Writing family stories

Tonight’s twitter chat was looking at family stories and how to write them.

StockSnap / Pixabay

What is your ultimate goal with your writing? Does the title of your story attract readers?  A subsidiary question given people are saying they write for their descendants: How do you make sure your stories will be preserved into the future?

I try to write biographies of my direct ancestors to add to my blog and also WikiTree. But when I use photos it is usually about that event or person.

inspired by you @tasteach, I started writing biographies of my ancestors recently and it is fantastic for finding all the gaps in my research 🙂

Very true. I’ve indirectly shared data with WikiTree through my #familyhistory website & WikiTree users have copied and referenced that data

I think the ultimate goal of my writing is to record my research for posterity/my descendants. I’m not sure if the title of my story attracts readers. If you mean the title of my blog – well I hope it’s memorable!

my goal when writing my family history stories ( blog posts) is to record the stories of my ancestors, show how I researched and to share the stories with others and hopefully attract cousin bait!

Yes, hoping to attract those cousins too Sharn. To that end I listed in full names and dates of particular branch of interest on my website, but nothing so far – although by trawling through Ancestry trees I’ve done better on that line

my goal is to have a family narrative story for each of my immigrant ancestor couples. It is being written in Word and then I will PDF a copy for my website.

Two goals – writing as an alternative form of research/thinking, and sharing with others

I include the surname in the category of the post, but maybe I need to use more tags to help with readers finding posts

I always feel I never give this enough attention but usually by the time I’ve finished the post I’m so exhausted I just want to get it out there and am too tired to think of a decent title.

or place names perhaps – I often search on a surname in connection with a place

my ultimate goal is to tell the stories of my families and ancestors for their descendants. I don’t really ‘have’ story titles…

My goal is to record my family stories on the blog so they are archived for the future as I have nobody to take over my research.

I write biographies for my profiles on @WikiTreer, so there is no title, just the profile name. I do it to preserve the research that I have done.

Some of mine would be several pages in length. But what is stated is backed up by sources wherever possible, even for my own profile. I add personal stories whenever I can. My father (and more to add) wikitree.com/wiki/Dickson-4…

my ultimate goal when writing anything about #familyhistory is to leave something for my descendants. I really hope they get to see what has been recorded either via Pandora or the Blog to Books I’ve prepared.

Titles are always hard but I am trying to indicate who I am writing about and where they are from. I am not necessarily trying to attract readers, more to capture all my research into a readable story.

I have not started writing anything other than short pieces on my blog I would like to start writing more about those people I knew personally

I had my first article published in the NZSG last year “Felonius, Wicked and Diabolical?” Writing it helped me clarify the story of my 4X G-Grandfather

that’s a fabulous achievement Catherine and I love the title – very engaging 🙂

I have written parts of my life story, and want to write more once I finish my current batch of profiles. I have been asked to write an article about my famous Piper MacKay ancestors. Still thinking what to do for that.

does the title matter? It does to an extent. For a published book I think it’s useful to select a unique title…check libraries and Amazon. For a presentation it is more useful to have an intriguing title, if the subject matter suits it.

I do try to use catchy titles such as “ Who Killed Great Grandpa” and “ Kitty Keefe, Salad Oil Thief”. I find good titles attract more readers.

Documenting the research process is very helpful and is a dynamic citation as well. Cousin bait is a bonus!

I’m just lucky that mine has been preserved in Pandora but if it wasn’t I guess I would think about buying a domain name et al yes?

I think the way we write family history tends to reflect our reading preferences. I rarely read fiction although I have been known to get lost in the time and place of historical fiction from time to time but generally I read for information so …my predominant motive for writing is to pull info together and document as a narrative for my own benefit and for anyone who has a research interest in what I am writing about … that is, to inform rather than to entertain

We tend to focus on looking far back rather than in our own memory range. When we leave this mortal coil, those stories will be lost if we don’t record them.

To share stories I find about my family, and also to encourage others to write about their own stories. I often try to think of good titles to intrigue/entice readers, and sometimes it works!

Alex have have begun linking my blogs to my own domain names but I’m too am grateful that they are archived by The NLA Pandora website. We are very lucky

My titles vary from the obvious e.g., ‘Thomas Coop – The Roxburgh Years’ to the less obvious ‘All for Twelve Dozen Buttons’

Question about Pandora @nlagovau – do Pandora results come up in general Google searches?

Paul has written a great post about what happens when you become a death certificate.

My goal is to have my ancestors be gone but not forgotten.

An ultimate goal would be to find relatives interested in copies of the expanded research. 1927-1966: 3/4” in a wine-coloured duotang. 1982-currently: 19 binders of varying thicknesses

To make my research interesting to others and make sure the stories are shared.

My little goal is to turn research into interesting stories that people (particularly my sibs & nibs) *want* to read on my website. My big goal is to publish historical fiction based on my research.

Andrew has created a video and included in blog post which is actually the vocals from the video

Tumisu / Pixabay

What do you think the best medium is for telling family stories to include young people? Are Instagram, video clips, or podcasts more appealing than writing? Pros and Cons?

hahaha…maybe TikTok?

actually, this worked pretty well (excuse that it’s my first attempt so not perfect)… myhr.tg/1qhdnDoc

oh I am super impressed with this Chris. You must tell me how you added the extra photos. I feel so dumb. I just used the talking head and think adding other photos makes it so much better.

I loved the idea when I saw the moving photos in Harry Potter…so really want to do more. I just wish I had the right voices.

