Writing Our Family Stories
Our Family History is filled with names, dates, places, and the discoveries of our families’ involvement in historical events. Most importantly, it is filled with STORIES! Stories that need to be recorded and preserved, and then shared, not only with our own family members, but also with others who may have similar connections, or just want to learn the history of their communities. Many of our stories involve the social history of our ancestors. They tell of countless everyday lives and the activities that they participated in, as they interacted within their neighbourhoods and family relationships. We uncover mysteries and heroism, courage and perseverance, tragedies and triumphs, love and loss – stories stranger than fiction, and stories we have never heard before, because they were never passed down. These stories are the real reason we continue researching – to find the why, and the where, and the how of our ancestors’ lives. We must find…. the rest of the story! We become the caretakers of those stories, and we have a responsibility to ensure they are preserved. They are our Heritage. At The National Institute for Genealogical Studies, it is our goal to provide genealogical-related educational materials to assist family historians and researchers to expand their skills, not only for research, but in many areas. Methodology is foundational; and knowing where to locate essential documents is absolutely vital. However, our online courses cover a vast array of other topics related to documenting our family history. One of those areas is Writing. It is so important to not only document our findings, but we must write them out as well. Otherwise, they may be lost again to the next generation. Our family stories must be thoroughly researched, verified, drafted into sharable narratives, and then written into a final project. This can be in the form of simple ancestor profiles, detailed research reports, family history books, or a variety of other formats. The choices will be as varied as the families they represent. Family History Projects take on new life through the creative insights of their authors. Their only limitation is the necessary skills needed to take their idea and transform it into their vision for the final product. This is where The National Institute’s courses assist them in developing these skills to achieve their goals. Listed below are some of our courses dealing with the gathering those stories and the genealogical…