrets Revealed,” and watch the full 2019 Sundance film “Railroad Connections.”

British Pathé.

British Pathé, originally known as Pathé News, was a leading producer of newsreels, documentaries and other films in 20th-century Britain. It has since evolved into an impressive archive of films with digital video files available on its Web site and on YouTube.

Users can view a library of more than 80,000 videos, including (among other historical newsreels) interviews with Titanic survivors.

The post The best social media accounts for genealogy appeared first on Gen-Home.

A separate profile is created for each relative in them, and after receiving an e-mail invitation, they can edit it, exchange messages and photos, as well as take part in joint work on the tree. Considering that each genealogical tree can potentially grow to infinity (we are all brothers and sisters), the latter feature is very useful. No matter how enthusiastic a researcher may be, he or she cannot cover all the family connections alone – so it makes sense to get relatives involved, who can fill in their line and pass the baton on.

Among the family social networks present on the Internet today there is one powerful, serious genealogical resource MyHeritage.com and several less functional and similar services – such as Geni.com, FamilySpace and others. In this review we will look at the main features of MyHeritage. This is an Israeli service that is available in 36 languages. It works in conjunction with the downloadable for Windows program Family Tree Builder. The family tree is edited in the desktop client and then it can be published on the family website. You can use the service not only to work directly with the tree, but also to create an extensive family chronicle that includes information about each relative, photo albums, and other historical evidence. MyHeritage also offers many opportunities for entertainment and research activities.

You can download the installation file on the service’s official website in the Downloads section. The installation of Family Tree Builder will take place over the Internet. To log into the program, you must have an account on the MyHeritage website. Working in it begins with creating a project. It has a separate folder on the local disk which includes a configuration file, a compressed GEDCOM database and added photos. Later you will be able to restore the project from this folder or from a site (import and export of a separate GEDCOM file is also included).

Completion of the tree starts with specifying the first family – husband and wife, then it is suggested to add children to this family, and further branches off from this family to all other relatives. You are supposed to indicate yourself as the first person, your other half (if you have one), and start making connections: here are my parents, children, brothers and sisters, their relatives come from them, and so on. Each person in the tree is assigned a unique ordinal ID (it cannot be changed later). Having selected a family member, the user can edit his personal data: sex, name, surname (but there is no separate graph of patronymic), date and place of birth and death. Dates are given by the Gregorian calendar, Jewish or French Revolution calendar, and not necessarily exact – approximate ones will do. In addition, one can add occupation, education, personal information, contacts, quotes, notes, biographical facts, additional information such as physical data and DNA markers, and attach photos, video/audio files and documents. It is not difficult to notice that almost any information about a person can be entered into this card. You can add an unlimited number of relatives to the person, which are divided into groups of “Parents”, “Siblings”, “Spouses”, “Children” (new persons who are not related to each other can also be added). There can be more than one parent and spouse – in this case you should specify that it is, for example, an adoptive mother or second wife.

The side column contains a list of persons, which can also be viewed as a tree. However, its structure does not provide a clear view of the relationship between relatives. Here you can see a list of families at the origin of the family: the families of children are descended from them, and so on, but the children displayed in one family are not present in the other, despite the presence of kinship links on both lines. In the main information window, the connection is displayed both by mother and by father, but you cannot see relatives outside the families of parents and children there.

The post MyHeritage: Genealogy in Web 2.0 style appeared first on Gen-Home.