I think I just did it in the editing phase. I already had collected them for my family history. I also tweaked the script to make it flow a little more naturally. Go back and try to edit yours to see what you can do.

that is not something I have considered. Those are mediums that I am not used to using. I would have to spend time learning and then I’m not sure I could capture all the information I want. I would hope that young people would still read about their ancestors.

Well having done some research recently I can confidently say that it needs to have video and audio – a powerpoint presentation will do but the more dynamic the better to attract/include young people.

my personal preference is writing as it suits my style and more detail can be shown. For younger people who are used to quicker grabs maybe not.

I’m a big fan of short books with lots of pictures, including social history pictures. My children have read them time, and time again.

1. Publish books through a service that adds ISBN numbers. 2. Donate them to libraries / societies around your country. 3. Make the copies available to family members for purchase. 4. Submit a digital copy to FamilySearch’s book collection. 5. Submit a digital copy to the Internet Archive.

it really depends on how young. Our GenZers are vocally social; so make it like a phone message. Older? A series of old letters in IG, an informative blog post, a call out on FB to identify old photos. Younger? A photo collage turned into a puzzle.

re privacy. I’m currently writing about my relative & his involvement in the death of another man. I’ve decided there’s no need to go into the details or name the deceased, in case his descendants see it.

There’s a lot to be said about oral history and telling younger people stories. These can range from bedtime stories based on fact to discussions around the kitchen table. Ideally with a print copy for future memory keeping.

Like people of any age group, won’t young people have a variety of preferences? Many young genies blog and clearly enjoy writing, while others also host podcasts/YouTube videos

TikTok or Instagram are probably more suitable for younger people to engage with family stories. Not sure where videos or podcasts fit. Cons: older gen family historians are less comfortable with those media.

Maybe we need to try and offer a mix? Write the blog posts, but also link to them from a ‘quick bite’ on instagram or Tiktok?

Brilliant suggestions Maggie. I think this is the way to go moving forward. A bit like appetizers and then a main course if people want to know more.

Young people? I’ll be happy if my younger brothers & sister listen to our stories. During lockdown, a captive audience, I prepared a PowerPoint presentation & invited them to a Zoom meeting. Went well. Instagram, FB, Twitter, etc are links to website

My nephew has started working on @WikiTreers after reading my profiles. Today he has done two. He reads stories to his young children. I will suggest he reads the profiles to them. Hoping his daughter, my one-year-old namesake, has the genealogy gene.

Personally I prefer writing blog posts but sometimes I have included slideshows in the post or an actual clip from an interview eg soundcloud or equivalent

The best way to engage young people is probably podcasts, YouTube, Instagram. I don’t think they are interested in reading blogs these days. Generalising here.

I think there is probably a range of preferences within any given age group with regard to preferred medium so I don’t think there is necessarily a best medium as such.

I would say podcasts but remembered my daughter once fell asleep at the lunch table while I was in full family history sharing flight…

my children don’t read my blog posts online but they do read my blogs on book form when they visit and I leave them on the coffee table!

How do you write about emotions or place to make your stories and ancestors more engaging? How do you deal with ethical and privacy issues that arise as you write?

To add emotions to my story, I reflect on what was I thinking and feelings at the time an event happened. To add emotion to a story about an ancestor, I add family context and social history.

I.E., Imagine a woman on her wedding day seeing an empty pew where her youngest brother should be sitting. The sibling she helped raise after her mother’s death was in the Pacific Theater during a bloody battle. (Instant emotion.)

Not sure I have the wording proper: I try to put myself in the situations. For example, I am “Tommy” writing to my sweetheart, fm Amiens during #TheGreatWar not knowing this will be my last letter to her.

I tend to be more focused on getting the facts and context right so do pay attention to time and place … Not so focused on emotion or motive … don’t want to impose my 21st Century view of the world on people from another time and place.

I agree Jane! It may seem obvious to us how they’d have felt but maybe it was wildly different eg they may have been thrilled to leave a difficult family dynamic behind, or get away from the claustrophobia or a village. We can’t know with any certainty.

I am finding this discussion about emotion very interesting as I get the points about not knowing/editorialising/projecting – but at the same time, can’t escape thinking about emotions/motivations

Place is a lot easier. Descriptions and using pictures to get ideas of how it looked at the time our ancestors lived there. Ethics and Privacy – this should be at the forefront of any writing and getting permission of those written about.

100% agree! Place is easier too because we can refer to historical records or other sources.

I have deliberately not included material that I have found even though it is in the public domain as I am writing about distant cousins often. Their close family may not know. I lean to the cautious side for information

My #AtoZChallenge family stories this year are mainly fact based, Recording research works in progress. Stories will be added to the facts later

I don’t tend to include emotions in my blog posts unless it’s to point out how someone might have felt experiencing something. Or unless they left a diary telling me!

Visiting an ancestral place either virtually or on the ground can help when writing up a story. Using sensory descriptors can really help. I’m personally cautious about attributing emotions which will be coloured by our own views.

It’s a tricky line, isn’t it? I tend to err on the more factual side, but perhaps that makes the stories a little duller?

Leslie Albrecht Huber does this brilliantly too in her book The Journey Takers – imagining her ancestors at the time, as well as following with documented events, and her own research journey.

I was very pleased with my imaginary story of George Kunkel’s last day before emigrating. Even got a thumbs up from the local historian. I could explore emotions, smells etc.

