Family Sources

Nature of Source

Family material such as documents and memorabilia including photos, family bibles, birthday books, letters, postcards, mourning rings, memorial cards, school reports, medals etc. Names, dates, places and occupations can be established from these sources but also a person’s appearance, characteristics, and their family traditions. A person’s oral history is an important element of family sources.

Beware that information could be recorded in error and should be verified by other sources. Birthday books were popular in the later 19th and early 20th centuries and record dates of births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials. Family bibles were popular in the Victorian times and were often produced with pages to record births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials. Look for memorial cards which were small cards with a black border printed in memory of a loved one.

The following items are the main sources of family material:

Where Found

Personal collections or at second-hand bookshops and market stalls.

Period Covered

1300 – Onwards

Genealogical Value

• Dates of family births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, burials, names, family relationships.

Further References

• Blanchard, Gill. Writing Your Family History: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen & Sword Books, 2014
• Amsden, Peter. Basic Approach to Making Contact with Relatives: Federation of Family History Societies, 1999
• Foy, Karen. Ancestors in the Attic: Making Family Memorabilia into History: The History Press, 2013
• King, Rena. The Family Bible: A Priceless Heirloom: Its history and Evolvement with Inscriptions of Family History Events: The Family History Partnership, 2014
• Levenick, Denise May. How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia and Genealogy Records: Family Tree Books, 2012
• Levenick, Denise May. How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia and Genealogy Records: Betterway Books, 2012
• Levenick, Denise May. How to Organize Inherited Items: A Step-by-Step Guide for Dealing with Boxes of Your Parents’ Stuff: Family Tree Books, 2012
• Levenick, Denise May. How to Archive Family Photos: A Step-by-Step Guide to Organize and Share Your Photos Digitally: Family Tree Books, 2015
• McClure, Rhonda. Digitizing Your Family History: Easy Methods for Preserving Your Heirloom Documents, Photos, Home Movies and More in a Digital Format: Family Tree Books, 2004
• McLaughlin, Eve. Interviewing Elderly Relatives: Federation of Family History Societies, 1985
• Paton, Chris. Sharing Your Family History Online: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2021
• Sassoon, Rosemary. Keeping Chronicles: Preserving History Through Written Memorabilia: A&C Black, 2010
• Symes, Ruth A. Tracing Your Ancestors Through Letters and Personal Writings: A Guide For Family Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2016
• Wentzel, Larry. Scanning for Digitization Projects: Library Hi Tech News, 2006

Websites

FamilyTree
Family stories: how to interview your relatives. Find out more about the best ways to interview your relatives, how to record the stories, and much more with our in-depth guide.
Ancestor Search
Genealogy Interview Questions.
https://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm (Fifty Questions for Family History Interviews, by Kimberly Powell)
www.ehow.com/how_4684893_interview-family-family-history.html (How to Interview Your Family about Your Family History)
https://genealogy.about.com/od/oral_history/Oral_Histories_Interviewing_Relatives_and_Collecting_Oral_History.htm (Links to interviewing relatives and suggested questions)
www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/Quest.html (Oral History Interview, Questions and Topics)
www.genealogy.com/95_carmack.html (Interviewing Mom and Grandma: Oral History Tips, by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack)
www.wired.com/story/how-to-use-tech-capture-family-history (WIRED: How to Use Tech to Capture Your Family History)
www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Heritage-and-archives/services/DocumentOwners/Caring-for-your-family-papers.aspx (Staffordshire Heritage and Archives. Caring for your family papers. The purpose of this leaflet is to give guidance on the future preservation of personal and family archives)
www.heritagehub.org.uk/heritage-hub-online-training (Gloucestershire Archives: Heritage Hub Online Training: Introduction to Heritage Hub online training for community and family archivists. The team at Gloucestershire Archives have created this web resource, to help you look after your collection and preserve your precious family memories or your community’s story)
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/london-metropolitan-archives/about-lma/conservation (London Metropolitan Archives: Collections Care at Home. Seven guides with some basic advice from the LMA conservation team to help you care for your family history and other important documents at home)
www.familysearch.org/blog/en/preserving-familys-letters-documents (FamilySearch: Family History Preservation: Preserving Your Family’s Letters and Documents)
www.family-tree.co.uk/how-to-guides/how-to-care-for-family-tree-documents-at-home (Family Tree: How to care for family tree documents at home)
www.cyndislist.com/bibles.htm (Cyndi’s List: Family Bibles)

Online Databases

N/A

CD Roms

N/A