Interest Relatives in Family History
The more relatives can connect family history info with a real person or place, the better. / Photo by Annie Spratt via Unsplash
Share a bit at a time, show images, and – most of all – tell the human stories of your ancestors. See more ways to interest relatives of all ages in your family history. ..
Often, it seems that one person in a family takes more interest in family history than other relatives do. Are you that person in your family, as I am in mine? It might be why you’re reading this post! It’s good to be a family historian, the keeper of records and stories, the family archivist – the amateur (or professional?) genealogist who traces your ancestral background. It might be a lifelong pursuit, as there’s always more to discover! It’s fun to follow your own curiosity, and beneficial to leave a family legacy for next generations.
But how to engage your current relatives? When you make new discoveries and line up your findings, you’d like to let your family know! Not everyone will read a 200-page family history book. Many people’s eyes glaze over at the sight of a family tree full of names and numbers. Relatives of any age, especially younger ones, have lots of other media to grab their attention. And most people lead busy lives!
I like to find and develop new ways to share family history with my relatives. I keep it brief, visual, bring out the human side of our ancestors, and show how their lives relate to family members today. It’s working! Relatives of all ages look at what I share, and take interest in our background. I’m happy to share key methods and ideas with you here.
Share Brief Pieces
It’s good to create and share short pieces about part of your family history. Your relatives can dip in, without having to learn about an entire branch of the family at once. For example, you could:
record and share a brief interview with an older relative, if you have the chance to ask them about their memories and what they know of your family history
write a one-page profile about key features of an ancestor’s life, tell the tale of an experience they went through, or write a letter to share your thoughts about their life
share part of a branch of your family tree at a time, versus the extended family tree all at once
The key is to be brief. Share each piece on its own or compile them into a collection, such as a book of ancestor profiles. Then your relatives can read short sections at their own pace. These are just some ideas of ways to share family history.
Show with Images
Pictures attract attention. Use photos and other visuals whenever possible as you share your family history.
Photos
Do you have any photos of ancestors, their families, places they lived, or other images that help tell their life stories? You could also take digital photos or screenshots of:
a document such as a marriage certificate or war enlistment
a map of the area where they lived
a family heirloom that came from their time
their signature or other piece of handwriting
You might find relevant images in online archives, such as: pictures of a farm or dwelling from that time and place, military photos and drawings, or images of townspeople from your ancestors’ era. (Note: be sure the images are available to use for free, or abide by the copyright and licensing requirements.)
"Esther's Float" in Childrens Day Parade – Sharon, Massachusetts 1900-1920. / Photo at Sharon Historical Society via Digital Commonwealth
Black and white photos work well for historic images. If you like, there are apps to sharpen and colorize old family photos. See these and other apps and services to help you tell stories from your family history.
Even if an image seems to ‘say it all’, it’s good to make at least some brief notes for your family history, such as:
captions for photos, to include any names, place, date or describe the occasion
the significance of a document, and what the handwriting says if hard to read
It’s great if you can find an image where an ancestor is doing something – or shows the look on their face in a family portrait – to make it more interesting and personal.
Videos
Relatives of all ages will watch a brief video. Try a one-minute slideshow of photos – with a voice-over or subtitles – to tell about a person or a family in your shared history.
Diagrams and Drawings
Create simple and colourful visuals, such as:
a branch of your family tree with about a dozen people
a one-page ancestor or family history timeline with thumbnail images
a map or drawing of the places your ancestors lived
Include notes or a legend to explain what’s in the visual summary.
There are other ways to tell family history stories in images that you may like to explore.
Tailor to your Audience
What is the age range of the people you’d like to reach? How do they like to ‘consume media’: read, watch, or listen? On paper or a smart phone?
You may need to tailor the same info to suit different ‘audiences’, such as:
tell a story in person to young children
post on social media to get the attention of an adolescent
write an email or blogpost for adult relatives, or send brief printed material
discuss family history in person or over the phone with an elder, or play an audio recording
Share some 'fun facts' about your family history to intrigue relatives of all ages. / Photo by Kampus Production via Pexels
These are general examples – it will depend on the person or family group. Choose where to share stories from your family history to meet your audience ‘where they are’.
Share in a Series
Share aspects of your family history in pieces over time. Try not to overload your audience with information. Interest them with one intriguing piece of the puzzle at a time. Over time, you can show them how the pieces fit together.
You can share pieces in a series, perhaps as: blogposts, social media posts, posts on a genealogy site (e.g. Ancestry Storymaker Studio, FamilySearch Memories, MyHeritage Photo Storyteller), or a custom-made family history calendar.
When you have a large enough collection, you could compile the pieces into a book with photos.
Ancestors as Individuals
It’s remarkable to find out and confirm who your ancestors were, where and when they lived. Census records and family trees are made up of names and numbers. Yet your ancestors’ lives were so much more than that.
As you get more curious and do more research, you uncover more layers. When you look at the details, you can get a feel for the people.
Was there a widowed mother with five children who worked to support her family?
Did relatives live in the same house for generations?
Or did a young couple move from place to place?
Once you learn where they were from, you might read a social history about that place during their time. Was there a war? Famine? New industry? Did women get to vote? If you know their occupation, you might glimpse some of their experience.
If you knit the facts together to show your ancestors as people, you can interest your relatives and make it more memorable than a list of statistics.
