Instead of just places and dates, family histories give details to make people real. For example, a family history could include a story about an uncle who was a moonshiner in the 1920's, a relative who fought and was decorated in a World War, a grandmother who was active in the suffragette movement or even a great aunt who chewed tobacco and had spittoons all over the house!

Here are some reminders for participants. Family Histories should include:

• Date information: birth dates, marriage dates, death dates

• personal information: what the person looked like, what kind of person he or she is, what might have been special about that person, what type of work he or she did or what made that person unique

• special events, descriptions of weddings, how people died

A family history should:

• follow date order: go back as far as you're able and start from their stories

• follow logical order: if you're writing about one person, finish writing about him/her before moving on to the next