Creating Your Book Project - page one

Profile manager: April Dauenhauer [send private message]

How to Put Together a Book of Your Ancestors

My name is April Dauenhauer, and I'm sharing this page for anyone who would like to use the sources, or to add their own experiences in creating a book of their ancestors.

UPDATED 8/17/2022

I was not satisfied with my progress on writing a book of my ancestors, so I in June 2022, I took a class at Family Tree University online: Write Your Family History, instructor: Sunny Morton. But first I took the class: Organize Your Genealogy Research; instructor: Gena Philibert-Ortega. The two courses in June and July gave me the tools I needed to make over twenty years of research accessible and useful, and make necessary decisions about how and what to write. The following is my personal journey into producing a book I've longed to put on paper for many years.

Two items that stand out from the writing course are Scope, and Theme.

For Scope, I chose three intertwined generations who all traveled the Oregon Trail in one of two wagon trains, in 1852 and in 1864. So the scope is the span of their lives, from 1798 to 1921, and then a register of the descendants of Constant Barchus, the youngest adult to cross the Great Plains. Therefore: an hourglass format.

For Style, True Fiction told in alternating third person and dialogue.

If you are writing or thinking of writing a book on your ancestors, feel free to leave a comment here on this page or send me a private message.

Or look for this thread on G2G: "Do you want to make a book on your ancestors?"

Thanks!

Book Reviews

Write a Review for Books on "Making your own Ancestors' Book"

• Guide to Genealogical Writing, Penelope L. Stratton, & Henry B. Hoff, CG, FASG, ( Lowell, MA, NEHGS, 2014), 192 pages $19.95

Review: Don't be intimidated - this recently published book begins with a chapter on how to get started. Chapter 14 is already bookmarked in my copy -- Writing Short or Informal Family Histories. If you wish for a more professional result, there is 23 page appendix Genealogical Manual of Style. The authors cover it all, from narrative style, indexing and layout, to citation and maps. Are you a list-maker? They already made your lists for you. This book of 192 pages could take the place of several longer publications. A 'how to' manual and a reference guide, the cover will be worn out before my book is completed.

• You Can Write Your family History, Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, CG, (Baltimore, MD, Gen. Pub. Co., 2003), 245 pages $22.00

Review: My favorite answer in this book is to the question "When to Stop Researching". It speaks to exploring the theme of your ancestor's lives. One that resonated with me is how to use questions to create sympathetic feelings for people in our stories. The author explains clearly, with examples and charts, how to identify and use themes in your family's history, to make their experiences 'come alive' for the reader. Sharon Carmack makes the subject, writing about our ancestors, accessible even to those of us who are not writers or genealogists.

• Bringing Your Family History to Life Through Social History, Katherine Scott Sturdevant, (Cincinnati, Betterway Books, 2000), 242 pages (out of print - see library or used book store)

Review: "Elements of Social History", pages 18-19, is a prompt list if you are wondering what social history really is, or what to write about your ancestors. Or try this list on pages 131-134 - a questionnaire for an oral history interview. If, like me, you have no living older relatives, the list prompts thoughts of where to find the answers anyway. How far did their education go? Check the census records. How did they get food, water, or fuel? Look at a map - did they settle in the city, a farm, on a river? There is a chapter on Evaluating Historical Sources for Family History. Find out how to tell if the book or article you want to use meets the standards historians would expect.

• TIP: 1600s in England - a decade-by-decade chronology of events in England and New England through the great "Age of Discovery"

The Toolbox

Add Links and Brief Reviews for Handy Products or Directions

Genealogy Classes and Courses Online

• Family Tree University: Organize Your Genealogy Research by instructor Gena Philibert-Ortega. Length: one month live instruction, plus one year access to material online, plus immediately download all course materials upon registration! Ka-Boom! 30 years of dis- organization has been resolved within three months of starting the course. Highly Recommend.

• Family Tree University: Write Your Family History by instructor Sunny Morton. Length: one month live instruction, plus one year access to material online, plus immediately download all course materials upon registration! I go back to this well of inspiration every week as I work on my Oregon Trail family history book. Highly Recommend.

DIY Books of Ancestors

I have created two books on my ancestors, in soft-cover "presentation" notebooks. They come with a set number of transparent page protectors stitched into the spine, and one book done in a three ring binder. For this next book on Oregon Trail pioneer ancestors, I want a professionally printed product, so my standards for editing and clean-up and are more rigorous.

Create Migration Maps

• WikiTree Forum - Great Post on Making Maps

• Open Source "U Maps" Free, excellent directions to create a map

• Open Source Street Maps embed a map free

• MapMe - Free -

• My Maps from Google - Free - add lines and save to my computer and print map

• TIP: Family Tree Maker has a function for creating Migration Maps

Online Publishers and Reviews

• CreateSpace is recommended for economy in printing small books. "It's pretty user friendly. It has templates you can use to be sure your book will fit properly on the pages, etc." (Reviewed by Eowyn)

• CreateSpace works really well. It's where I printed my book on my Luttrell family. If you know enough, or are willing to learn, about editing, proofing, etc., you can print with no up-front cost. You then pay a percentage whenever a copy is sold. They do a really good print job and have facilities and templates for designing covers, etc. [Shirley Dalton] [Note: CreateSpace requires this: "If you currently reside in the United States, you must provide us with a Tax ID number"]

• My Canvas I like their templates and user interface. Good preview, and print your page free. Make a book or print a poster. Price varies by size. The same My Canvas that was at Ancestry until Sept 2014 is now at Alexander's. Upside: you can import data from Ancestry.com directly into your book. Downside: You have to have an account at Ancestry.com linked to your book. [April Dauenhauer]