30 Family History Writing Prompts · family history writing prompts Using your location research...
Transcript of 30 Family History Writing Prompts · family history writing prompts Using your location research...
Writing your family history can be tricky. It’s hard to know
where to start. Use these 30 writing prompts as fuel to kick-
start your family history writing journey. Some prompts
are silly, some prompts are serious, but all will get you
thinking about your genealogy in new ways. Beneath each
prompt are lines for you to fill in digitally, but please print
out this book if writing by hand is easier. Write as much or
as little in response to each prompt as you would like.
Happy writing!
from the editors of
For more family history writing inspiration, download our workbook Story of My Life. Pass the stories of your life through the future generations of your family and re-discover old memories in one organized workbook.
<http://www.shopfamilytree.com/story-of-my-life>
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family history writing prompts
Write a letter to an ancestor you’ve never met. Include questions you’ve always wanted to ask him or her, plus some that reflect what you’ve already learned about your ancestor (for example,
“Do you enjoy your new job?” or “How are you coping with your father’s death?”).
Write your response here:
< f a m i l y t r e e u n i v e r s i t y . c o m >4
family history writing prompts
Think of your ancestor as a character in a novel, and describe him or her in a few short paragraphs. What color are her eyes? What is she wearing? How does she carry herself? What kind of voice
does she have?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Imagine your ancestor getting the keys to his first house or car. Write a journal entry from his point of view that describes the car/
place and his feelings about it.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Write an obituary for an ancestor. Be sure to include information about any surviving ancestors, the deceased’s occupation, and his
age at death. Use contemporary obituaries as a guide.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Write a scene that describes a block party in your ancestor’s hometown, and invite everyone who appears on a page in a US
federal census record. Use census data to learn ages, occupations, and relationships, and tap into your imagination for the rest. Who’s talking to who, and what’s the hot gossip?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Select your favorite family photo, and write about the moments just before and/or after the photo was taken. Why was it taken? Was
your ancestor happy to be in it?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Select two ancestors who lived in different centuries, and describe a scene of the two interacting with each other. What do they talk
about? How are they different from one another?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Imagine the first time your ancestor got to vote. Write a letter from them to a relative detailing their impressions. Where was their polling place? What was the process like? What about the other
people in line?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Pick an ancestor’s hometown and do some research on how it was during your ancestor’s time. Use historical pictures/postcards and city directories to learn about the town, then write a brief tourism
ad for the locale highlighting the town’s attractions.
Write your response here:
< f a m i l y t r e e u n i v e r s i t y . c o m >12
family history writing prompts
Using your location research from yesterday, describe your ances-tor’s walk down the street. Invent his destination (work, church, market, etc.) and use a city directory and your imagination to de-
scribe who/what he might see on the way there.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Describe the first meeting between two of your ancestors who would later get married. What are their first impressions of each
other? Include any details you know about your ancestor’s appear-ance, occupation, age at that time, etc.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Craft a poem or love letter from one of your ancestors to his or her future spouse—or, if an ancestor was divorced, write a letter from
one to the other explaining why he/she wants to leave.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Describe your ancestors’ wedding. Study marriage certificates, wedding banns and photos, and contemporary clothing and
rituals to fill in details.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Write a diary or journal entry that details your immigrant ancestor’s journey. What are their impressions of their fellow passengers?
Research passenger lists and ship descriptions to make your description more accurate.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Pick an ancestor from the 1800s, drop him into today, and (as your ancestor) write a letter to family members still in the 1800s. How
would he describe today? What surprises him? What questions would he have?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Imagine one or more of your ancestors as the characters in a fairy tale or fable. What role would they play, and what is the setting?
What would be their fate?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Who was your ancestor’s best friend? How did they spend their time together? Write a paragraph or two about an adventure they had
(real or imagined) based on what you know of their childhood and the time period and place they lived.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Identify a major event that happened during your ancestor’s life-time, and (as your ancestor) write a first-person journal entry de-
scribing it. What would your ancestor have thought about it? Would he have found it exciting? Frightening? Frustrating?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Write a paragraph describing three items your ancestor would never leave home without.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Select an ancestor who served in the military, and write a letter to him or her from the perspective of a loved one on the home front.
Ask about his or her health, or the conditions in the war. Read real-life wartime letters for inspiration.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Look over your research for an ancestor or family and create a time-line of his life. List the date for each record, where the person or family was located at the time, and what they were doing. Notice any gaps in your research (such as the glaring absence of the 1890
census)? Use those to make a to-do list.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Come up with a pitch for your ancestor’s biography. Is it a sultry tell-all, or just-the-facts? What major theme(s) does it cover? Be
sure to give the bio a title and sub-title, and write the book’s summary as it would appear on the back cover.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Write about how your ancestors celebrated Thanksgiving. Is it their first in America? What did they eat, and who were their dinner
guests? What are they grateful for? Get other family members to collaborate.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Review historical resources like the Sears Catalog and “buy” three Christmas presents for an ancestor. Why did you choose those three,
and how would your ancestor respond to them?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Pitch a movie about one of your ancestors. What interesting event do you want the film to portray? What kind of film will it be? What
actor/actress would play your ancestor, and who would play the other characters? Be sure to give your film a title and tagline. If
you’re feeling extra ambitious, write the movie’s preview.
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Record a memory of one of your ancestors that you want to pass down to future generations—a parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. Set the scene: How old were each of you at the
time? What happened? Why is this a memory you treasure?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Imagine your ancestor had access to the internet during his lifetime, and write a Facebook post or series of tweets describing something he’s witnessing in real-time. Is there a contemporary (historical) is-sue he would feel strongly about or an event he wants to respond to?
Or maybe he wants to air a family grievance?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Imagine a typical day for a female ancestor. What time did she wake up, and what did she do throughout the day?
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Write a brief biography of yourself—everything an ancestor might want to know about you. After all, someday your ancestors will want
to know as much about you as you do about yours!
Write your response here:
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family history writing prompts
Select a family heirloom (watch, quilt, Bible, etc.) and write a narrative from its perspective. Where has it been? How did your
ancestor acquire it, and what would it have encountered throughout the years? What important family milestones
might it have witnessed?
Write your response here: