Recently I have had opportunities to talk with people about family history and many want to know more, but do not know where to begin. In the past few weeks, I have found that many people think of genealogy as being just pedigree charts and family groups sheets. The umbrella we call family history is so much more than just genealogy. There is a slogan that goes around that says, “Hearts Not Charts”. I feel it should be, “Hearts Then Charts!”  Just like charity begins at home, so does family history. I realize that not all families are ideal but hopefully, most are. The homes that aren’t can also engender a desire to discover and gain new insights about families. That often includes going back a few generations.

The love present in a good home initiates the desire to do family history. It may not be family groups sheets and pedigree charts right away, but who doesn’t take tons of photos of their newborn in the first few weeks and much longer. Many kids these days have photos and videos of every important event in their lives. That is family history, right? Our memories that are recorded, and written, and shared all contribute to building that love between the generations. No matter what our circumstances are we all have a story to tell. Family history is for everyone.

People new to family history do not need to be overwhelmed and firehosed with everything all at once. Rather they should be made aware of the many aspects of family history they are already doing. Help them discover their own passions and pathways.

We had a really fun church activity about two weeks ago where our objective was to show people many of the different aspects under the family history umbrella. We had stations set up for photography, writing in journals including bullet journals, family traditions that keep living family close, and family activities for everyone.

We had a potluck where people were encouraged to bring a dish from their country of origin or from their own family right now. The placemats were created to look like pedigree charts. We had games and activities for all ages, including families, children, youth, singles. We featured blog books and scrapbooks, and we had a scanner there for people to scan photos. We used activities from The Family History Guide Activities section.  Some people on the planning committee of family history consultants used ideas from their own experiences.

In addition to all of this and more, we had lessons about The Family History Guide and how it can make our learning go beyond this generation and into our family tree, one step at a time. One of the most loved activities was the youth helping people download the FamilySearch/Family Tree app and using “Relatives Around Me” to discover who they were related to in the room. You can access that from the toolbar on the bottom of the Family Tree App by clicking on the three dots … all the way to the right.  “Relatives Around Me” is the third option. Everyone who had their app open to that option would then show up on your screen if they are part of your family. It is pretty fun to see that people you have known for some time are actually your relatives. I’ve heard several greet each other since the event saying, “Hi Cousin!”  There is something magical in knowing we are related!

It is that wonderful feeling we get when we discover our relatives that sparks our desire to find more including those who have gone before us. Our ancestors deserve to be remembered and loved for their contributions to all we enjoy!  Once we have known it and felt the joy of the connection, it is natural to want to keep going!  This is why I say, “Hearts Then Charts!” That is why I believe it starts with love withing our family here and now.  With wholesome family recreation and activities that touch our hearts, the love for family history is born.  One of the best ways we can instill this with our children and grandchildren is exposure to this joy. Help them know each other as cousins if they live far apart or right next door.  Our 10 are spread out from coast to coast. One project I did when they were little was I wrote a blog for them called, “Gramma and Me”.  In it, I shared things they would all like and told stories about each of them so their cousins would know about their fun adventures and their accomplishments. Who better than a grandparent to be “the glue” when their parents are so busy with the day to day raising of the kids?

Another thing is to plan family reunions as often as possible. I have written a blog with several posts called Sundancing! There are lots of ideas for family reunions right here on The Family History Guide also. Check out having a Virtual Family Reunion if the distance is a huge factor. Also, see this post on Planning For Family Reunions.  Both of these posts were created by our own Angelle Anderson!

Telling stories to our families about their ancestors is so important.  Go to All The Stories and maybe find new stories about your ancestors if you have an account on FamilySearch. If you don’t find any about your ancestors, start writing them for the ones that you remember but that your living family members never knew. Go to Memories on the Home page of The Family History Guide and seek information on how to add Stores to FamilySearch for your individual relatives and ancestors. They don’t need to be lengthy stories, just little anecdotes or even a description of the person and a few memories about how you knew them.

Above all, teach your family that what you do with family history is something they can learn, too. Give them help, and of course it goes without saying, show them The Family History Guide to make it doable for them. Be sure to tell them that even though you may have done a lot, this work is not done. It is a lifetime endeavor and was never meant to be completely done. As they do it they will be blessed in their efforts. What a great way to stay connected to your posterity, by mentoring and assisting them as they learn. Be the kind of mentor that allows another person to see it is doable and that they are capable of succeeding one step at a time. The key is to keep at it on a regular basis. See what Bob Taylor has to say about diving into this work with his metaphor about swimming here.