Making Your Best Possible Family History Book

Creating a family history book is one of the most popular activities for family historians.  Not only does it provide a family heirloom to be passed down but also brings together all the hard work that has been done into one place.

Planning your book is not only about the people you will write about or the images that it will show but it is also about creating a book that will last throughout the decades or even centuries and so the materials from which your book is made is also very important.

Do you have any ageing books that are looking a little dog-eared or yellowing? Sometimes even they may have the odd torn page. Choosing the paper on which you print your book is crucial if you are to preserve your book is excellent condition for more than about 20 years.

At Kin Tree, we use archival paper to print family history books and other similar documents that need preserving. Archival paper is the type of paper used for storing legal documents etc where a document must last over a long period of time. The paper we use lasts for around 200 years and is not only specially manufactured to stop it becoming brittle or yellowing but also is stronger than normal paper so far less likely to tear.

The ink that is used for printing is also very important because there is not much point in printing on archival paper if your ink then fades.  Kin Tree uses archival inks whether in a printer or for handwriting pens. If you are printing your own documents then we would always recommend this type of paper and ink.

It's important also to have a good quality cover for your book.  A variety of covers are available but Kin Tree use spring back binders.  These are binders that although they look like a book, allow you to take the cover off so that you can add more pages if you find more information on your family that you would like to add at a later stage.

For more information on how we can help you create the best possible family history book, please get in touch for a no obligation chat.

kintree@ymail.com

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Why Cross Referencing Is Important

OK, we are going to say it.... Some family research is not exciting!  However, we are going to qualify that by saying, the bits that might seem less fun can actually turn out to be the most exciting as they can solve a few puzzles.

The bits that can seem less exciting are often when you need to write down all your facts and cross reference them.  It can be, for example that you have all the birth, marriage and death records for a couple and have found all their children too.  You may have also checked some census records and they always seem to live in the same place.  It may seem pointless to write down the details from every census but it can be remarkable what you find.

This can be particularly helpful where there has been some unclear handwriting on a record.  Perhaps a name that is unclear on one record shows up more legibly in another. This can be of particular importance when it is pre statutory BMD records.  There can be little information on church records, especially about women.  Maybe you have recorded a marriage and the woman's mother's name is not clear.  you take a stab at it but without an accurate name, you can look no further for records. At another time, you record a census record where an unexpected name turns up.  By cross referencing, you can check if it relates to the name that was unclear.  Even thought the census record should record the relationship with the head of the household, it is very common for these to be recorded incorrectly or even transcribed incorrectly. 

It is not simply handwriting that is a good reason for cross referencing. One one occasion, we had a census record where a child's birth was recorded.  Before the census, the child's father had died.  We had not found a record of his death but his widow had remarried and had noted that she was a widow on her new marriage certificate.  Later, we had tracked down her late husband's death (he had died abroad) and through cross checking, we realised that he could not be the father of the last child as he was dead before this child could be conceived.  We had not looked further into this child's birth at this stage as it was the sibling of the ancestors that we were researching.  It turned out to be an interesting story, if sad.  The child had been born in the poorhouse but through these records, we were able to piece what had happened to the family after the father's death.  Only by cross referencing all the information on this family were we able to piece this story together fully.

For more information on researching your family tree:

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Keep Asking Those Family Members!

Every family tree begins with the information that you already know and normally the next step is to ask other family members for details.  Once you have these then it may seem like you will have exhausted your family's knowledge but nothing could be further from the truth.

At the start, we tend to ask for names and dates of birth, marriages and deaths.  If our relatives have documents or photos this is great too and most are happy to allow copies to be made.

People often think they are giving you everything they have but will later find, when clearing out a box or things in the loft, that they have all sorts of other items that can help to build your family's story.

There is normally someone in the family that is good at keeping family information so ask in your family about who is normally the best source of information. However ask everybody for information as everyone has their own experiences and knowledge that is unique to them. If anyone in the family passes away then sensitively ask if you could look at any family information that is found if a family member is going through paperwork, photographs or other items.