Yes that’s what made Devotion by Hannah Kent so great huh? The attention to detail and the excellent imagination combined with thorough research.

Yes I agree it was very good and a non-genie cousin commented on learning about the migration. Even so, need to know that not all experiences were the same: era, place, religion etc.

Lots of questions here. Emotions if they are not your own stories and reactions are hard to convey as we tend to put our own emotions on our ancestors stories. We can only imagine the emotions our ancestors felt.

Depends on where writing. In this article for PROV I noted ‘I have omitted the real trauma behind [their stories] because it would feel like exploitation to share everything I have learnt about my family.’  prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collec…

To which I add that I haven’t worked this out in the in-depth writing I do hope to share publicly. I have a book on my TBR pile called ‘Privacy and the Past’ & I really must read it

Getting signed privacy permissions from every living person in my book was one of the two biggest nightmares along with copyright. I’d tend to cut it off at the grandparent level if doing it again – fewer alive.

I wrote about how my g g grandmother would have felt as she undertook the long journey to Qld from Germany unmarried and pregnant

I don’t write about current generations and generally stop with my great grandparents. That way I feel that I can write about their struggles and help family to understand why their lives were so hard.

My stories are more fact than fiction so rarely gets emotional. I try to add more description by having researched place and time.

Ethical and privacy issues are tricky. I try to think how I would feel if someone wrote something like that about me. You need some distance between you and your subject – I’m talking time. Hopefully those nearest and dearest have left this mortal coil

Emotions are hard unless you have their own words to describe them. Ethical & Privacy are easy, follow the ISOGG guidelines.

such a good question. I don’t know really. I guess I try and put myself into my ancestor’s shoes. I try and think about all the senses to make it authentic.

I like to use photos where I can to help visualise the story. Diaries can also do that if you find one written by someone else who was on the same ship or lived in the same place.

Before writing anything about a living person on my blog, I get their permission first. Most don’t mind and then they read the post and tell others about it.

dweedon1 / Pixabay

What techniques or tools do you use to get your creative juices flowing, find time and get motivated? What stops us writing about our ancestors and overcoming road blocks with our story-telling?

I’m looking forward to learning some (from the others here). I’m very slack, and have only written a few blog posts. My problem is that I always have too many projects ‘on the go’, so not enough time.

I realize that there’s no such thing as writer’s block in family history writing. With a timeline and the correct focus on the writing process, my problem is time, not a lack of creative juices.

I follow 2 mottos: 1. It is what it was. So, tell it as it was. 2. Know your audience (during the editing phase). Older audiences can tolerate more specific details so long as it’s not a hit piece. Younger audiences need truth but only enough to get the sense.

What stops …? Work, family, yard work, car repairs, medical appointments, power outages, and no ink for printer

After doing the family history diploma at UTAS I knew my stories would be factual rather than fictional.

My family stories are factual Sue but I do enjoy writing fiction as well. There’s just never enough time!

Some people are very good at fictionalising fact without crossing the line into fiction but, like you I am more comfortable with fact … sometimes including assumptions but clearly identified as such

Use a theme to collect the stories around for publication. Time… Well that’s a whole nother thing and I wish I could make some more. Most of my writing is talks, so I try to include family in these.

I used NaNoWriMo to get started on my novel #TheOnlyLivingLadyParachutist got a jumble of 20,000 words down in a month and then spent years finishing it

It seems harder for me to write my own story than to write about others. I have an outline, but keep changing that.

I tend to write directly on the blog what information I already have. Then I research more to find the bits that make the story more interesting using newspapers etc.

I’ve written more since I decided I don’t have to be ‘finished’ researching someone to write up what I have. I’m very visual, so having a photo or a map to get me started is easier than words on a page sometimes.

Thank you for raising this VERY important point Lorna. Many people have mentioned PLACE tonight and yes, sometimes I can’t get going with my writing until I’ve looked at a map or photo of the place.

Joining a non-genie writing group or doing a class can be a great help I think

I have a goal of 2 profiles a day at present as I work through my 700 @WikiTreers profiles again adding to them. After that I could add new ones, but I have other tasks I want to do – scanning my overseas slides (NZ ones have been done) and writing my story.

I overcame a recent roadblock by changing my ancestors’ names to something completely different. I’d written about my grandparents and found I was too emotionally attached to write about them, so I detached by making them “different” people.

I also focused on the 7 people with the ‘best’ stories, all interlinked. Having thought about them as ‘characters’ with emotion helped me a lot. I did a ‘character’ workshop with fiction writer @KateForsyth – brilliant help!

I tend to be inspired to write while researching something that interests me and I think would make an interesting blog post

I had a major mental roadblock when writing my book. I solved it in the end by writing an imaginary description of my ancestor’s last day before emigrating, using what I knew of the village, and clearly said it was fiction.

Perhaps a possible road block is the desire to have it complete and of course that never happens. You can always add more later just get something done before it is too late.

Yes I agree Shauna. We think we have to wait until we’ve solved every gap and answered all the questions. Better something than nothing. I can imagine how much more nuance I could have added to my book if Trove had been available – but I just write it on my blog.

I tend to write directly on the blog what information I already have. Then I research more to find the bits that make the story more interesting using newspapers etc.

When I had more time, I loved the Geneabloggers prompts – useful for coming up with shorter blog posts. Now, it might be a brickwall I have, or have broken down, or a story, or a photo, though I find it more difficult to set aside the time to write

Having a regular time to write probably helps though doesn’t always work for me. Motivation varies and sometimes accepting that and working on another aspect is a necessary diversion. Having a clear idea of your goal and why you’re doing the writing helps.

