Here's how it works
Some families may have stories of their ancestors that reach back into time with swashbuckling pirates who sailed the seven seas and some may have stories about wagon trains settling the West. Some ancestral stories may not be about places, but about the struggles and the triumphs that are now being celebrated.
I want to help you celebrate the uniqueness of your family, your story. Telling the story has become an important part of knowing who you are and leaving a legacy. Understanding how to tell the story is where I come in.
FIRST GATHER WHAT YOU KNOW
The gathering begins as you pull together all of the information you have from the attic, boxes and dusty drawers including letters and photographs. Some families will have great documentation already and some may have almost none. It is at this point that I might talk about whether there is a family member whose Oral History would be an important part of your family story. This is just the starting point but truly helps identify the questions you have about your family story and history.
BEGIN OR CONTINUE RESEARCH
Research starts by confirming the accuracy of the information you have gathered. If it is based on Aunt Martha’s memory, I may need to be sure the information is correct. If it is based on historical documents, we will know it is a great place to start further research. Years of experience has taught me the importance of using multiple sources to validate information in order to avoid costly and frustrating mistakes.
UNDERSTAND THE MANY RESEARCH TOOLS AVAILABLE
The Tools I use to confirm that accuracy of information and continue the research are the many genealogy databases and websites that are available both online and offline. My expertise in understanding each database and what it has to offer, is the way I find additional information about your family's journey. There are many amazing stories told from the small details contained in a census and birth or death record. I am also able to use the information from a DNA database if you are interested in testing and I am familiar with different testing companies.
PRESERVE YOUR STORY
Now that your story has been captured, let's share and preserve it. There are many choices in preserving the family story for generations to come. Keeping a family tree through an online platform or software program that can include historical documents, personal photos and private stories is one of the most common ways to preserve the memories. But there are also many other options we can explore and several genealogy products available including charts and books and other types of media.