Old letters, diaries, address books, jewellery and medals are common finds from a clear out of a loft when a family is moving home or simply having a tidy up.  Sometimes there will be more unusual items too. All these items can help to build the details of your ancestors.  At Kn Tree we are expert in explaining the significance of objects from the everyday to the unusual and what they tell us about your family.

In amongst this treasure trove, it is also common to find more documents such as certificates also.  These things are often stored away carefully but are also often forgotten about until they are unearthed for some other reason.  So it is good to ask your relatives to remember your family tree research if they later come across anything related to your ancestors.

Older relatives are good sources of information on family life and other information however people often remark that these relatives can be reluctant to talk or have seemed to have forgotten any details.  Sometimes there may have been a family rift or an event and they do not want to discuss it or anything in relation to it. Never press on a particular issue but of course, it can also be that you do not know of an issue so don't know there may be a sensitive point.  

There are ways to chat though where you will not be stepping on toes and this can help with those relatives that are simply not great conversationalists too!

Try to avoid the type of question which makes it easy to say yes or no.  For example, do not ask

Did you like school?

Instead, you could ask

What was school like when you were there?

Similarly, if you want to know more about home life then a question asking about home life might not get much of a response if it was not happy or they are someone who is not much of a talker but by saying

What was it like in your neighbourhood when you were growing up?

This can be a great starting point to find out more about family life.  The social history of a family brings it to life more than simple names and dates. 

For more information on unearthing family treasures and talking to family members :

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kintree@ymail.com

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How Social Media Can Help Your Family Tree Research

Social media can help you in your family tree research  in a number of ways. 

1. Keeping You Up-To-Date

Genealogy sites such as Kin Tree, Ancestry and Find My Past have Facebook and Twitter pages along with blogs where you can keep abreast of all the latests news.  Even if you don't use them for anything else, it's worth checking these out and connecting with their pages t make sure that you don't miss out.

2.Tracking Down Living Relations

If you have an idea of where an unknown relative is based then a search on social media can be very fruitful. It also has the advantage of allowing them to check you out and to see you are a genuine person and not a scammer.

3. Surname Groups

Social media is full of groups who share the same surname.  This can be helpful in a number of ways.  Firstly, you can find out about the surname and where people are located in the world. Secondly, you may find a family connection. Lastly, other people researching the same surname may be able to give you pointers or have information on the family name that is useful to you.

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4. Historical and Geographical Groups

There are many social media pages out there who are interested in events or places with which your ancestors were connected.  most are friendly and helpful and can fill you in on details that you may not have found anywhere else.

5. Answering questions

Try putting in a search on Twitter for example, for something for which you have questions. In this example (below) the phrase "Seaforth Highlanders" was used and below gives you a flavour of the results.  You can select to look for people called "Seaforth Highlanders", where the phrase is used (as we did) or to look for images.

Bonnie Saunders ‏@Glasstreasures21 Sep

Here is today's feature for you. This is The Seaforth Highlanders Badge Plate. I hope you all enjoy and... http://fb.me/2s3HTQSFK 

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•  Reply 
•  Retweet 
•  Favorite 

We Are The Dead ‏@WeAreTheDead20 Sep

Pte. Eric Oswald Cleugh (Seaforth Highlanders of Canada). Dec. 27, 1942.

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Valour and Gallantry ‏@VC_GC3 Sep

VC: Lance Corporal Robert McBeath (Seaforth Highlanders) First World War http://bit.ly/Xy46jh  #VC

Retweeted by ScotsMilitaryHistory

6. Ask A Community

There are many social media communities out there or a variety of topics where you can simply ask a question.  People are generous with their help and will be glad to help you find information or point you in the right direction.

At Kin Tree, we are experts in the use of social media so please don't hesitate to contact us for more information.

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Tracking Down That Elusive Ancestor

Anyone tracing their family tree will have come across that problem where you know that you should be able to find an ancestor in a particular index but they don't seem to be there. Census records are a common area where ancestors seem to "disappear" for example.

How can we find these elusive ancestors and why might they disappear off the records?

The are common reasons why our ancestors might disappear.

• Spelling - Names were normally written down by the person who was officially recording an event. Different people might use different spelling variations.  There could be a mistake simply because the person recording information misheard a name.