When I was doing well (pre-pandemic) I set myself a small goal of 200 words a day, every day, c.1400 in a week. Didn’t make it the first day, but sat down on day 2 and didn’t end up missing a day for 6 months. I LOVED writing & seeing the word count go up

Setting dedicated writing time and sticking to it. Trying not to do additional research but that is often difficult. Get a first draft down quickly and then edit and improve from there. Don’t think to hard, just get it down.

I wish I could claim professional sounding techniques but I just love researching and blogging. If I get stuck I use memes. You never think you have done enough research and of course, you are right, but time waits for no woman. Just do it.

I tend to reflect on a topic I want to write about…either mud-map it or just cogitate. My subconscious helps to tie it together overnight. The hazard is lying awake with ideas surging around the brain.

 

Chat about RootsTech and other conferences

This month the #ANZAncestryTime chat was all about conferences we had attended or plan to attend in 2022 but especially RootsTech.

Tips when watching RootsTech

When you watch a session you find particularly useful, don’t forget to check the syllabus that’s available and download it.

Pexels / Pixabay

Did you participate in all aspects of RootsTech ( main stage, sessions, playlist, expo hall, relatives around me)? What did you enjoy about each of these?

Nearly everyone mentioned they had a long playlist to watch throughout the rest of the year. Many were going to watch the keynotes after they were recorded as timing not always suited to Aussie/NZ times. Many had relatives at RootsTech but most were 8th+ cousins. Some had had replies to messages for those cousins who were closer.

The theme song was very catchy and like by many. Most wanted some sort of PDF created with all the sessions to make it easier to mark off those they wanted to watch. Some found the categories for filtering sessions was not easy to follow. Most followed themes eg Ireland, Scotland, DNA when choosing sessions for playlist.

Much discussion about Live Story from MyHeritage – many felt it was creepy putting words into our ancestors mouths.

If I had a wish for the Playlist it would be the option for another tick box or similar so you can remind yourself you’ve watched a session without removing it.

This year #RootsTech had a link to “Calendar” as part of the menu. This allowed attendees to find day/time for the Main Stage, live sessions, & Expo demonstrations. It helped me to keep focused on the 2022 live sessions for the first 3 days.

My #RootsTech spreadsheet, mainly created for me. Caveats: I only included English-speaking sessions; I assume times on website are MT, so I converted to ET; there may be typos; did NOT include speakers/descriptions. docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

I would have like to be able to mark them as watched or have a Watched List

A bit of everything but with a main focus on #DNA sessions. Found the #RootsTech playlist problematic during the event because it couldn’t be ordered by day and time.

I started with DNA, Ireland, Scotland then specific speakers especially England, Australia, New Zealand

I have done that too Sue. Found a speaker I liked and watched all of theirs. One was a series on Scotland records. Most I knew about, but each had an extra record that I now know to try.

I chose two topics. Scotland and DNA. I have watched several talks on DNA and hope to watch one tomorrow as I ran out of time today. I am interested in mtDNA and YDNA.

I’ve been a bit more focused this year, in the hope I’ll actually watch everything on my playlist.

I watched a mix of sessions about Historical Records, DNA, Historical Places and a few others. I liked that they were listed by topic.

I didn’t participate in any live events as I found it hard to navigate and find sessions that I was interested at times that suited me. No cousins closer than sixth. I will definitely revisit some of the recorded sessions over the next few months

I also create a Watched RT2022 playlist for watched ones. This way I know where I am up to with the sessions. I find the playlist great for the conference. In later months I have found Youtube easier to manage as I have many other videos waiting to be watched.

I was quite excited this year to have had Relatives at Rootstech. Only 7 but they were all close Scots who went to America. Last year I have 0. I’ve contacted them but haven’t heard back yet

I confess to being a hopeless #RootsTech attendee. I think I saw just one session but I really enjoyed it. Hopefully I will catch up on more later. There’s never enough time is there to do everything?

each topic on the ethics discussion could have been an hour on its own

I’m saving the DNA talks for when my brain is in fully functioning mode

I’m saving my DNA talks too for when I can take time out and really concentrate

I found Paul Maier’s session on the Million Mito Project fascinating. Lots of good information about mtDNA

I started watching the series of videos by the one speaker rather than the one off.

I did some pre recorded sessions, visited the expo hall, checked out any chat on my two talks and did Relatives at RootsTech but no one really close. I was away from home and internet access not as good plus other things going on.

Watched a couple of live sessions, and now working my way through my playlist – focused on Ireland and NZ. Have enjoyed the ones seen so far!

I prioritised the mainstage and watched them all. Also watched sessions and visited expo hall. Really enjoyed the mainstage especially the dancing.

I listened to most of the keynote speakers and I contacted people via Relatives Around me. I enjoyed the Expo hall and joined the Essex FH Society. I really liked the theme song this year! I made a playlist but as yet have not watched everything.

viarami / Pixabay

What new skills, knowledge or perspectives did you gain from RootsTech? Have you put any of these into practice yet?

I just had a play with #Live Story on #MyHeritage tonight and so far have received the thumbs up from my son so think this is maybe the only way to get the younger generation interested in family history. “Way cool” was his response. 🙂

I’m interested in timeline feature / tool also. Useful for finding gaps and illogical facts like being before born before parents too.