Share Ancestor Stories
Entice them with story! Maybe you found an anecdote about something your ancestor did. Or a newspaper clipping (such as from a digital archive) that opens a window onto your ancestor’s life.
Were they involved in a key event in history, such as a battle or mass migration?
Was one of your female ancestors among the first to go to university, or work in a certain field?
Do you have a letter from – or photo of – your grandparent, to share on their birthdate, or the anniversary of their passing?
Student nurse feeds a young patient. Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore 1943. / Photo by Ann Rosener via Library of Congress
Research the family lore that’s been passed down. Let your relatives know which, if any, parts were true. Even it was false or can’t be proven, it can still be good to share the story for interest’s sake – and confirm what is known to be true today.
If you’d like to prepare and share a family history book, consider these options to a regular-print book-length narrative:
a comic book or graphic novel style for children and teens (if you’re artistically inclined!)
e-book, audio-book, or large-print versions
ancestor profiles and photos, or a chapter per family group, to break it into chunks.
There are steps you can take to tell real-life stories about your ancestors.
Things in Common with Ancestors
People like to hear stuff that has to do with them! And they feel a connection when they see similarities, or learn what someone went through. Maybe your ancestor’s obituary includes character traits – such as the person was hardworking or family-oriented.
Are you able to show something a current relative has in common (or perhaps in contrast) with their ancestor, such as if they:
share a birthdate
have the same first name
reside in the same city where your ancestor lived a hundred years earlier
are in today’s version of the same occupation (e.g. medicine, teaching)
were newcomers or trail-blazers in some way
did similar or very different things at the same age
On the TV show Finding Your Roots, descendants are touched to see how their ancestors laid the groundwork for their lives. Also, when they recognize familiar facial features in an ancestor’s photo!
Connect Past with Present
I love to compare ‘then and now’ – to see how some things have changed, some have stayed the same, and how one thing leads to another.
When you share parts of your family history, help people see how it relates to today.
What sort of technologies were used back then versus now – such as sailing vessels versus airplanes to cross oceans?
Did a footpath become a road and now a highway that one of your relatives takes on their daily commute?
Did a religious rebel from an earlier generation give rise to traditions your family members follow – or choose not to follow – today?
Where did your ancestor’s family live? does their house still stand today?
Relatives like to hear about the history of a home, school, church or town – when it relates their family background to where they are today.
Even if 'old and new' are no longer side-by-side, you can make that connection for your family. / Photo by Maria Orlova via Pexels
It’s neat to see a historic map online, then check Google Maps Street View to see how things look now. Some rural places still have farm fields. Downtown in a city, many old buildings have been replaced. But a central park, monument, or church and cemetery may remain. Often, the roads keep their names. Plus, you can see landmarks – such as a hill or riverbank – that your ancestors would have seen in their day.
My sister and her husband moved to Brockville, Ontario to raise their family. It was a new location for members of our family to reside. Or so we thought! Years later, when I researched our family history, I learned that a number of our ancestors settled there when they arrived in Canada almost two centuries ago. Now my sister knows the properties where they lived, the cemetery plots where they’re buried, and has a renewed view of ‘her’ town! I love such experiences connecting past with present for our family.
Family History Activities
Relatives of all ages – especially young ones – like to explore and interact while they learn. Ideas you might like to try are:
play family history games with children, such as trading cards about different ancestors
custom-make digital maps about ancestral places for people to explore at their own pace
visit relevant historic sites as a family, or share a link to a virtual tour online
“Children are happy, well-adjusted and confident when they know their family stories.”
Genealogy sites offer options such as:
MyHeritage Deep Story – to animate the photo of an ancestor and simulate them speaking about their life or your family history
FamilySearch – has many resources and ideas for involving young people in family history
The Family History Guide – a teaching guide with an extensive index of family history activities for all ages
Involve Relatives in the Search
People take interest when they’re involved!
How about ask:
close or distant relatives to share memories or stories of ancestors you share in common
relatives who have family heirlooms or memorabilia to share the stories behind the objects
young people to interview their elders
tech-savvy family members to help with technology for sharing family history: upload photos, post on social media, or create videos and digital slideshows
a grandchild to help their grandparent to write in a scrapbook or photo album, to record names and memories
family members to go on a gravestone-finding outing to a cemetery
relatives to get their DNA tested to help trace your ancestry
relatives who plan to travel to an ancestral area to do a little research task at an archive
Real Places and Things
Online resources and sharing methods are great ways to discover and tell your family history. Still, there’s nothing like the real thing.
It makes a special impression when you are able to visit an ancestral location in person. / Photo by Oleg Ditrich via Pexels
See how you can engage relatives with physical aspects of your family history.
Can you tell the story behind a photograph, or a family heirloom (even a trinket)?
Would you like to share a traditional meal from your grandmother’s recipe?
Will family members visit a cemetery with you, to locate and see what’s etched on ancestors’ headstones?
Go together to visit the home place of an ancestor’s family, even if you can only see a building from outside.
If possible, take your family to see ancestral places – towns, monuments, or places where a certain event happened in your ancestors’ lives.
Take young relatives to a ‘living museum’ (with re-enactors) to get a feel for how your ancestors may have lived – at work, play, home – or perhaps prepared for battle.
The main thing is to find tangible ways to bring real-life stories of ancestors into the present day.
written by Barbara L Campbell, 2024