• AKA - Often people were not known by their birth name, The name on the birth certificate may say, for example, Jane Mary Paterson. On records such as the census on some occasions she may have been recorded as Jane however if she was known as Mary, it could have been this that is recorded or many people called Jane were known as Jean, Jeannie or Janet.  She may also appear with a completely different first name because although she was registered as Jane, she gets called Anne, for example.

• Transcription errors - Old handwriting may not be clear so it is easy for errors to be made with transcriptions.  People are not perfect and transcriptions are often done by volunteers who are giving their best efforts. Sometimes people simply make a mistake.

• Indexes - Sites use different methods of indexing for the same information so how you might extract the information in one will not work on another or would bring  forward some results that are the same and some that are different.

So how might we find them?

• Using wildcards, soundex and all the other search tools can help widen the search but can also bring different results depending on what site that you use. Sites will often give you variations on the spelling of a name but try the same search on different sites and you will come up with a different set of results according to which names they think match closely enough to your original enquiry. 

• Finding out information about your ancestor from other sources may shed some light on where they were or the name by which they were known.

• Sometimes it is a case of sitting down and going through pages of information page by page.

• It's important to check a number of sites to find an elusive ancestor or to cross reference your results where the name varies from what you were expecting. This can be expensive of course as most websites cost money to access and time consuming if you are unaware of the best strategies.

How do you cut down on costs and use the best strategies?

At Kin Tree, we subscribe and use a number of websites so paying for an hour or two of our time will cost a lot less than subscribing to all the sites yourself.  Also, being expert researchers we know the best strategies to get results. Contact us for a no obligation chat or further information at:

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Successfully Tracing And Contacting Relations

Kin Tree is often asked if we can search for descendants as well as ancestors. The answer is yes! 

The research itself is similar to looking for ancestors because what is important is to carry it out in a systematic way and have the knowledge to know where to access the information.

It  is  not  only direct  descendants  that people are interested  in finding but also  2nd, 3rd, 4th cousins  etc. People look for these relations for a variety of reasons. Occasionally it is for medical reasons but mostly it is simply to widen their family circle and find out what happened to other branches of the family.

What sometimes worries people is what reaction they will get to the initial contact that is made.  Most people are welcoming and interested themselves and the worst that is going to happen is that someone says they are not interested or doesn't reply.

The way in which you contact someone is very important.  The best way to get in touch is by mail.  This gives the person the time to think about what you are saying and how they want to respond.  If you phone them then they may be suspicious that you are trying to scam them and could brush you off. 

The important things to remember

• Be specific about why you are getting in touch
• Explain how you obtained their contact details
• Give them multiple ways of contacting you so they can pick the one with which they are comfortable
• Offer to share information with them
• Be patient! Some people don't answer for a while

After you successfully contact and get a response from your relation then it can provide new information for you.  It is often one person in the family who inherits the old photos and documents and they are likely to be a rich source of information.  All great for filling in some blanks in your family tree!

If you would like help to search then please contact us for a no obligation free chat.

Contact us by email: kintree@ymail.com  

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++Competition Result +Competition Result +Competition Result ++

Thank you to all who entered our competition!  The winner of the competition is 

Mr David Fraser of Lanarkshire  

David was a little camera shy so did not want his photo on our page however he was happy for us to share the details of his prize with everyone.

David is looking for information on some specific ancestors and so we will be spending the day check information in two archives for him.

Remember, you can contact Kin Tree with any queries you have on specific ancestors, not only to have a whole tree researched!

Contact us:  kintree@ymail.com

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Twitter:  www.twitter.com/kin_tree   @kin_tree

How Reliable Are Family Stories?

In every family, there are stories of ancestors lives.  Some of these are stories that are interesting or fun to know but which don't change our family's story even if they are embellished over the decades! An example might be an ancestor meeting someone famous.  The ancestor could easily have told the story of the occasion in a straightforward way but it is not to say others who heard it didn't interpret it in their own way but present it to others as fact. Over the years, this could mean the story becomes more "details" that it originally contained however no harm is really done as it does not change the story of your ancestor's life!