I had one third cousin on the list. Have been in touch with some of that family line. Others mostly distant and questionable, with some very dodgy FS trees

Most of the sessions I’ve seen so far have reminded me of record sets I haven’t investigated fully or for a while. Also love hearing about techniques to tackle brick walls – always something to learn.

I watched the BNA one closely, wrote a bit about it for local genealogy magazine, then discovered they had a 30% off discount for a few days so I signed up!

93 in my list of Relatives at RootsTech. 9 people are 3rd cousins once or twice removed. All from a common ancestor in NZ and might be church people also. Nice to see closer matches.

Hi Brooke, As I’m a newbie to DNA I found some sessions and then looked up the name of the presenter, and worked out the order from there.

Last year, in addition to my YouTube playlist, I printed off the list and highlighted ones I was interested in and ticketed off those watched. I did not see a printable list this year.

I had trouble finding speakers or sessions with the search function. Whereas last year I printed it and then highlighted what I wanted. Not very techno but it worked

No new skills gained yet . I have suggested that short videos on using the UKFreeGen sites may be helpful for newbies to WikiTree

I have yet to put any into practice as I have been too busy. I had the excellent @scottishindexes conference last weekend, and I bought a new car as well, delivered today. Once I learn to drive it, I’ll be back to normal stuff.

Haven’t really had a chance yet but did try to confirm the relatives for whom I also had DNA matches. There are so many new things I find it hard to keep up with everything.

I’ll be looking at New York State, New England USA related sessions – Gedmatch’s new features were something I’m working on and I want to look further into DNA Painter and MyHeritage new features

Since watching the DNA sessions, I feel more confident to send off my AncestryDNA kit, first time testing!

I learnt about Jamaican Research. I was very keen for these sessions as I have Jamaican ancestry and wasn’t sure where to begin. I feel confident now to move ahead with my research

manfredsteger / Pixabay

Which speakers and sessions would you recommend? How did you connect with others during RootsTech?

checking the sponsors videos for news in the exhibitors hall. FTDNA and DNA Painter! Playing the others at fast speed, skimming the more razzmatazz or advertorial parts, the new features on offer are worth keeping up to date about.

Delighted to say that the recording of my Scavenger Hunt  @RootsTechConf workshop is finally online. You can watch here. I’ll be putting up a follow-on Q&A on my blog asap. familysearch.org/rootstech/sess…

finally found out that apparently I am automatically enrolled in the Million Mito project as I have done the ftdna mtdna test

I also liked this one by Beth Taylor – again you may need to watch it serveral times youtube.com/watch?v=bUf8tw…  – grouping DNA matches

I liked this one – good tips and tools – it might be necessary to view it a couple of times – youtube.com/watch?reload=9… – searching for close relatives

You’ll also want to read this guide by @legalgen that follows up on the ethics session at #RootsTech. legalgenealogist.com/2022/03/06/the…

I have given a few answers to this re the Scotland talks. But as I have yet to watch most, too early for recommendations. I connected with one speaker who I knew through @WikiTreers. No one connected with me

Joshua Taylor was great as he always is. He’s always my first choice. Fiona Brooker. Nick Barratt. Loved the Aussies. So many great speakers

Really enjoyed @UlsterHistory Gillian Hunt’s session on Irish landed estate records, and @FamHistAcademy Cathie Sherwood’s talk on Irish workhouses. Caught up with some geniemates via Zoom virtual pub sessions.

I recommend Andrea Bentschneider and Katherine Schober for German records

I really enjoyed Fiona Brooker’s session on Recording Memories…a bit different.

Sessions by @DrPennyW were interesting. Also the DNA painter ones are always helpful. others I enjoyed were Johsua Taylor, Tim Janzen, Nick Barratt, Michelle patient, Fiona Brooker, Cheryl Hudson Passey, Dianne Southard, Rob, Hamilton

The main way I connected with others was friends with messaging apps. Suggestions of sessions to watch were useful. I did try the chat however being interrupted by work did not help the conversation.

I’d recommend everyone watch Keynote Maysoon Zayid. She was amazing. Very funny and super inspiring

I had to check my diary. The three are called “Birth in Scotland”, “Marriage in Scotland” and “Death in Scotland”. Another good one was “Secrets of ScotlandsPeople” by Alison Spring.

another issue for me is that virtual conferences are not as interactive personally. It is too easy to say I will watch it later rather than get up early as you would in person.

I thought the roundtable Oz session on brickwalls with Michelle Patient, Fiona Brooker and Deb Carter was dynamic and well hosted. A credit to the regiment 🙂

Being away meant I didn’t really have time to participate but I did follow up comments/ questions on my talks.

didn’t watch speakers just joined some discussions some were poorly attended unfortunately

As noted before – live sessions that @fiona_memories & @patientgenie held. Helps that I am interested in NZ & DNA research. Another I enjoyed was DNA and the Settlers of Taranaki, NZ which was from 2021 and I missed it the first time around.

My Rootstech playlist so far on YT. YTube playlists can be public or private ( have a couple of Shotbox ones in it, just ignore those)  youtube.com/playlist?list=…

Karen Evans had some great sessions on UK ancestors on a budget

What’s the LucidChart one? Love using it for displaying DNA matches – will have to check it out.

Its a program that allows you to create flow chats and diagrams and the session used it in conjunction with DNA results and matches

crystal710 / Pixabay

What other online or in person conferences have you attended recently or are you planning to attend this year?

