One Rhode Island Family

After my recent post about buying a printed copy of a Google Book, several people had questions about digital books and how to use them.  So I thought I would review what I do with digital books.  I am an avid book collector and digital books are no exception.  I would recommend to anyone that if they find books online related to their family history, they try to save them to their own computer.

The books I am talking about no longer have a copyright, which often means they were published before 1923.  What you can do with the books varies from site to site, so let’s go through my favorite sources of digital books one by one.

Internet Archive

Internet Archive is my favorite site for finding books, because the pdf’s from there are usually OCR-searchable, meaning, once I open the pdf, I can use a search command to find a name or word in the text of the book (not a perfect search; it depends on the quality of the image and the type).

Recently, Internet archive has changed their screens.  I find the new interface a little confusing.

I went to http://archive.org and chose “Advanced Search.”  I usually use the “Description” field and enter a few words or an exact term (in quotations).  In this case I entered simply Westerly Rhode Island.  Three results came up, however, if a lot of results came up, I could have limited the results further by clicking “texts” over on the side column, thereby getting rid of recordings, films, etc.   One of the results was a manuscript from a Newport Library of a “Diary of Samuel Ward.” I’ve never seen this before, but how nice to be able to look it over at home.  Yes, please.

Results of my Westerly Rhode Island search show an intriguing manuscript, “Diary of Samuel Ward.”

I clicked on the image, and on the screen that came up, I could page through the document just by clicking on it. For a printed book, the gray edge beside the pages allows you to easy click forward or backward in the book.  Of course I could also download it in several formats.  Downloading as a pdf is what most people would want to do.

The Diary of Samuel Ward on Internet Archive. The image can be clicked to page through it, or the download options at the bottom can be used to file it on your own computer.

Clicking PDF brings up an option to save it to my computer.  I file it properly – my folders are divided into places and family names – I choose the folder that best fits the material.

Clicking pdf brings up this screen which allows me to save the pdf to my computer.

Google Books

I tend to arrive at Google books through a general google search, but it can be accessed directly at books.google.com.

The Google Books screen also reminds you that you can build a virtual My Library of books right in your Google account.

I searched for Spaulding genealogy and clicked on the book The History of Hillsborough New Hampshire Vol 2: Biography and Genealogy.  Since Spaulding genealogy was my search term, instances of those words are bookmarked with tiny blue bands over on the side – clicking those, or clicking “previous” or “next” will let me jump from appearance to appearance.

The Google book History of Hillsborough shows an EBOOK – FREE button.

Pulling up the History of Hillsborough, I notice there is an EBOOK-FREE button in red.  That means a free version is available for download.  Hovering over the EBOOK-FREE shows me the download pdf:

Mousing over the EBOOK-FREE button shows the Download PDF option – click “PDF.”

… clicking on the PDF will start a download.  Then I would save the pdf to the folder where I want to keep it.

HathiTrust Digital Library

HathiTrust.org has the most user-friendly search function.  However, in the end, full books can only be downloaded by those with a login for one of Hathitrust’s partner universities.

I searched the phrase “Marcy Ballou” in full text search.

The results were very interesting.

(1) Pulling up the “History of Woonsocket” I used the Search in this text box, and saw that Marcy appears on page 223:

Notably, Marcy does not appear in the index to this book.  Looking at page 223, I can tell that the mention is for Marcy’s cousin, the other Marcy Ballou.  But still, I’d never seen it before.

(2) Next, I looked at a Limited (search-only) entry.

I own those copies of the Rhode Island Genealogical Register, but hadn’t noticed Marcy Ballou’s name in there before.  Turned out they both referred to other Marcy Ballous.  But in this case, HathiTrust served as a useful index.

(3) Looking at The Ballous in America, I tried to search within the book.  I searched for a variant – “Mercy Ballou”.  Unfortunately, on the copy that came up, searching was not possible.  I pulled up an alternate copy on HathiTrust and searching was possible (oddly, both versions were apparently from Google Books).

Once a page is found with information, the PAGE itself can be downloaded even without an account.  But the whole book cannot be downloaded, even though this book, from 1888, is not under copyright.  Note that the bottom corner also offers options for creating a link to a specific page or to the whole book.

FamilySearch Books

One of the nicest features of FamilySearch.org is the BOOKS section, somewhat buried under the “Search” menu.

Books section of FamilySearch.org – I would use the search box on this page.

Searching on this page will show results from any of the libraries listed on the screen.  I searched for Lanphere genealogy.

The Lanphere genealogy search on FamilySearch BOOKS brought up 131 results. Some look new to me so I’ll check them out.

Clicking on one of the results will either bring up a message saying you can’t access it outside of the Family History Center OR if the book is available as a pdf it will start to download right away.  However, it’s not really showing you the exact spot where the match is.  You will have to find that on your own.  But FamilySearch books is my go-to when all else fails.  Even if it brings up a book I can’t view, at least I have a clue and I can try to see the book elsewhere, perhaps in person.  If I were trying to find a specific book I would check out worldcat.org to locate a paper copy in a library.

