Write up your family history 

Once you have traced the facts about your ancestor and have listed dates and places of importance then what next?

Why not write up the history of your family for your living family members , for generations of your family still to come and for the infor

mation of other people with an interest in you or your area.

Presentation methods

Pictorial - Use old photographs to demonstrate the important events in your family life

Scrap Book style - Mixes pictures and narrative

Story Book - Tell the story of your family essay style

Text Book - Tell the story of your family in a history book style

Computer Software - Most sofware has several display options

Medium of display

Paper -  stuck in scrap books or displayed in plastic folders

File - On cards in personal filing boxes

Computer - slide show saved on computer and burned onto disk for portability

DVD - Burning onto DVD allows playback on TV via DVD players

Preparing your story

Re check your family tree for accuracy

Decide what to focus on - It could be a time line , a direct line or the whole family

Plan what you want carefully or your story will be jumbled with no focus

Do you want to start from now and work backwards or start at your oldest ancestor and move to today?

Do you want to pick on one particularly interesting and influential ancestor and build an extended picture on that person?

Draw up several time lines to see the effect

For the first attempt a focus on the line from one grandparent is a good idea. You will learn from any mistakes and have a better idea what you want to achieve.

Once you have decided where you are going think about suitable titles, sub titles and captions.

Do you want a introduction and a conclusion or will you go straight in?

Will people look at your story alone or will you always be there to talk over it?

If people are going to look at your story alone eg on the internet more explanatory facts will be needed.

Making your story special

Everybody can have a family tree so try and make yours interesting and special.

Have any of your ancestors a claim to fame?

Are there any associations however tenuous with famous people?

Do any ancestors have interesting occupations or hobbies?

Family anecdotes?

Nicknames and any reason for them?

Family pets?

Were they in a workhouse?

Family heirlooms or traditions?

Are there any goody goodies or even better some  black sheep?

Any external circumstances that affected the life of your ancestor such as war, financial crisis of their employer or relocation due to loss of trade.

Link to headline national, regional or local events such as "born two years after the Battle of Trafalgar" or "wartime bride"

Did anyone famous share their birthday? Was anyone famous born in the same area?

Pictures to illustrate your story 

Family photographs will bring your story to life especially if they identify a home, employment, pastime or an event in your ancestors lifeline.

Try to identify the people and supply a commentary on the year, place or the event.

Photographs are probably only available from the late 1800's so you may need to consider some of the below items

Copies of birth, marriage or death certificate.

Copies of a will

Modern photographs of a house in which your ancestor lived.

Modern photographs of places that your ancestors would have known eg the Church where they were married , the school that they attended or even a village sign or a town coat of arms.

An extract from a map showing the area or their house

Old  photos of people carrying out the trade of your ancestor or the end product of their work.