George Washington

I have taught classes on family history and research at the university level during summer semesters.

1. Listen with interest.
2. Learn about others.
3. Love all people.
4. Laugh a lot.
5. Lower… a soft answer avoids anger.

1. Your experiences will help guide your family in times of trial.
2. Your descendants will know you better.
3. Studies show that family history helps strengthen confidence and improve relationships.

1. Start to record important events.
2. Create a timeline of events as they occur to you.
3. Keep a smartphone or notebook handy to make notes.
4. After you have a good outline, begin writing, filling in details and organizing according to dates.

1. Interview family members.
2. Take notes on incidents in their lives.
3. Create timeline events for an ancestor.
4. Go to Family Search.
5. Sign up and enter chosen ancestor’s name.
6. Fill in details about ancestor’s life.

1. Gather meaningful family pictures.
2. Scan and save by year on computer.
3. As you write family members’ biographies, insert pictures where appropriate. (A picture is worth a 1000 words.)

1. Create an electronic copy for family to read.
2. Print out paper copies for distribution.
3. For self-publication services visit these sites: BookBaby, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.