Tracing your family tree is an absorbing past time. Often it starts with a desire to find out how far back you can trace your family but along the way you will also start to root out other interesting information about your ancestors. You soon realise that they are more than a date in history.
There comes a point when you will want to gather all the information together and write it down. However, then thoughts generally turn into how to make it more interesting than simply a set of dates.
Look at this example of a fictitious person called William MacDonald.
We could have an entry that said simply -
William MacDONALD was born on 7 November 1897 at 23 Example Street, Govan. He was the son of James MacDONALD and Mary RANKIN. He married Janet FRASER on 22 June 1922 in Parish Kirk, Glasgow. He died on 17 August 1971 at the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow. His home address then was 154 Sample Street, Glasgow.
However by adding in more detail on these bare details, we can build up the picture of William's life.
We could write about his birth -
William was the fifth of seven children born to James MacDONALD and Mary RANKIN. He was born at the family home, 23 Example Street, Govan on 7 November 1897.
Then by adding in some more details that we have from poor relief records, we can add in -
William was the fifth of seven children born to James MacDONALD and Mary RANKIN. He was born at the family home, 23 Example Street, Govan on 7 November 1897. The family lived in a tenement flat and were on the second floor in the left hand side flat.
So we now have facts about William from his birth certificate, the 1901 census and poor relief records (from a later date) which described their flat. The next step that we can take is to add details about his life through putting the family into the historical context of the time. This can be done in a number of ways, for example by researching the area in which William lived and the wider social context of the times.
Mixing all these elements together we have -
William was the fifth of seven children born to James MacDONALD and Mary RANKIN. He was born at the family home, 23 Example Street, Govan on 7 November 1897. The family lived in a tenement flat and were on the second floor in the left hand side flat.
For William and the rest of his family, the kitchen was the centre of activity in old tenement flats. William's family had two rooms. Beds, sink, coal bunker, cupboards, pulley, fireplace and cooking range would all be crammed into them. The cast iron kitchen range was standard in tenement buildings used both as a heating and a cooking tool.
A large cast iron kettle normally stood on the hob keeping the water warm. Every effort was made to keep the fire alight over night, especially in winter. This was done by saving old tea-leaves and potato peelings, mixed with dross (coal dust) and cinders and placing them on the fire before going to bed.
Outside toilets were a common feature of Govan tenements until the late 19th century. Subsequently tenements were built with a toilet or renovated to include a shared water closet on each stair landing. Often too, the only running water was an outside tap that was used by all the residents.
By adding in these details, we are already bring William's world to life. We can imagine how it would be to live in his home. It can be quite daunting to build up these details however they do make the difference between a simple list of facts and an exciting and interesting book about our ancestors' lives.
At Kin Tree we are not only experienced and qualified in genealogy but also in history so we have a wide knowledge base to build a picture of your family's past. We have the experience and knowledge to draw together the genealogical facts and present them in a way that brings your family's story to life. We are also experienced at printing family history books so we can present your book to a professional standard.
If you have any questions on bring your family's story to life or on printing a family history book then please get in touch for a no obligation chat at:
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