I find the interaction with an in-person conference that makes it better for me. Plus visited close cousins in the USA and UK when in RT was in London

Working on the Christchurch Family History Expo being in person this year. Cross your fingers for us.

Most recent conference attended was @scottishindexes – always worthwhile! Hopefully in-person events here this year for August #FamilyHistoryMonth, and am booked for #FHDU in Sydney in November.

I am going to the @GuildOneName conference next month in Oxford it was postponed for the last 2 years looking forward to meeting in person

I am running talks and workshops at local library but only getting low numbers due to Covid still but allows more specific Q&A

I can’t attend in person conferences as travelling and eating away from home are too difficult for me now. Really pleased that we have these online now. I will attend future @scottishindexes conferences if online.

And I love to hear the Scottish accents. That would have been how my grandfather spoke, but he died when I was two. Such a variety of talks and so much knowledge. Reminds me to download the handouts.

I have attended a couple of online ones in the last year and joined virtual family history society sessions attended a hybrid one last night

I attended tonight so that I could get an idea of what to follow up. And how others participate in this virtual world. If there is a hybrid in 2023 then my intention would be to go in person

I’m a bit nervous about attending a big person to person event but I’ll be still wearing mask and being very careful. I’m keen to start living a covid normal life.

we have other travel plans to Maldives in Dec 2022 and then Scandinavia UK & Portugal in June – July 2023 which will involve some family history road tripping – so $’s won’t stretch to Roots Tech 2023 so hybrid will work better for me

I can’t wait to return to beautiful Norfolk island for @AFFO2015 I’ll see a few genea-friends for the first time in ages!

have been to a few and how I interact depends on how long the talks remain on the website. If you only have 72 hours then I try to watch in person or clear the weekend. If it is longer I usually have the mad rush to watch everything just before it closes.

I attended the @scottishindexes conference last weekend and will be going to Congress on Norfolk Island as well as the Qld State Conference at Redcliffe both IN PERSON! And a few others in between

As I am still wearing a mask when indoors at any shops etc, I wont be doing anything in person only online – hopefully the Female Convict Research sessions in early May and FHDU22 later in the year

I have booked accommodation for the QLD state conference at Redcliffe 21-23 Oct – Sands of Time. sandsoftime.org.au Thinking about the Family History Down Under in Nov or the virtual if I do not go. fhdu22.com

Blogposts about RootsTech sessions

Judy: Dos and don’ts about DNA

Roberta: DNA sessions at RootsTech

Maggie: a Legacy webinar re DNA tools

Sue: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Readers: What did you find most useful from RootsTech? Why?

Society record sets

Each state of Australia has records in their libraries and archives but many towns have their own historical society and they also have records available for their particular area. A list of many family history societies is found at the AFFHO website – Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations. Alona Tester has also put together a 75 page list of Australian and New Zealand History and Genealogy Facebook groups.

Family history societies are a great and sometimes under utilised resource.

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Do you belong to a family history society? How does your society share its indexes and record sets with its members and the wider community?

I belong to several societies both local and farther afield where my ancestors lived. If $ was no object I’d join even more. 🙂

I belong to quite a few Family History Societies both in Australia and in the UK. Most have a good range of resources online but some records are not digitised. In this case I sometimes use the Society’s research services

I belong to the Tasmanian Family History Society as well as Sorell Historical Society. TFHS has an index on their website you can search tasfhs.org/csi.php

I have used this index Sue. Tasmania seems to have excellent resources for family history

I had never seen this index until I started looking for links for tonight’s chat

Yes and yes. Our resources page lists what we make available on the web and more that can be accessed on site genealogy-noosa.org.au/resources

Yes, I belong to Caloundra Family History. CFH as a large collection of records on computers, maps, microfiche, etc. Members have access to this at the rooms. We have a list online of this & our books so we do get queries. caloundrafamilyhistory.org.au/library-comput…

I belong to 4 family history societies and one of the reasons I stay a member is the online resources provided by them. Oops just realised I belong to 6 societies – how could I forget Caloundra and Bribie Island

These days most societies have access to their catalogues, and some indexes, through their web pages. The best ones have ways of ensuring remote members can get the benefits even if it’s with a fixed time of research offered

I think we’ve come to expect online access after the covid experience of more being online

I only belong to Society of Australian Genealogists (or I will again when I renew. Oops.)

I joined the Maryborough Family History Society years ago and it became the first Australian Society to put records on Ancestry.com. Through the Cooroy and Toowoomba and other Societies I found records I would likely never have found

I found that the Devonport or Mersey branch also have lots of online resources tfhsdev.com/index.html

I used to belong to the Invercargill Branch of the NZ Genealogical Society, but they changed their meeting time to dinner time. I no longer miss meals for meetings. Also the topics were not of interest to me.

I tend to agree with you Margaret. This is something that some societies need to look at. The one in our town is at an inconvenient time and has been that time for decades. Lifestyles and needs change

My local branch changed their meeting day to a work day for me, so I rarely attend now unless it’s a topic or speaker I really want to hear. I’ve joined interest groups instead as they have weekend meetings/events.

I think Covid has also changed societies approach to access – there are more online meetings and access to subscription sites through your membership. Great value the last 2 years.

It’s worth remembering that many societies have social media pages where they post regularly. You can join their Facebook etc pages even if you’re not a member. What you learn might tempt you to join.

