Getting to the Family Stories

Family stories are what our family members want to read in our family histories.

• Go beyond the records by placing our ancestors in the context of their surroundings.
• Record accurate information so your family can believe your narratives.
• Fully document the facts and relationships.
• Include maps, charts, and photographs that help explain the stories and add visual details.
• Write for the non-genealogists with organized and understandable information

I found information for my family histories by reading accounts about the daily lives of Polish villagers living close to where my ancestors left. I discovered vintage pictures of the Polish towns and churches and looked through our family albums for early images of life in America. Pictures are essential when describing their lives in Poland and America.

Ask questions about what would affect their experiences in Poland and America. What challenges did they face? What did they experience on their immigration journey? Remember, you will not find answers to most of these questions. However, asking the questions will give you a better perspective of their experiences.

I try to bring my ancestors alive by adding as much social history as I can. However, I try to be careful not to fictionalize their lives by forcing them into events that were not part of their lives. For example, I included a brief history of the railroad shops in Bloomington, Illinois, to explain why they were seeking jobs there. I also described the details of the work that my grandfather did. However, I did not explain the workings of all of the various departments because it would not be relevant to my grandfather.

It is also vital we save our memories of the ancestors that we knew, especially of our parents and grandparents. I feel writing down our memories in a first-person voice seems to personalize my family histories and brings the memory to life. Here are some memories I included at the end of my grandmother’s narrative that relate directly to me.

• “After I entered St Pat’s Grade School, I began walking with my grandmother the two blocks to Sunday mass. This walk was always pleasant, and I would ramble on with stories on various topics that she would patiently listen to before sometimes commenting. She was always very patient with me.”
• “Dinners at grandma’s table were very basic because she did not bring any Polish recipes with her from the old country. Our meals consisted of simple meat, potato, and vegetable American-type menus.”
• “I was picky about what I ate, and grandma would usually make something special for me. Later as an adult, I was frustrated when my children and grandchildren were picky, but I have a special love for my grandmother for spoiling me.”

Most of my writing starts in an encyclopedic format, such as:

“My grandfather Stefan Zuchowski was born on December 26, 1893, to Leopold Zuchowski and Anna Dmochowski in Dmochy Kudly, Poland.”

However, as I find more information and details, I can make the stories more interesting. Here is a later more interesting version with added details:

“My grandfather’s, Steve Zuchowski, birth was in a small cottage in the farming village of Dmochy Kudly, Poland, on December 26, 1893. The next day, his parents Leopold Zuchowski and Anna Dmochowska, carried him five miles down the dirt road to be baptized at Peter and Paul the Apostles Catholic Church in Czyzew. Steve’s parents were descendants of minor Polish nobles who had owned large estates.”

Here is where I got the details to make the story appealing:

• Birthplace, location of the church, birth, and baptismal dates were from Steve’s baptismal record
• Being descendants from nobility was listed in notations in the baptismal and marriage records of his parents.
• The size of the cottage and condition of the roads came from vintage pictures of the village.

Remember, our collections of family stories, photos, and documents are incomplete unless someone writes an explanation of how they are related. The narrative creates our unique family history and is essential for the future enjoyment of our children and grandchildren. If you feel you do not have the skills to do this, who in your family can? If you like to do the research, is there someone that can work with you to write it? Also, my encyclopedic format is a simple and easy method to start writing your family history. Expand the stories with the details and make them hard to put down.  

I hope you develop the same passion for genealogy as I have, and “Remember to have fun.”

Does Recent Changes at Ancestry.com Matter?

Another point to remember is you still own the copyright to your content. Therefore, Ancestry cannot violate any copyright laws if they use you’re your content. They would be foolish to do so without asking your permission.

The current dilemma points to the fact that we need to consider how we use the online family trees and how careful we should be in posting content to our trees.

• What is your goal in posting an online family tree?
• Do you use your tree as the central depository of your family history?
• Should you be posting all information?
• Do you consider privacy issues before you post?

