Not all family histories have to be massive recordings of multiple generations. You could just create a story of your immediate family -- your parents and siblings or your spouse and children.Get a rough idea of how far back in history you intend to search. This will help you decide what kinds of resources you need to explore.
In addition to deciding how many ancestors you want to include, you should also consider if there is a particular geographical location you want to stick to. If your ancestors immigrated, do you want to conduct research about their lives in another country or do you want to keep it centered in one specific location?;
, Similar to deciding on your scope, a clear research question will help guide your research. Is there a particular ancestral figure you want to focus on?For instance, do you want to know why one branch of your family moved to another region of the country? Do you want to know the source of an old feud with another family? Asking something specific will help you narrow your scope and then branch out into other information.Decide what you already know. How much information do your already have on your family? What gaps in knowledge exist? How do you intend to fill them?

, In the digital age, resources for finding information on your family can be easily accessed on the internet. Here are some types of records that can help you build a family history:Land deeds and records (often available about the National Archives' web site for the U.S. as well as the records division of your local county courthouse)
Census information (available at the U.S. Census Bureau's web site)
Military records (National Archives)
Ship passenger arrival records and land border entries (National Archives and The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation Inc. web sites)
Engagement/wedding announcements, birth announcements and obituaries (often in local newspapers or church bulletins)
School yearbooks or old transcripts (usually available from the person's alma mater)
Legal documents such as wills and testaments (also available at their corresponding courthouse)
Church registries (check with local churches if you know your family has a history there)
Old letters, journals or diaries from ancestors (ask older relatives if they have these)
Family recipes and/or cookbooks

, While records and written documents will give you important facts, visual sources will make your history more engaging to read. Look for old family photographs, maps of land, posters, postcards, and newspaper clippings to include. Nothing will make your history feel more alive than actual depictions of your ancestors.Look for other physical items such as childhood toys, clothing, jewelry, kitchenware, and mementos/keepsakes kept by your older family members to include in your family history. These items will give you a sense of your relatives' tastes and interests beyond a basic genealogical record.
 Genealogy libraries specialize in resources for finding your family history. They often include extensive microfilm collections where you can read a variety of helpful sources all in one space.Some of the most well-known genealogy libraries in the U.S. include the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, the Midwest Genealogy Center, the Family History Center in Salt Lake City, the New England Historic Genealogical Research Center Library, and the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research in Houston.You may find that taking the time to visit one of these libraries will actually save you time in the long run because of the wealth of resources they provide all in one place.
You should also check your local library system to see what kind of genealogical resources they provide.
 If you are limited in your ability to travel to libraries, then try to use on-line resources. Web sites such as Ancestry, AfriGeneas, Find A Grave, Archives.com, and Genealogy provides lots of great tips for starting your family history.They will often provide timelines and checklists so you can properly organize the information that you are gathering and save it in a digital space.
On-line resources will also be convenient for sharing materials and records with other family members if you don't plan to send a physical copy of your family history to many readers., Sometimes the best historical sources are your current relatives. As you are gathering information, structure your interview around want you want to know. Do you want to hear about a particular time or period in this subject's life or do you want a general overview of their family history?Schedule the interview for a time and place that is convenient for your subject. This may be in their own home or in a more public place.
Document the interview. You should plan to take notes during the discussion -- don't just assume that you will remember everything afterwards. If you don't want to take notes, try to record the interview with a recorder or video camera.Ask important questions. These should include fact-finding questions (like the names of relatives/dates of important events), but you can also ask substantial questions about family traditions or customs, family trips, and how your subject related to their local communities.
Respect sensitive subjects. Over the course of a person's life, they may experience something very painful or have a moment they do not want to revisit. Respect your interviewee when they say they don't want to discuss something -- don't push them or make them feel uncomfortable.If you do not know your interview subject well, consider asking if a close friend or relative of theirs will accompany you during the interview. This might make your subject more comfortable while they are talking to you if you are a stranger., Some genealogical histories are simply lists of names, birth and death dates, marriages and offspring. While this is a good place to start, it probably won't give a very in-depth view of the personalities belonging to the people in your family.Focus on narrating the story of your family rather than simply making lists on a family tree. Give details about your ancestors based on the research you have compiled. Did the family suffer financial ruin at one point? Did they have any disputes in court? Did anyone commit a major crime? These are the kind of substantial details that can make your history a compelling text to read.
Consider if you want to divide sections of your history by time or by geography. For example, if one branch of your family is from one state, but another branch of the family still lives in a different country, consider dividing the family history into regional or geographical sections rather than by a historical timeline.
 If you are putting your history into a book format, you should have some tools that will make it easily accessible for your reader. The most helpful tools will be a Table of Contents (so your reader knows how the history is structured) and then an Index of Names at the back.