The way I’ve used the SAG records is to order files before my visit, using the online search, & then visit the archives site to view. Lucky I can do that, being in Sydney.

I belong to several family history societies, though I don’t often take full advantage of membership. Depends where I’m at in my research! Some have online indexes which have proved incredibly useful.

I belong to several family history societies in England including @GuildOneName some share things with members

I belong to quite a few Facebook groups and follow a lot such as Gairloch Museum, Scottish Indexes, etc.

Facebook groups can be very useful Margaret. I have joined some that display old photos of my ancestral places as well

if you live in regional Australia and don’t have easy access to the major society libraries, then it is essential that they cater for the needs of more remote members.

I used to be a member of Devon family history society and might need to rejoin as have found lots of dad’s new ancestors came from there devonfhs.org.uk

I sometimes join a society especially on overseas one while I am researching a family line. Depending on what is available I might keep the membership going

I was a member of Bedfordshire FH Society for many years, but let it lapse as my research interests changed for a while. Need to rejoin again as I’m back to that line again

I do this too. I usually keep my Australian ones going but dip in and out of the overseas depend on research interests at the time

I know it’s away from the question of societies but relevant archives usually have good indexes to some records as well. @travelgenee is correct – it can be a challenge to maximise our use of all the societies we join.

I also belong to the Essex Society for Family History that I joined a year ago via #rootstech. They have collections online of Parish Registers and Memorial Inscriptions. I have not made as much use of this as I should have! Need to see what else they have

I also belong to the One Place Society although my OPS is not getting far lately

Sorell also has a Facebook page and after lots of chat one time, they did include membership info and many joined.

Have always belonged to SA too genealogysa.org.au essential for South Australian record sets

Many societies now have journals available online for members some go back many years

But @GSQPresident #Toowoomba & Darling Downs FHS and Toowoomba Historical Society #Online #indexes for #records held at society allow me to plan my research ahead of time

I’m part of @IGRS_1936 which has unique databases on its website for members.

For me, one of the most valuable indexes is the Hamburg to Australia indexes and publications through @QueenslandFHS. They are gold for people with German ancestry in that time period.

I belong to Family History ACT. While most of my ancestors are Tasmanian I’ve found their special interest groups and library resources really useful esp for English ancestors further back

Also joined the Irish Genealogy Research Society because I needed to access something on their database. Have not used them much though should investigate South Carolina as I’ve discovered ancestors there going back to first settlement in 1670

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Question 2: Does your society have any of its indexes/record sets online with one of the big genealogy websites? Are there benefits to this? Do you think users realise these were created by society members?

We are now indexing even more at Cooroy-Noosa Sharn. Currently doing photos from 10 years of newspapers 1985-96

Another thing to consider/ask whether your local society sends out the e-journals from other societies. Perhaps another way to access your area of interest? Caloundra FHS does this.

as WebWeaver at Fellowship of First Fleeters website I have been working on improving findability of our records & journals back to 1968 fellowshipfirstfleeters.org.au

Our society does not have anything with the big genealogy companies

I am running a workshop on Thursday afternoon at Sorell FHS on the blog I am using for my one place study. Hoping to get some of the participants to write some posts for the A-Z challenge. sorell200.edublogs.org

Another benefit of a local society is that they often have publications relating to their area. Toowoomba and Darling Downs FH Society is an excellent example of this. Check out publications and shop on a society’s page.

I have been taking note of Ancestry’s American sources when researching my New England US ancestry

I don’t think most users look at where the data comes from. Society members might notice but people usually cite Ancestry or whoever without acknowledgement of the original source

I always check Shauna but that is because I add sources to my tree and blog posts. I find it interesting to see where data is sourced from

My guess is that most users of the big sites haven’t a clue who has done the indexing. This is a shame as it might encourage people to see more of the benefits of a society. They don’t realise that members have put a lot of time & effort into the indexes.

I have joined American Ancestors americanancestors.org which covers New England – great online resources – some of these available via Ancestry

I’m sure most users, maybe just casual users, don’t realise society records on the big genealogy sites have been submitted by society members

There are $ benefits to the society for having their indexes with the big sites and also for users who don’t want to/haven’t joined the relevant society as otherwise they may not have a clue they exist.

Two of them do but the other 2 don’t have their resources in subscription sites. This is so the data is exclusive to their members and a reason to join.

I think Covid has also changed societies approach to access – there are more online meetings and access to subscription sites through your membership. Great value the last 2 years

Online meetings and access has been a great highlight of the past two years. =Being regional, I hope it continues

Me too Jennifer. Access to so much more including those free documents from the National Archives UK.  One of the few Covid benefits

Caloundra Family History has indexes they created online with Ancestry. Benefits include access to Ancestry at the rooms for a set period of time. Ancestry acknowledges “Original data: Caloundra Family History Research Inc.” & includes research tips.

Sorell also has a Facebook page and after lots of chat one time, they did include membership info and many joined.

I know that Hampshire and possibly Lincolnshire have indexes on Find My Past

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Question 3: Tell us about indexes/record sets your society holds which are unusual or unique? Have any of these led to research breakthroughs for you?

I found Scottish Indexes a great resource for my only Scottish convict

Cooroy-Noosa indexes cover 25 years of local newspaper clippings, names, organisations, clubs etc. also indexes to early tennis and bowls clubs memberships One member has indexed local land records too.

