We Are the Chosen

CONNECTING COMMUNITIES IN NORTHWEST INDIANA

My feelings are in each family we are called to find the ancestors.
To put flesh on their bones and make them live again,
To tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve.
To me, doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead,
Breathing life into all who have gone before.
We are the story tellers of the tribe.
We have been called as it were by our genes.
Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our story.
So, we do.
In finding them, we somehow find ourselves.

How many graves have I stood before now and cried? I have lost count.
How many times have I told the ancestors you have a wonderful family,
you would be proud of us?
How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love there for me?
I cannot say.
It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who am I and why do I
do the things I do?
It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference
And saying I can't let this happen.
The bones here are bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh.
It goes to doing something about it.
It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish.
How they contributed to what we are today.
It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in
or giving up, Their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family.
It goes to deep pride that they fought to make and keep us a Nation.
It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us.
That we might be born who we are.
That we might remember them. So we do.
With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence,
Because we are them and they are us.
 So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my family.
 It is up to that one called in the next generation,
To answer the call and take their place in the long line of family storytellers.
 That is why I do my family genealogy,
And that is what calls those young and old to step up
And put flesh on the bones.

[Author Unknown]

Your goal when starting family history is to find and record dates, locations, events, stories,
occupations, and information about your family members, old and new.

Steps 1, 2 and 3:

1) Ask your relatives for old photos and paperwork.

2) Interview your relatives.

3) Mark down what they know about the family on Family Group Sheets.

1) Ask your relatives if they have any of these
records that you can have or copy:

2) Next, interview your family members.  Bring a tape recorder or video camera. 

Do your research. Have your family charts and notes in front of you to help you formulate questions to fill in some of the holes in your research. 

 

Use open-ended questions that encourage personal commentary, rather than close-ended questions that only require "yes" or "no" answers. 

 

Try to elicit facts as well as feelings and descriptions. While you should always try to elicit such details as names and dates, remember that facts also include finding out how, why, where and with what results.

Sample Interview Questions:

What is your full name? Do you know why your parents chose that name for you? Were you named after an ancestor? Someone famous? Do you have a nickname?

 

Where were you born and when? Do you remember any stories that your parents shared with you about your birth? Do you have your birth and/or baptismal certificates?

 

When and where were your brothers and sisters born? Did they marry? Have families? (Follow up by obtaining details) What were they like? Do you have any favorite memories of them?

 

When and where did you meet your wife/husband? How did your meeting come about? Was she/he your first love? Can you describe the proposal, the wedding ceremony, the honeymoon...?

 

Where and when were your parents born? What are their full names? What do/did they look like? What were their occupations? How did they come to meet and marry? 

 

Where and when were your grandparents born (both sets)? What do/did they look like? What were their occupations? How did they come to meet and marry? 

 

Who was the oldest person you can remember in your family as a child? What do you remember about them? Do you remember visiting other relatives or family friends as a child?
 

Did you serve in any wars? If so, which war? Which branch of the service were you in?

 

Are there any items, traditions or customs in the family which have been handed down from generation to generation (these could include everything from naming traditions to jewelry to recipes)?
 

What was life like as you were growing up? Tell me about the home you were raised in - what day to day life was like. How was your home heated and lighted, what sort of household chores were you responsible for, did you have indoor plumbing, how did you do laundry and take baths, how were Sundays and holidays celebrated...?

 

How is the world now different from what it was like when you were a child?

 

What do you know about your family surname? Its origin? Its meaning? Has the spelling been changed at some time in the past?

3)

Here is a sample of starting research from scratch:

All you know about your great-grandmother is her last name; Morgan and that she was born in Sweden.

To find information on your g-grandmother Morgan always remembers to work from the known to the unknown.  Begin with yourself and get your birth certificate.  This will include information about your parents such as your mother’s full maiden name.

Continue to get birth records; those of your parents and perhaps even your grandparents.  Use the website http://vitalrec.com/index.html to find contact information to obtain vital records. 

Back to your g-grandmother Morgan.  Since she is your g-grandmother, it is probable that the birth, marriage and death record on your grandparent should hold the clues that you need about her.  You will also want to use the census to fill out your research.  Census records are available from 1930 back.  Census records show the family unit as a whole.

If you are still having trouble finding g-grandmother Morgan, see what records you can get for her siblings.  Or, if you know who she married, look for records on him.  His obituary may hold the key to her first name.  They may be buried together.  Finding his death certificate will find her name.  Then, keep going to find her mother!

Record your information on a Pedigree Chart or a Family Group Sheet. 
 

You can also use your computer to record and share information online at:

1)  Ancestry.com

2) Genealogy.com (Build your family tree.)

3) Rootsweb

Some people purchase software to keep all their records organized.

Tips on organizing your data.