Genealogy/Family Ancestor Project
The people who came from many parts of the world whether for religion, trade or a better life are our ancestors. You will be looking at them and how they are connected to you. There is nothing more important than knowing WHERE YOU CAME FROM and HOW YOU GOT TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY. Your past will unveil clues to your families’ roots and to a better understanding of the United States and surrounding countries. Each person in this class plays a critical part in American history and your family’s heritage. Because of this important role each of you will play in our country, you will take the time to better understand where you came from and where you may be going in life. What is Genealogy? It is the study of family history. It is the study of family and relationships and ancestry. What is a family tree? It is a diagram of the members of a family. With a family tree, you can show how people are related. Data: Some people keep track of their family history data in genealogy databases on their computers. Types of data found are dates and places of births, marriages and deaths. Other information that may be saved are records of military service, census records which show where ancestors lived at a certain time, immigration data, education, occupations, and sometimes photos of the ancestors. The advantage of a genealogy database is that it helps to keep the data organized, or it can generate charts or tables with data filled in. Why do people study genealogy? They may want to help someone be reunited with their family after war, natural disasters, adoption, or to find living relatives. Many want to learn about their ancestors (parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.) from hundreds of years ago.
The GOAL of this project is to help provide every student with an understanding of his or her heritage. During this first semester, students will be completing different parts of this Genealogy Project. At the end of the semester, before winter break, we will celebrate all our different heritages with family and friends. Step 1: The first step in the process will be to find your oldest living relative on one side of your family (mom’s or dad’s) and have a conversation with them about your family and what they know about its history. Ask your relative what he or she remembers about the family by asking specific questions like what states or countries the family has lived in, what kinds of jobs have been held by family members, what kinds of homes they lived in. Ask about important events in the family over the years and ask for stories and information about the oldest relative they can remember talking to. (Enrichment opportunity: if you would like to do this with both sides of our family, both mom and dad, you may do so.) The conversation and information you gather should be kept in note form and will have a due date of Wednesday, December 3.
Step 2: Look up information on your family using the following genealogy websites. With the information you find try to create a family tree on either your mothers’ side or father’s side of the family. (Again, you may choose to do both if you wish). Try to find as much information on your ancestors, going as far back as you can in your research. For each generation, provide the specific information about each family member, the minimum being the name, birth and if applicable, death dates. Here are some websites you may want to go to help you in finding information: http://genealogysearch.org/free/forms.html www.geni.com To build your family tree www.ancestry.com Mother of all searches (free for 14 days) www.archive.com 2nd best of all searches (Free 7 days) www.rootsweb.com Cross reference website (free) http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ Free UK genealogy helper http://usgenweb.org http://www.deathindexes.com/ http://familysearch.org On recommendation from a parent The family tree will have a due date of Wednesday, December 10. This needs to be completed at home. Step 3: Using the information from your conversations with family members (Using the notes you took from step 1 and the information you have from your family tree in step 2), create a written account of your early ancestors up to and including your immediate family. Try to include as much information as you can find. This should be a minimum of two well-written double-spaced pages. We will be typing this in school. Final copies are due Monday, December 8.
Step 4: Photos You will be responsible for having a minimum of 5 photos of your family. (Other images permissible if you have no family photos). Please make copies of any pictures. The older the pictures and people the better. They need to represent the side of the family you are researching or both if that is what you have chosen to do. The due date on having these at school will be Friday, December 12th.