Online family trees are an essential communication tool, and they must be very public to be effective towards this goal. Nevertheless, we do not have to post everything for it to be effective. I use my online trees to connect with unknown cousins and exchange information with them. My trees are not complete. They may mention information but not include the documents. I use my online tree to attract unknown cousins to contact me.

The new issue with Ancestry unmasks the problems when using online family trees as the primary tool in saving and compiling our family history. Family trees are just the skeletons of our ancestors. A family history is much more. It should contain stories that bring our ancestors alive. Please consider, there are better and more private tools than online trees to compile, save and share the stories and documents associated with your family history.

Contemplate compiling your research offline into notes and summaries of your ancestors. This method gives you the flexibility to add stories and facts in a readable format. The format allows you to embed the documents and add the needed citations. Using the summary of facts will help your research be more efficient. As a text document, you can share it at any time with your family because it is readable in a language they understand and not in our genealogy jargon and forms. Offline, your family history is on your computer and can remain private and within your control. You decide who sees your pages.

Online family trees are important but remember they are public. Most family members do not refer to them because they are difficult for the non-genealogist to understand. Save your family history using another method that remains private and understandable by your family.

Scotch-Irish Emigration

The largest group to leave Ireland in the 1700s was the Scotch-Irish. Their ancestors had just arrived from Scotland about 100 years before, but by the early 1700s, they had enough of the British discrimination against them. They decided to leave and then packed everything they had – clothing, personal items, tools, farm implements, and weapons. They were never returning to Ireland. The English laws did not allow the Scots to own any land. So, their only ties to Ireland were the family members they left behind. Many were prosperous farmers and skilled tradesmen who were the backbone of Ulster agriculture and the linen industry. They were farmers, but many were active in the linen trade to supplement their farm income. However, the continued threats of higher rents and fluctuating prices drove even the prosperous tenant farmers to emigrate to America.^[1]

Many had money and could afford the passage. If the Scotsmen did not have the 3 pounds 10 shillings needed for the passage, they willingly agreed to be indentured workers in America. They signed contracts with agents or ship captains. They knew the shipping company would sell their indenture contract after arriving in the colonies to farmers, merchants, or tradesmen who needed workers. The agreement was for five to seven years of labor in America and paid for their passage.

Ironically, the Ulster linen trade established the overseas trade routes between the Ulster ports and the American colonies that enabled their immigration to America. Ships hauled many tons of flaxseed and other materials from Pennsylvania to Ulster and were eager to fill their empty cargo holds for the return trip to America. The captains willingly accepted the Scottish emigrants’ money to pay for their passage to America, thus generating new revenue for the ship’s owner.

After the Scots in Ireland made arrangements for passage to America, packed their belongings, they said goodbye to friends and family, loaded their carts, and made their way to the Ulster ports of Londonderry, Portrush, Larne, Belfast, and Newry. Their small ships sailed for Philadelphia and Charleston with about fifty passengers on-board.^[2]

Filling the cargo holds with immigrants also solved a desperate problem for the American colonies who needed more workers. Many governors and land promoters in the American colonies offered land, tools, and seed to the immigrants. They sent out advertisements and hired agents to recruit workers to come to America. Charleston, South Carolina, and Philadelphia became the primary destination for the Ulster immigrant, and during the mid-1700s, Charleston rivaled Philadelphia as the port of entry for the Ulster-Scots. After arrival, the immigrants found cheap land without a landlord. They discovered the English Penal Laws did not exist in the colonies, and they did not have to tithe to two different churches. America offered the Scotch-Irish a new beginning and hope for their families.

[1] Blethen, H. Tyler; Curtis W. Wood Jr. From Ulster to Carolina: The Migration of the Scotch-Irish to Southwestern North Carolina, North Carolina Office of Archives and History.

[2] Blethen, H. Tyler; Curtis W. Wood Jr. From Ulster to Carolina: The Migration of the Scotch-Irish to Southwestern North Carolina, North Carolina Office of Archives and History.