New members get toured through centre and depending on skill of research assistants (volunteers) on duty that day, should be shown everything. This week one very experienced member running a local history workshop on our resources

We do similar tours with the volunteers and volunteer training. Also give each new member a buddy to help them. They are responsive to introduce them also. Plus do workshops on what we have available. Looks like we are very similar

Illawarra Family History Group showed their resources in Wollongong City Library at its January 2022 meeting – covid restrictions mean that one on one sessions with inquirers are still not possible but emailed inquiries can be handled illawarrafhg.blogspot.com

My favourite discovery in society indexes years ago was at @GSQPresident. They had indexed the Equity files for the period immediately after Separation and I found my Kunkel ancestor there – opened up great discoveries.

With Genealogy SA I can get all the data from birth death and marriage records as part of my membership. Being able to access this data online without purchasing a certificate is really good

The answer to this question is the key differentiator that every family history society should put above the fold on their home page. Potential members need to know, what does this FHA have that I can’t get anywhere else.

Interesting point. I will have to think about what I can do to improve this. Things get pushed down the page and there loads of details on our Join us page. Perhaps a Join us button is needed.

I added a Join us to our home page, links to an online document which can be sent by email, still relying on a bank deposit. Hope to add PayPal soon genealogy-noosa.org.au/home

PayPal fees are a small extra cost though the number of members paying by credit card shows they want this. We have to start providing what members want and keep the old processes for a while also.

#queenslandFHS has indexes of Qld school pupils which can be invaluable if you have peripatetic relatives. My grandfather’s younger orphaned siblings could be found through these. You can easily see the actual register then online at @QSArchives

Caloundra FHS has an index of Railway employees which is also online. Even though I’d searched extensively in other areas I found my great-grandmother listed as a gatekeeper.

Hampshire have a Wills beneficiary index which can be very helpful

Speaking of German migration, the Ances-Tree journals of the Burwood & District society have detailed articles by the late Jennifer Paterson. These are invaluable as well as unique

Lincolnshire actually have a search facility to make it easier to find what may be available for a particular parish that they have indexed

One of our members Peter Mayberry has built a very useful website on Irish convicts to NSW but I think that has been a private effort

Peter Mayberry’s Irish convict site is one of my key go-to resources

Very few of my ancestors came to Australia however Caloundra Family History does have things like some NZ records. Again, I have not made full use of these. Being a @FamilySearch Affiliate Library gives us access to more records via our rooms.

Fellowship of First Fleeters has all its newsletters/journals back to its inception in 1968 online – these are searchable too fellowshipfirstfleeters.org.au I have found this useful for doing my own research

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Question 4: Have you helped index, collect record sets, or promoted the society’s holdings?

Not really. However, I’ve written two family history articles for two historical societies in New South Wales. One is published and the other is under review. I’ve also corrected many articles on Trove, which has hopefully assisted other researchers.

It strikes me how much we now take for granted in terms of online access. It really isn’t all that long ago (20-25years) since everything was offline and required in-person visits. It’s changed the face of #genealogy research

Remember this: It strikes me how much we now take for granted in terms of online access. This is why societies indexed so much. No online indexes at archives, no Ryerson, no Trove, no online BDM or census searching. It’s changed the face of #genealogy research.

Am actively involved in 2 digitisation projects indexing stuff, and do all the website, FB and some internal promotions. too. Giving 2 more short how to Zoom workshops in March as some members still not confident.

Caloundra FH is indexing for the @naagovau presently. Has the advantage of a wider audience getting access to the indexes. Though societies need to do some local things that a national body might not be interested in to provide value to local members.

Back in the late 1980s @GSQPresident set out to index deaths in newspapers. I was allocated six months in the midst of WWI. You can imagine how many hours that took reading microfilms. Sadly the project seemed to languish somewhere. Now we have Trove

Though an index can be a quicker way to get to the source. Ryerson, for example, is good when you do not have access to the local newspapers or can chase them up later.

And it lets you get beyond the official death date indexes 😉

Indexing is a great contribution but also look among the publications to which many researchers have contributed. I have entries in the Drayton Cemetery books published by Toowoomba and Darling Downs FHS

During Qld’s sesquicentenary many Qld FHS had special projects. @GSQPresident updated an earlier project on early pioneers. @QueenslandFHS asked for stories of pioneers who arrived pre-1859. I did stories on my own ancestors + “my” German immigrants.

Making things more accessible for distant members or those unable to get to meetings is the way forward now

Yes, totally agree. The assumption that our ancestors lived in the same place as we do is less and less valid as time goes by.

I agree Hilary. I’m regional and I’ve loved being able to participate more during covid than in the past. Online is the way to go for success I’m sure

I have promoted the Fellowship of First Fleeters materials on its website and also the physical library on our Facebook page – we also have the FFF library’s catalogue on the website fellowshipfirstfleeters.org.au

Yes back in the 80s I did a lot of cemetery transcriptions with the Genealogical Society of Queensland and the Queensland Family History Society. There can be real clues on tombstones

I help promote our records via the website and we also have a FB group for members only that I must remember to share the resources we have on that so that more members become aware of them.

I have not helped with indexing as I live a distance from the area and did not have the time whilst working

Some comments about family history societies:

Following #ANZAncestryTime I’ve been looking at some #FamilyHistory Society websites. I challenge all FHS website managers to include a picture of young people engaging with #Genealogy at your society. You can’t be what you can’t see.

It would be interesting to know if society membership is going up or down. Some seem to be incredibly active now with online webinars while others don’t seem to be proactive online. Probably depends on their volunteer pool and skills.