Creative Family Projects
There is a history in all men's lives.
The following sections contain ideas
for various genealogy projects—ways to share your family story. If you
have an idea for a family tree or genealogy project, submit it to the “Genealogy
on the Web” bulletin
board so that other THJHA members can benefit from your creativity!
- Family Trees
- Fun with Family Photographs
- “Simply Sentimental”: Using Documents and Artifacts
- Tall Tales: Family Legends and Lore
You may want a visual representation of your research efforts once you have acquired your family information. A family tree expresses ancestry information succinctly and artistically. See several examples of family tree projects below. Some are simple; others are more complex.
Family Tree #1: Family Tree Certificate
Print out the Family
Tree Certificate on white or ivory paper and neatly fill in the blanks
with the appropriate family names. Frame and display. Adobe Acrobat
Reader is required to view and print this file (click
here to download this free software). To print this this 8½-by-11-inch
certificate, click once on the printer icon on the Acrobat Reader toolbar
directly above the image, and then click once on the Properties button
at the top right of the Print box. Choose Black Text in the Printout area;
Normal or Presentation in the Print Quality area; Portrait in the Orientation
area; Plain Paper in the Media Area; and Letter in the Media Size area.
Choose OK to return to the main Print menu, then click on OK to print the
certificate.
Family Tree #2: Accordion-Style Family
Tree
If you are using a genealogical software
program such as Family Tree Maker, you can enter the data on many generations
to create a family chart ten or twenty feet long! One way to organize an
extensive family tree is to mount the pages accordion style, so that the
chart folds up to a manageable size. To make an accordion-style family
tree, print the information onto several 8½-by-11-inch pages. Glue
the pages end to end with a half-inch overlap between each page. Glue pages
of a sturdy paper, cut to size, in the same way to form a backing sheet.
Attach the backing sheet to the printed family tree sheets only on the
ends. Fold the layers in half, in half again, and so on. Sew the layers
together at every other fold. Cut a cover from chipboard or heavy acid-free
cardboard and cover it with book cloth or other fabric cut to size. Attach
covers to the end sections.
Family Tree #3: A Family Tree with Real
Branches
Sketch a diagram of your family tree.
Gather twigs of similar size to make the branches of your tree. Find twigs
whose branching structure mimics your diagram. Break twigs apart and reattach
them with a glue gun until they form a family tree that matches your diagram.
Once you have your branch structures made, you may choose to spray paint
them one color, such as white, for a cohesive appearance. Cut leaves from
sturdy paper. Write names and birth dates on the leaves and glue each leave
by its stem onto the proper branch on your tree. Attach your family tree
to a sturdy backing board or frame it in a shadow box.
Family Tree #4: Family Photo Tree
Create a family tree with family photographs
(or copies of photographs). In the center of a piece of mat board or poster
board, place a photograph of yourself (school portrait or candid snapshot).
To the right of your photograph place a photograph of your father, and
to the left place a photograph of your mother. Continue placing photographs
from earlier generations on the board in a pleasing arrangement that clearly
shows lineage. When you are satisfied with the arrangement, attach the
photographs to the board. Label with names and dates.
Reading about your ancestors is fun, but seeing what they looked like is even more fun. When you view family photographs or portraits, you make personal connections with the people you have been researching.
Project #1: Family Album
Expand on your family photo tree by creating
a multigenerational family album or scrapbook using old family photographs.
Group photographs chronologically or thematically (holidays, weddings,
school pictures, etc). Supplement photographs from early generations with
recent photographs of associated family artifacts, family homesteads, or
cemetery markers.
Project #2: Rephotography
Mark the passage of time by rephotographing
your old family snapshots. Take photographs of family members today that
re-create an old family photograph. For example, in your collection of
family pictures you have a black-and-white photograph of your grandmother
and your father standing in front of their house in 1950. Your father is
a young boy, and your grandmother is in her thirties. Take a photograph
of your grandmother and your father standing in front of the same house
today, fifty years later. If your grandparents no longer live in the same
house, re-create the pose in front of their new house. Display the photographs
side by side in a frame or an album. In re-creating the scenes from your
family’s past, you will be remembering special times in an entirely new
way!
Project #3: Multigenerational Family
Portrait
Photography Links
The following Web sites contain information
on the display, handling, storage, and basic care of family photographs.