The Index will be especially helpful to a reader who wants to learn about one member of the family in particular., You don't have to follow each family member's life from the moment of their birth to their death. Opening a chapter with the sentence, "Beauregard Fortiscue was born on October 9, 1875" will often put the reader to sleep because they already sense the arc of this story.Instead, open with a compelling anecdote about your subject. Have you found a long lost love letter from Beauregard to his wife? Do you have evidence that he was entangled in a bitter land dispute with a neighbor? These are more compelling stories to use as an introduction to his history and they will hook your reader early on.
 There are number of style guides you can use for correctly citing your sources, such as the Chicago Manual of Style or Modern Language Association style book. Pick one style guide and apply it to the sources in your project.You will generally need to cite a source whenever you directly quote from it or whenever you refer to it generally (as when you paraphrase or summarize a section from it).
Most citations require the name of the author of the source, the date it was published, and the title of the work (such as The Journal of Beauregard Fortiscue, 1888-89).
Sources from records such as the census or other similar documents should also be cited. Consult the style guide for specific instructions on how to cite it properly.
 The best way to improve your writing is to get feedback from other readers. Consider joining a local writing group (often hosted at local libraries or community centers).If you have some extra money, you can also consider taking a class in non-fiction writing at your local college to help improve your writing skills.
Writing groups will also give you a set of deadlines to meet while you are drafting your project.
 You can also hire a proofreader to help you with this if you want to spend more time focusing on the content of the story. Try looking for local freelance writers or even asking students in a graduate writing program if they want to take on a side project., Self-publishing might be the best route for your family history; it is likely that your broadest audience is your own family (and future family members), so most major publishers will not take on your project. But there are lots of options for self-publishing today:Look for local printers who use Xerox DocuTech if you only want to print a limited number of copies. These are often lower-cost options that also provide a quick turnaround.Consider print-on-demand publishing. On web sites like Lulu, you can print one book at a time directly from a computer file (rates begin at $13 for 24 pages). This is a good option if you think you might only want a couple copies of your history.You can also turn your history into an e-book for free on web sites like Scribd., While you might assume that your family history should take the form of a book, there are many other formats to consider as well.


The website PlaceStories allows you to pick notable addresses on a digital map and then attach stories to them. You can consider using this site if you want to base your history geographically.Vlog your research. You can also make a series of videos in which you discuss your research and then upload them to sites such as YouTube or Vimeo if you want to orally tell the story of your family.Consider using a digital newsletter that you can email to your friends and family. Each newsletter can feature a story about a different relative in your family history and it will present the information in easily digestible chunks as opposed to one long book. You can use services like MailChimp or ConstantContact to create these kinds of newsletters and mailing lists.
 In a survey conducted by Ancestry.com, more than 67% of users reported that learning about their family histories made them feel wiser; a majority of users also reported that it helped them feel closer to older relatives.If you have been looking for a way to get closer to relatives you don't know very well or whom you have lost touch with, then researching a family history can be a great way to do this.
 If your family belongs to a marginalized or oppressed group, writing a family history can also help you dismantle racist or stereotypical narratives about your family's ethnic or religious background. Writing can become an act of empowerment for your family and broader community., Writing can have significant benefits for your mental and physical health. Studies have shown that writing can ease symptoms of depression and anxiety.It has also been show to reduce symptoms in cancer patients.Not surprisingly, the mental work of writing has also been shown to boost your memory.
Define the scope of your history.
Define a research question.
Locate and analyze important records.
Seek out visual resources.
Use a genealogy library.
Embrace on-line resources.
Conduct interviews.
Decide on an organizational format.
Make your history accessible.
Try a non-chronological organization.
Document your sources.
Join a writing group.
Proofread for correct grammar and spelling.
Publish your history.
Consider other digital formats.
Embrace the benefits for your family.
Reclaim history for yourself.
Reap the health benefits of writing.
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