Writing an ancestor's story is one of the best ways to not only document your research but also to share it with others. The challenge that many genealogists encounter is that the story doesnt fully capture the context of who their ancestor was. More often then not the story of their life comes off as a list of dates stating when and where they were born, who their parents were, when and where they got married, who they married, and when and where they died. I dont know about you, but there is a heck of a lot more to me than the birth, marriage, and death facts that I listed above.
So how do we write a story that captures their full life?
Step #1: Expand your research
To fully understand a person's life we need to FULLY research their life from birth to death. This requires us to go deeper than the BMD and census records. Start by searching the military, criminal, immigration, and other collections available on sites such as Ancestry, Find My Past, My Heritage, and Family Search. Also consider searching the local newspapers - I find this to be the most beneficial after I have searched the above collections because the additional information helps me to identify if I have the right person or not.
STEP #2: Examine all records
Often when we find something such as a census we only look at where the person is living and who their immediate family members are. The reality is that a census can tell us quite a bit more then that if we read every column and take the time to understand the enumerator's abbreviations. Take note of the following information to use in the next step:
- exact home address (or the street name if exact address is not given)
- occupation
- income (if listed)
- number of children
- marital status (sometimes a marriage year is also provided)
- spouse's name and occupation (if applicable)
- where they were born
- where the family members were born
- number of rooms within the home
- if they owned or were renting the home
- names of other people (such as lodgers or borders) living with the family
- occupations of other people living with the family
- FOR 1891 CANADIAN CENSUS - where their parents were born
- FOR 1921 CANADIAN CENSUS - building materials of house
For military records consider:
- where they served
- duration of service
- their battalion and company
- if they were injured
- any awards, medals, or distinctions they received
- remarks that are left in their file
No matter what type of record you found in STEP #1, the goal is still the same: read every word line for line. Take note of their address and occupation when possible as well as any other details that are available.
STEP #3: Add some historical context
Historical context is the key to bringing your ancestor to life! The two main things that I always research are where they lived and their occupation. Depending on what you learned in STEP #1 and STEP #2, there may be other areas that you choose to do further research in.
STEP #4: Put everything in order
There are a number of ways that you can do this, but I normally choose to create a timeline in Excel. (I explained how to construct one
here and
here). You can customize the amount of detail to your liking, however I often leave it at the events and few key historical pieces of historical context if required. For example, I have ancestors who immigrated from Ireland to England during of the Potato Famine. By adding this information, it provides an explanation of why they may have moved.
STEP #5: Begin writing
Now that you have all of the events in order you are ready to write their history. Make sure that you add the information you from the timeline. At the end of my ancestor's story I like to keep a list of source links. Not only is this a good practice, but it also makes it easy to find where you got the information.
The Final Product
So what does a "good" life story look like? Lets find out by comparing an exert before and after I added historical context to it.
BEFORE:
"During 1891, Mary and her children were living at 11 Ammiel St in Bow. Mary was a charwoman and her daughter Bessie was a matchgirl."
AFTER
"In
the 1891 census they were living at 11 Ammiel St in Bow. Mary was working as a
charwoman and Bessie was a matchgirl. Ammiel street was a slum, comprised of
houses which were nearly uninhabitable. During 1897 (on behalf of Charles
Booths Poverty Survey) George Duckworth claimed “Ammiel street and Ammiel
terrace with a bad reputation [and] jerry built, [are] now all down. [They]
were not pulled down but simply fell down on themselves”. A better description
of the family’s living conditions is provided by the Poplar Medical Officer of
Health’s 1895 report in which he claims the homes had an absence of eaves gutters,
defective yard paving, the inside ceiling and flooring being broken, and they were
dilapidated, dirty, and damp in appearance. He ordered that the landlord be
fined 2s per house and that the tenements be vacated immediately."
When we examine the 'After' piece we notice that the historical context tells us quite a bit about what it may have been like to live on Ammiel St during the 1890's. Additionally, we learn how long the family may have stayed there because the Poplar Medical Officer of Health ordered that the tenements be vacated in 1895. This information was key because I have very few records between the 1891 and 1901 census that told me where the family was living.
Interested in more examples?
Pte. James Sword - Poverty, Industrial Schools, and Military Service
Case Study: Determining Living Conditions of Extinct Addresses
A Shamrock for Mary: Happy 113th Birthday!
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