Tell Ancestor Stories from Facts
It's amazing how one bit of info leads to another as you learn about your ancestors' lives! / Photo by Robert Anasch via Unsplash
Wonder how to tell a real-life story about your ancestor? Line up the info you have, then look deeper to find the story you can tell. Here’s how.
What if you only have names and dates for your ancestors? That’s a good start!
Whether you know a little or a lot about your ancestors, you can work with what you have – and look for more – to find the stories.
Did they come from another country or culture? Do their dates line up with big events in history? How many children did they have? Did they live a long life or die young?
You won’t be able to tell every ancestor’s story. Look for ones you know most about, whose lives seem most interesting, or those you’d like to research in more depth. This will help you choose whose story to tell, and which parts of their life to highlight.
Once you learn about individual ancestors, you can begin to tell their family stories – and how their lives relate to other generations.
Gather What you Have
What information do you have about your ancestors? Names, dates, locations? A family tree? You and your relatives may have some documents, photos, or objects (such as an heirloom or medal). These can be a good starting point.
Do you have a living relative who knew your ancestor, whom you can ask questions?
Maybe you already have lots of info about your family history and wonder how to select pieces to share.
First, organize what you have by ancestor, couple or family unit. Collect the facts, documents and sources from your research into a file (paper or digital) for each person or group. Attach info related to each ancestor on your online family tree. See where you have gaps to fill via more research.
Categorize your material to help build your ancestor's story. / Photo at Centre for Ageing Better via Unsplash
Test What you Think You Know
Was your ancestor at a certain event in history? Do they have the same name as someone else from their town? Are they indeed your ancestor?
Many newcomers to ancestry research accept results from peers without fact-checking. I did this myself. Eager to populate my family tree back through the generations, I didn’t check source documents step-by-step. I soon retraced my steps.
Before you create a storyline in your family history, be sure you have the basic facts as best you can prove. Then you can research and write about the correct people, locations and events. Not only will you focus your time and effort, you won’t be led by wishful thinking or wrong assumptions – or both.
Check the birth and marriage records, parents’ names, census data, and other sources of information about an individual ancestor. This way, you can make sure it’s correct before you post online, or develop a storyline about your ancestor. When incorrect info is put forth and others repeat it, people presume it’s accurate.
If family lore has been passed down to you from earlier generations, test it out against today’s source material.
Select which Ancestor
You might like to tell more than one story, about more than one ancestor, but you still need to choose which individuals.
Do you wish to write about an ancestor you met – or wish you’d met – such as your grandparent? If you have a number of known ancestors, you could start with one:
where you have the most info
who led an intriguing life
who was present at a key event in history
Some ancestors were trailblazers in their time, with interesting life stories! / Photo at National Cancer Institute via Unsplash
Perhaps you came across an interesting piece of info, such as a note or newspaper clipping, that makes you wish to learn more. Or you may be drawn to a particular ancestor. If you know of an ancestor who faced a number of challenges or whose life took a sudden turn, these are the stuff of stories.
Make their Timeline
This can be a simple list or chart of dates. If you have put info on an ancestor’s profile in a family tree online, it will create a basic timeline. You can see key milestones in their life such as: birth, marriage, location, birth of children, loss of loved ones, and when they died.
When you notice gaps in the timeline, try to fill them via further research. From census records, you may see if they moved to a new location, had another child, or changed marital status. Records may show they had a life-changing event such as to enlist in the military during wartime, or arrive in a new country on their own.
Check the Historical Context
Based on when and where your ancestor lived, see what was going on around them at the time.
Did they face hardships such as war, famine, or natural disaster?
Did poverty or politics cause people to leave their homeland?
Did new technology of the day (such as in transportation, communication, farming) bring new opportunities?
Were they part of a new nation? Did they have a vote?
Did social class make a big difference, and what was their status in society?
On your ancestor’s timeline, note any key events in history (or select the option to display these on Ancestry and other family tree apps).
Your ancestors’ environment had a big impact on their lives – both the challenges they faced, and their personal fortunes. The historical context shapes what they went through – and perhaps the story you will tell.
Ask Questions – for Research and Story Points
Think about your ancestor’s life. The more curious you are about their situation, the more you may find. Ask yourself questions – then seek the answers.
Some kinds of questions are:
where was your ancestor born? at what point in history?
how much schooling did they have? what was their occupation? did they hold a position of power? work long days at manual labour?
did they marry? have children?
was religious practice a big part of their lives?
what was their social status and did that change? did they own land? end up in a poor house or other institution?
did they face hardship such as famine or war? take part in a well-known battle?
did they emigrate to a new country?
If you open a window into the life of your ancestor, it can lead you to more research.
Check these Sources for Details
To learn more of what may have happened in your ancestor’s life, widen your search beyond vital statistics (such as birth, marriage and death dates). Do government records show land deeds? A military pension? Were they involved in a court case? Did they leave a Will?
Depending on when your ancestor lived and their social status, you may uncover more than what you see in government records. If they were educated, their occupation was one with records kept, or they were active in their community, there may be more written about them.
Archives
Online archives, such as the Internet Archive, may show that someone wrote a family history book about your lineage, or a local history of the town where your ancestor lived. You might discover a diary, journal, letter, or memoir that you could view in a physical archive or as a digitized copy. Even if it wasn’t written by your ancestor, maybe it mentions them, or was written by someone with a similar experience (e.g. a person in their war battalion, or from the same fishing village).
Newspapers
If you search online newspaper archives, such as Google News Archive or Newspapers.com , you might find bits of news you’d not have imagined.
Archived newspapers are a gold-mine for 'shiny pieces' about ancestors – with search tools to help you dig! / Photo by Fedor Kozyr via Getty
The kinds of things you may find about an ancestor include:
birth, marriage, and death announcements for they and their family members
advertisements for their business
legal or court notices
social notices about: local travel and visits, reunions, meetings
articles about an accident or major event
Cemeteries
Inscriptions on gravestones can provide insight into your ancestor and their loved ones. A cemetery may have written transcriptions available to view online (or in their office).
Two key online sources are FindAGrave and Billion Graves.
These are just a few places to research your ancestors’ lives.
There has been less information about women in the past, but this is changing as women: gain more rights, are employed out of the home, become activists and writers, and hold positions of power.
Look for Story Elements
As you look at discoveries about your ancestor, what elements of story do you see?
Look for big turning points in an ancestor’s life, such as if they:
move to a new location
enlist in the military
acquire or lose land
join a religious pursuit
Look for any ‘firsts’ and responsibilities. Were they:
the eldest male in their family at a young age
the first from a farm family to get a university education
among the early females in their field of work
What troubles did they face: with neighbours, the natural elements (such as droughts or floods), or poverty? If you can see they had some ups and downs of fortune, that makes for a good story.
"The Happiest Refugee", per Finland News Service (1919-1929). This is the moment father and children reach the American Red Cross relief station in Terijoke, hoping to reunite with the mother in Ukraine (after being separated by fighting in Russia). / Photo by American Red Cross via Library of Congress
Which aspects of your ancestor’s story might interest your family the most?
Choose Which Tales to Tell
Each person’s life has its challenges, ups and downs. You may have a list of events in your ancestor’s life, which seem like things that could happen to anyone. What stands out as a potential story?
If something grabs your interest, it may be of interest to others too. Did you come across a quote about or by your ancestor, that points to their character? Do they have a rags-to-riches story? Was everything fine until they were in an accident that was written up in a local newspaper?
In some cases, it’s best to focus on a phase or episode in your ancestor’s life. For others, you may wish to summarize their whole life story.
These are among the factors to help you choose which stories to tell.
Shape an Engaging Story from the Facts
When you have the facts lined up, bring your reader or listener into the life of your ancestor. What was their situation at the start of the story? What happened that changed their life?
Did they take risks to look after their family?
What phase of their life was most unique?
Were they part of an event that changed their community?
It doesn’t have to be a big deal, but probably important to them. Did you find a lot of second-place rankings – in contests, school or farm fairs – and then a first prize?
Imagine interviewing your ancestor to draw out the stories. Questions like: what did you do next? who got in your way? how did things turn out?
You can use basic storytelling tips to tell a true tale that will engage your readers. If you’re thinking of adding in elements from your imagination, see the post “should I make things up?” to help you decide.
Some good advice as you outline and craft a story is to “stick to the mountaintops”, i.e. the main parts of your storyline. That said, a few details can make all the difference in an ancestor’s story, to make it real and personal – and bring the story to life.
Present the Story in an Appealing Format
What format will appeal to your desired audience? Will they read more than a few pages? Have you enough family history photos to tell the tale with a slideshow?
There are various ways to relate family history and engage relatives in your ancestors’ stories.
Draw listeners in to your ancestor's life story so they're keen to hear more. / Photo by Kindel Media via Pexels
I like to write letters to my ancestors about their experiences – including known facts, plus my unanswered questions. I also enjoy making a map about key places in an ancestor’s life, each with a brief description and pop-up image. Relatives of all ages appreciate my ways of relating ancestors’ stories.
written by Barbara L Campbell, 2024