However, sometimes stories evolve through a simple mistake and it can give a false impression.  A case in mind was one where we were asked to investigate an ancestor who had reportedly played football for Scotland in the early part of the 20th century. It was part of a bigger family tree that we were tracing but naturally, there was interest in seeing if we could find out more about this footballer's career.   

We had identified that the player had indeed played for a senior team.  He had a full time day job and played football at the weekend. For anyone who knows about Scottish football, the bible of facts and figures is "The Wee Red Book" and his name did appear as a Scotland internationalist.  When we looked further into his career we quickly realised that the Scotland player was actually another person with the same name!

We discussed this with the client and they were surprised as they knew the Scotland player had come from the same small town as their ancestor. We were able to tell them that their ancestor didn't come from the same town but why the mix up? Had someone assumed that it was the same person and passed on the story in the family with the birthplace of the internationalist given without any proof?

The truth was probably more complicated.  It turn our that whilst their ancestor who was on their father's side of the family, had not come from that town, the client's mother's family had originated from the internationalist's home town.  the likelihood is someone mixed the two facts - footballer's name and town - in all innocence.

 Family stories can be a great sources of information but it is important to check them out where they involve facts like the footballer's story.  Family members  pass on this information with a genuine belief that the stories are true so it is important to handle any new information sensitively. Although there might be initial surprise at this change of direction in the family's story, most people are keen to know the new details and are pleased to have an accurate family history.

Kin Tree have the skills and resources to investigate your family stories. Most turn out to be true and we can often add details and images to word of mouth stories so please contact us for for a no obligation chat on how we can help you bring your family's story to life at 

kintree@ymail.com

Why not enter our competition to win some free research.  It's a great way to find out if a professional researcher can help you!

Entries close on 30 June 2013

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Should You Be So Quick To Dismiss The Possibility Of A Professional Family History Researcher?

If you are one of the many people who like to investigate their own family history or perhaps are thinking of investigating it, you might think that it is unlikely that you would not need a professional family history researcher.  

Should you be so quick to dismiss the possibility of a professional researcher?

Professional researchers can save you money on doing it yourself.  Looking at Scottish records, a basic online search of only three generations could easily cost you £100.  However, professional researchers can visit centres and do the work for you - and far more work - in a short time period and certainly for less cost per certificate than trying to do it online.  

Part of the fun for you, might be doing the research yourself, even if it takes much longer and is more costly.  However, have you ever hit a brick wall with your research?  Professional researchers such as Kin Tree have obtained nationally accredited qualifications and have a great deal of knowledge of other ways to find out information on your ancestors.  Getting over that brick wall could be all you need to get on with research yourself.  Why limit your family history interest because of a snag that could easily be remedied?

Professional researchers with properly accredited qualifications are used to dealing with archives and with so many records not online, they are ideally placed to visit on your behalf.  

Visiting an archive may not be practical for you or sometimes it can seem daunting but it every day business for the professional researcher.

Most people find ancestors have moved around - often to other parts of the world and it can be a difficult to navigate in other countries' records systems.  Also, like at home, many records will be offline.  Professional researchers are used to dealing with these record systems and have links with other professional researchers around the world who can look for offline records for you.

At a good professional research company like Kin Tree, our researchers have qualifications in both family history but also in history.  We have specialists in Scottish history along with more general history.  This is important to put your family story into context.  Once you have the basic dates, you will want to know how your family lived and perhaps what prompted them to move or do the type of work that they did.  We can all guess at this but with our knowledge of history and how it is properly researched, this can quickly be added to your family story in a way that it can take months if not years to do on your own.

So remember, it's important to think of every avenue for your family history research.  Don't limit your family's story because you didn't check out what help is available.  At Kin Tree, it is always free for you to have a chat.  Contact us for a free no obligation chat at 

kintree@ymail.com

Why not enter our competition to win some free research.  It's a great way to find out if a professional researcher can help you!

Click here to enter the competition 

So You Thought You Had No Images To Add To Your Family History. Here's How To Find Some!

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono
 www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When we are researching our ancestors, it's not always possible for us to have images of them and their families. 

So how can we make their stories come to life in pictures?

If we are looking for images, we can either look for images that already exist or produce some images for ourself!

