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Writer's pictureTimothy Laufer

How to Add to the Family Tree

This is a follow up post on adding to the family tree. If you need help viewing, or seeing where you fit in, see my previous post.


A memory from the 9/11 memorial
“No Day Shall Erase You From the Memory of Time.”
This quote from Book IX of "The Aeneid" by the Roman poet Virgil suggests the transformative potential of remembrance... These words are part of a larger art installation in the 9/11 Memorial Museum created in 2014 by artist Spencer Finch, titled “Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning.” The installation is the focal point for Memorial Hall, the area between the two main exhibitions at bedrock in the museum. Every one of the 2,983 watercolor squares is its own shade of blue – one for each of the 2001 and 1993 attack victims – and the artwork as a whole revolves around the idea of memory. Our own perception of the color blue might not be the same as that of another person. But, just like our perception of color, our memories share a common point of reference. - Source

 

Full help is best found on the FamilySearch YouTube page. I've focused below on some examples I've done in hopes of inspiring you to add to our story.




Overview of person view


I'll start by going over my grandma Anne's page.


 


The main page has several sections

Details: Other Information

An important place to add information is the "other" section. This allows you to add information such as: alternate names (married, nicknames, birth names), occupations (often found in census data), military service, and more.

Timeline

Items you add to the vital section can be seen on the timeline. You can add dates, and locations, and display the route. It is important to make sure the place you entered has a "Standardize place" in order to display properly.

Sources

Many sources already exist in the FamilySearch website. You can upload custom sources though. I've found a couple of great places to go are

  1. https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/ - Search through old newspapers

  2. https://www.germangenealogygroup.com/ - Very well indexed resource for German relatives

  3. https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/ New York City Digitized Vital Records: get copies of birth certificates, wedding etc. (NOTE - not all digitalized yet, doesn't have all of long island)

Below you can see an example from Grandma's sources - I've gone through and added old newspaper clippings she was mentioned in; mostly girl scout work, weddings, and church functions.

Above you'll see I found Papa's high school year book and have added it as a source. I added the photo to the memories section as well.

Some sources have the original copies already scanned. The bottom photo is the 1940 Census that my great grandfather Raymond was mentioned in.

Memories

Photos, documents, stories and audio recordings can be added to this section. I would like to add Papa's old sermons one day after getting the tapes digitalized. In the example below, you can see I've added his yearbook photo, as well as tagged it. This will help make it easier to find, and give context to.

A very powerful feature is to use the Record a memory button. You can add your own oral history to the photos.


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