The American Museum of Photography Research
Center
http://www.photographymuseum.com/research.html
City Gallery: Popular History of Photography
and Family History
http://www.city-gallery.com
Conservation Supplies for Archivists
and Genealogists
http://www.globalgenealogy.com/archival.htm
Dating Old Photographs
http://www.familychronicle.com/dating.html
Light Impressions: The Leading Source
for Archival Supplies
http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/
“Simply Sentimental”: Using Documents and Artifacts
Family heirlooms—from the quilt that Great Aunt Jane made to a two-hundred-year-old family Bible to the medals Dad earned in the Vietnam War—are priceless and irreplaceable items. Use these special objects to tell your family story, and protect them for future generations.
Project #1: Display family treasures by creating a shadow box or display case with family heirlooms.
Project #2: Save family treasures by creating an archival storage box for treasured family items.
Heirloom Care
Without proper care and storage, all heirlooms
are subject to deterioration and damage from light, moisture, handling,
insects, adhesives, heat, acidic paper, and other factors. Textiles, metal
work, papers, photographs, paintings, books, ceramics, furniture, audiotapes,
home movies, glass, and other objects need special treatment to ensure
their longevity.
The following Web sites contain information on the display, handling, storage, and basic care of family treasures.
American Institute for Conservation
of Historic and Artistic Works: Caring for Your Treasures
http://aic.stanford.edu/treasure/
Archives Center: Tips for the Care of
Water-Damaged Family Heirlooms and Other Valuables
http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/a-3.htm
Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village:
Caring for Your Artifacts
http://www.hfmgv.org/histories/cis/pfs.html
Library of Congress Frequently Asked
Questions: Preservation
http://lcweb.loc.gov/preserv/presfaq.html
My History is America’s History: Saving
Your Family Treasures
http://www.myhistory.org/saving/index.html
Digital preservation is becoming more available and affordable. Scanning photographs and documents and storing the images on a computer hard drive, zip disk, or CD-ROM can be done easily at home. Use a digital camera to photograph heirlooms and store the images digitally. Pay services convert old home movies and VCR tapes to longer-lasting CD-ROMs.
Tall Tales: Family Legends and Lore
Project #1: Publish Your Family Story
Publish a book of family stories, traditions,
or biographies. Arrange the stories by time period, family group, or subject
matter. Illustrate stories with drawings or copies of family photographs.
Have the books bound at a local print shop. Make copies to give to family
members, especially those who helped you in your research.
For a club activity, collect one story from each member in your club and publish the stories in a book.
Project #2: Compose a Song or Poem
Write a song or poem based on a family
story. Or write a song or poem about one of your ancestors based on stories
and facts about his or her life. Read the poems aloud as a club, or perform
songs for friends and family members.
Project #3: Recipe Activity
Recipes are often passed down from generation
to generation. Many people have fond memories of family dishes made at
holidays or year-round. These recipes are an important part of family lore
and are often associated with traditions.
Ask family members for a recipe or two from childhood. Also ask about special times when these family dishes were prepared or served. (For example, Uncle Joe always made the cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving because it was his mother’s recipe.) After you have collected the recipes and associated memories, consider these ideas for family projects:
- Create a cookbook and give copies to family members as gifts.
- Hold a family dinner in which participants bring their favorite family recipes.
- Create a Web site featuring family recipes.
Project #4: Create a Family Time Line
Plot significant events in your family’s
history on a time line. Choose one family group (for example, your immediate
family or your maternal lineage) or one time period (for example, the 1900s),
then plot significant events in the history of your community, the state,
or the nation. To this timeline, add significant events in the lives of
your family members (births, graduations, entrance into the military, etc.).
This is a great way to place your family in history.
For instructions on making a time line, visit the following Web site: http://www.dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/timeline.html.
Project #5: Producing a Genealogy Play
Write a script for a one-act play based
on a family story, and act it out. Write biographies of the family members
in the play to share with the actors. Make sure that information on each
family member gives the actors an idea of the family member’s personality.
Use simple costumes or props to represent family members. These props do
not have to be actual family heirlooms. (For example, use any crocheted
afghan to represent your great aunt who was always doing needlework.)
For a club activity, ask each member to act as an ancestor from a particular time period. Have club members research their ancestors to determine their personalities, then role-play in a variety of situations.
Project #6: Helping Future Family Historians
Write a letter for your future children
or grandchildren to read. Write about your family, your friends, where
you live, what your school is like, what you do for fun, or anything else
you prefer. Ask your parents to put the letter in a safe place with other
family papers. If you want, write a “Do not open until” date on the outside
of the envelope.
Lesson 7 Handout:
Linebar graphic by Vickimouse (http://www.vikimouse.com/)
Lesson
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