The internet produces a wealth of images which can relate to our ancestors. First though, remember copyright! Don't simply copy someone's images!  Most people are happy to let you have a copy of images for personal use or will sell you an image at a low cost but please ask!  Remember they have taken the time to produce the image themselves and it belongs to them. You would not take a photograph from their house without asking permission!

A good way to add images to our ancestors' stories is to look for images from the area in which they lived or worked.  There are many sites which have old photos of towns or buildings.  Facebook too has many groups researching specific towns and other  places of interest.  Even if the images don't always match what you are looking for, then you can often leave a message to see if there is anyone who can help.

It is often possible also, to see images of uniforms, medals, or equipment that your ancestors may have owned.  Once again, the internet is useful but  you can also think about visiting places such as museums and graveyards. Look at how we have added to the information by adding the images.

James joined the Royal Navy in 1916 and served aboard HMS Nonsuch.  The photo shows us the uniform that James would have worn.

During World War 2, Henry was too old to join the services. He played a vital role in the war effort as part of  the Casualty Service.  Henry would have had to carry an Identity Card which would include details of his name, address and date of birth along with a description of his appearance.

If it's possible to visit places yourself then this is great!  Although you may feel that the present day image is not representative of the time in which your ancestors lived, it still adds to the story.  Look at  our example of present day image that we took and how it can be woven into the story.

David and Mary were married on 21 January 1905 at Example Church, Anytown. This is the view that Mary would have had as she came over the bridge towards the church.  We do not know if there was snow on that day but the bridge and the surrounding buildings were built in the 19th century so the view is largely unchanged. 

It is also possible to alter photos to give a more "old fashioned" feel. 

David and Mary were married on 21 January 1905 at Example Church, Anytown. This is the view that Mary would have had as she came over the bridge towards the church.  We do not know if there was snow on that day but the bridge and the surrounding buildings were built in the 19th century so the view is largely unchanged. 

Kin Tree can help you with images and writing relevant information.  We can produce these for you or offer further tips for you to do it yourself. We can also supply images, either ones we have ourselves or by visiting places on your behalf.  Getting in touch with us costs nothing so please don't hesitate!

Contact us at kintree@ymail.com

Have you entered our free competition yet?

Click here for details!

Are Siblings Important To Family History Research?

Brothers and sisters can prove to be life long friends or alternatively squabble their whole lives but they may not seem a significant part of family history.

Research is generally aimed at looking at your direct ancestors so your relatives' brothers and sisters may seem of little importance.  They do play a vital role in your investigations however!

Image:debspoons www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Elderly relations often move in with their children and you may find that elusive ancestor residing with a sibling of your direct ancestor.  If this is a female then she may have married so if you get stuck with where an ancestor ended up, it is worth looking at what happens to other family members such as siblings and checking out possible marriage records.

If you hit a brick wall with your research, siblings can be a great way of trying to get over your genealogical barrier. Looking at the family history of a sibling might bring clues to your own direct ancestry. Often, one person inherits all the significant documents or photos in a family and by looking at other people who share some of your family history, you may find information that is important for you also.

Siblings can also help add to the family story.  Although not direct line ancestors to your family, they were the children of your ancestors so have a great significance to the lives that your ancestors led.  

Often migration for example, was to give their families a better life and it can be interesting to look at how people fared.  Circumstances can often change quickly for these people.  Lack of opportunity or education often meant poverty but  a change of country could open up previously unimaginable ways to improve their  situation.

At Kin Tree recently, we had a case where we unexpectedly discovered a whole new part of a family story as a result of looking at a sibling.  We had the death certificate for someone and noticed that the person who had registered the death was the son-in-law of the deceased.  We had no record of a daughter as we only had  sons showing up on census records.  

It turned out there was a daughter who had left home by the time that the family had moved to Scotland.. We found her marriage and her death certificates which confirmed her parents' names.  The family had originally come from Ireland and we were able to track down a birth certificate for her in Ireland which gave us a start on the family's Irish roots.  From that, we were able to trace back two more generations of the family, taking us back to around 1804.

For a free and friendly chat about your family history, email us at kintree@ymail.com

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