SETTING the RECORD STRAIGHT

GENEALOGY - PART VIII
Genealogy is like a jigsaw puzzle . . . 

Pieces get lost or placed in the wrong spot.

Boy, everyday living can really smudge the ink on the family tree! If your family is like others, there may be: records of divorces; multiple marriages; children out of wedlock; 3,4,5 generations with the same name; cousins marrying cousins . . . well, shocking as this may seem, it happens. Family residences change, people die, and life goes on.

Remember, as the family's genealogist you're recording history, not judging behavior. But how do you find the truth, especially if it's an event that happened over a hundred years ago? And even if you do find it, do you record it? That's a question you and your family may want to discuss before you start to delve into the communal closet. Whatever you do, be accurate and honest in your record keeping. Otherwise, you and others may waste years trying to squeeze a record into your family that doesn't belong there.

Never rely on just one record or document to verify an event. My cousin and I were convinced that one of our grandparents' brothers had never married, until we found a wedding invitation from 120 years ago. It turns out he had married but his bride died within the first year of marriage and he never remarried. Now the question remains: was it disease or childbirth complications or accident that took the life of this young woman?

Two great default documents in the United States are:

• The Census - The census offers a clear understanding of the neighborhood in which our relatives lived and the professions of the neighbors. It may also reveal education, number of children, and if any boarders or servants lived in the home. A hundred years ago, relatives seemed to gather into pods and lived within blocks of each other, so checking a number of pages either side of your relative may provide even more clues and/or answers.
• Military Draft Records - These are more personal and offer more detailed information about an individual including a physical description (right down to scars and birth marks).  Addresses of next of kin are also included and the document contains the signature of the potential draftee.

If there are differences in records, keep looking until all avenues have been explored. We were faced with a situation where the matriarch was named Maria. Her oldest daughter was named Marie. Her son married a Maria (so we thought) but then her name disappeared on all later records. It turns out, this Maria (the assumed wife) was actually the sister-in-law of the elder Maria and had gone to live with the son while his real wife, Maggie, was in another state tending to her sick mother. Women in the late 1800s may be marked on the census as "homemaker" and in this case, that was true, it's just that it wasn't Maria's permanent home but it was her occupation. Complicated? yes. Impossible to figure out? No. Sometimes, it just takes a look at all the pieces of the puzzle to determine which pieces fit. Hope this information is helpful. Good luck with your search!

Remember: We are all part of a generational relay, so, live your legacy then pass it on.

Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40 year veteran of freelance writing and author of the Book "Begotten With Love." To learn more:

FOLLOW/Like: on Facebook or

VISIT: www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com

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Writing a Family History

Let's face it, we baby boomers are aging! We're entering a new decade, our seventh, to be exact. This new mantle of age means only this:

1. Our careers are winding down and
2. We now have the time and flexibility to pursue our passions

Many have chosen writing. The increase in Indie Authors bears this theory out. However, not all writers are interested in publishing for the general public. According to #Ancestry.com 128,000 baby boomers are researching family genealogy. Many are compiling their findings into books, along with personal stories and pictures, and giving them away as family keepsakes. What better gift to give than that of legacy?

Earlier this year, Stemma Books LLC, the publisher for "BEGOTTEN: With Love" (my book), polled 1,000 readers who had indicated an interest in memoirs. The results were surprising. We expected to capture a female audience between fifty-five and sixty years of age; had hoped for a younger group of twenty to thirty year-olds (the number of interested young adults surpassed our expectations); and were delighted to include men sixty-five and older.

There is a definite interest in all things family. Here are five suggestions for those new to writing memoirs to make your  story more appealing:

1. Include traits and talents when describing your characters (sorry for calling grandpa a character). The younger generation wants to identify with family whether its by hair/eye color, a gift for music/art, or a fun-loving spirit, to name a few of the many characteristics from which to choose.
2. Talk about the passion the people you're describing had for: God, country and each other. What were the values they held dear? What was their reason for coming to America? How did they make their living? 
3. Include details about the time period in which they lived. What were the latest inventions? What type of entertainment did they have? What type of transportation did they use? Make the story come alive. Allow the reader to be in the moment.
4. Location, location. location is the first lesson in any business book. It should also be included in writing a memoir. For example, did the family live in rural America during the horrendous dust storms of the 1930s that sandblasted paint right off the buildings? Were they living in Chicago in the late 1800s when it was so bitterly cold that they were ripping the wooden roofs off the outhouses to stay warm because of a shortage of wood? Whatever your family's story, share it in detail.
5. Share the history of  heirlooms. Take pictures and include them in the book. Something as simple as grandma's knitting needles passed on to a great-granddaughter may spark an interest in the craft or at least give the young woman an appreciation for the sweaters, scarves and mittens those needles made all those years ago.

If you are overwhelmed by the idea of writing a family history, there are many companies willing to assist. My personal recommendation goes to Nancy and Biff Barnes from #Stories_To_Tell_Books who offered sage advice when BEGOTTEN was still in development. Their passion is working with family historians from inception to completion. I suggest visiting their web site at www.StoriesToTellBooks.com to see what they've done for others and feel free to call 888-577-9342 for further information.

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Jo Ann V. Glim is a forty-year veteran of freelance writing and author of "BEGOTTEN:With Love."  
Visit:  www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com
LIKE/Follow on FaceBook.com/JVGlim.author