Just joined LVUG community.

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Hello All,
My name is Mike. Like many others, I have joined the community following Tessa's great webinar.  I have been researching my family for over 25 years now.  I created a family history book for my Dad's 50th birthday and got bitten by the genealogy bug.  I live in South Wales, UK and am more than happy to help anyone who has Welsh or UK ancestors.   

I have been using Legacy for many years now and am a big fan.  I am currently using Legacy 8.0 with Windows 8.0.

I am looking forward to sharing with you all.
Bye for now from a very windy and rainy Wales!

Comments

  1. Tony HoldichMay 5, 2015 at 7:53 AM

    Hi Mile
    I have been tasked with creating a family history book for our President's 90th birthday present. Would be interested in what software you used and any tips you may have.
    Thanks
    Tony

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  2. Mike EdwardsMay 5, 2015 at 10:23 AM

    Hello Tony,

    My very first version for my Dad was on a typewriter, with photocopied prints-off from microfilm etc!!!. Now I really am showing my age!  I have done several since then which fall into two different kinds. Here are some examples...

    (1) Family History Binder For My Godparents:  I printed off descendant reports, family group reports, media files etc all of which I keep in or linked to legacy.  This was therefore a collection of facts that proved their ancestry rather than the telling of a story.
    (2) Family History Stories:  I am working on one for my uncle. It is much more of a collection of personal profiles of some of the more interesting members of my family.  All my research is in Legacy but I am using Word 2013 to put it all together.  With this type, I chose to produce a summary of his ancestry via pedigree charts etc and use this to highlight the individuals I wanted to write about. I have then produced a chapter on each character, about 8 in total.  I picked up some nice tips from a Legacy Webinar by Lisa Alzo (11 Mar 2015).  

    Here are the tips I found most useful (I am sorry if you saw it and this is all repetition for you):
    (1) Planning (isn't it always!) - Unusually for me, I planned it out before writing anything using a 'storyboard'.  I created a mindmap for each character picking out some of their more interesting points and gaps where I needed to do more work.  I then mapped out 6 -7 blocks of the story for each character.  I moved the 'blocks' and characters around in the book so that it flowed better.  For example when I mapped out the storyboard I found that I had two cousins who had very different beginnings in life but similar patterns to their lives - a key catalyst event, a rise to fame, a fall from grace etc.  The storyboarding showed up these themes and I was able to compare and contrast them in the book.  
    (2) You don't have to run from beginning to end -  The second key point made by Lisa that I liked was that we don't have to tell the story in chronological order, from birth to burial.  Instead, I enjoyed picking one the key events from my storyboard and weaving the genealogy around it.  For example, one of my ancestors ended up in a gunfight in the US - How did he get from being a coalminer in the South Wales Valleys to a fight with a 'posse'?
    (3) Use storytelling techniques - Lisa had some great reminders on her webinar. To bring the character to life, I thought carefully about writing in the active voice, used sensory (sights, sounds etc) language wherever possible and built in dialogue whenever I could find it.  For example, I found a published book about my 2x great-uncle  (who still holds the record as the longest serving vicar in Wales).  He served for 76 years as the parish priest.  When the bishop asked him to retire when he was in his nineties, he replied "If he had known the position was temporary I would not have taken it in the first place". 

    This change in writing style was really rewarding.  Plus, it forced me to look for character clues in lots of different places.  As a result, I found new sources for my research.  

    I hope this is of some help.
    Mike

    Webinar Link: http://www.familytreewebinars.com/download.php?webinar_id=251

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tony HoldichMay 5, 2015 at 1:07 PM

    Mike that is brilliant - a really detailed response - lots to think about. I'll let you know how I get on.
    Many thanks
    Tony

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tessa KeoughMay 7, 2015 at 7:32 AM

    Well Mike Edwards you have already taught us all something - great information about creating a family history book. Welcome to the LVUG Community - wow 25 years of research, very impressive.

    ReplyDelete

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