Suncoast Genealogy Society Features Karen Fortin at 16 Feb 2019 Meeting.

Karen Fortin presentation – Feb. 16, 2019.

 Sharing Interesting Ancestors with Family: Writing Brief Narrative Sketches

One of the great joys of doing genealogical research is when we come across those fascinating ancestors whose stories come to life before our eyes, and we cannot wait to share them with our relatives. However, when we try to do this without some type of structure, using pedigree charts and family group sheets, we quickly see their eyes begin to glaze over.  A more effective way to gain their interest (and hopefully hook them with the genealogy bug!) is to write brief sketches that detail the highlights of the lives of these ancestors in just a few pages.

The presentation will provide guidance on how to organize the information about your ancestor, how to structure and bring focus to a sketch, what information and images to incorporate, whether to include sensitive family history, physical vs. electronic formats for sharing, and tips on writing. The most important thing, however, is for you to have fun writing the sketches so that your enthusiasm about the ancestor is shared along with the information.