How to use and maintain your PDF book collection

I used to keep all books in their own set of folders on my computer.  Now, each family name or place folder has a “books” folder within it.

The most important thing to me when I use a pdf book is to save my own notes.  At the very least, I leave comments to mark each page where topics of interest appear in the book.

Opening up a book in Adobe Reader looks like this:

My pdf copy of Genealogical Records of the Descendants of John and Anthony Emery. John Emery is highlighted and has a sticky note.

To “highlight” text in yellow, or to leave a note, I click “Comment” in the top corner to access the Sticky Note and Highlight Text functions.  The open screen looks like this, with all my highlighted text and sticky notes showing in a clickable column down the side. This way, the next time I open the book, I can go right to the places I want. You can see I have done this about a dozen times in the Emery book.

A list of highlighted text, and notes, along the side serve as bookmarks for locations within the book.

When you are ready to close the pdf, you must save it to keep your notes.  Sometimes, my computer insists that I rename it to save it.  I do that, then delete the older version to avoid confusion.

The post you are reading is located at:  https://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2016/01/04/how-to-build-digital-library/

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Thanks to Barbara Matthews, FASG, I got a tip this week on Facebook about how to print an out-of-copyright book from Google Books.  I have wanted to do this for a long time, and tried it myself in various ways (not easy to do).  But this time, it’s easy.

Barbara pointed out that the Harvard Book Store has a large book-printing machine out on the floor called Espresso.  If you are in the store in Harvard Square, you can order a book and it will be printed and bound within a few minutes, ready for you to purchase it.

But she also pointed out that for the rest of us who will not be wandering around Cambridge anytime soon, there is another way.

Find a Google Book

Go to http://books.google.com.  Find a book no longer under copyright (often, that means pre-1923).

The book I searched for came up; a full online copy was there.  I opened it up and looked it over – it was a good copy, and clear.  The next step is to pull down the “Get this book in print” menu to find the “On Demand Books“ option.

Then you can see the various vendors, and prices, for printing the book.

Cambridge, Mass. would be the closest location to me (although I could choose any of the vendors).  The price for the 228 page book is $10.40.  Clicking “Get It” takes you to a screen where you choose white or cream paper for your book, then takes you to the Harvard Book Store shopping cart, where you buy it like a normal purchase.  I chose the cheaper shipping option – for the three books I bought, shipping totaled $6.50.

Another way, if using the Harvard Book Store, is to go directly to their online catalog, which includes Google Books.

A few thoughts

• I would like to also be able to print books from Internet Archive.  I think it may be possible, but it’s not clear how to do it.
• I will update this post with a picture of my volumes when they arrive.  I’m not sure what Espresso uses for a cover.  [update:  picture:]

The Google Books printed with a white paper cover. Clearly, a back and white copy of the title page was, in each case, used as a cover.  They’re cute!

• Of course, genealogists also benefit from the reprints of Heritage Press, and the on-demand production of old books from Higginson Books (currently having a sale) and NEHGS.
• Having a husband who doesn’t mind building bookcases may come in handy here.

Spinning bookcase made by my husband.

The post you are reading is located at:  https://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2015/12/03/printing-a-book-from-google-books

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Every genealogist imagines that someday they will pull their family’s story together into a vivid and fascinating book, complete with pictures, that will keep even the younger generation interested.  Very seldom is that goal achieved, but I recently purchased a copy of I Come From A Place Called Home, 1882-1929 by Elizabeth Burr Marquard, and I can’t put it down. She has met that goal.

I Come From a Place Called Home [Amazon link HERE] follows the story of Elizabeth’s great-grandparents: father William Seibel, mother Sophia, and 8 children, who raised fruit in rural Monroeville, Ohio.  The normal ups and downs of a large family, the strenuous labor of farm life and the simple joy of caring about and for each other are set against a background of mental illness, as the mother becomes increasingly incompetent and dependent  as life goes on.

A story of acceptance, strength and resilience, told in conversational and very realistic detail – much, but not all of it, real – takes us from the pig-slaughtering and lye-making of the 1880s to the cars and college degrees of the 1920’s, as the family experiences their share of joy and heartbreak.  I have seldom read a book that captured my interest as much as this story.  I laughed and cried along with the family.  I recommend it very highly to all readers and aspiring family historians.

I know my genealogy friends will want to know how Liz did this.  So here are Liz’s thoughts on the process and problems that she found.

An interview with Elizabeth Burr Marquard
Can you explain how the idea for the book started?

I was fortunate to grow up in a home where family stories were always shared, particularly about my maternal ancestors, the Seibels. There was a great deal of warmth and love associated with these stories, and even though I did not know the people personally, I felt their essence. My ancestors were also savers, so I had access to their old letters, diaries, farm journals, and several manuscripts about their lives. I often told my mother, “The Seibels were such an interesting family! Someone should write a book about them.” She always responded, “That someone is you, Liz.” I carried the notion of this book in my head for about 30 years. Finally, the year I turned 50 I had one of those “bucket list” moments. I started writing. My mother was THRILLED! She was my biggest cheerleader in this endeavor, and she eagerly anticipated each chapter. Sadly, Mom did not live to see the book published. She passed away in 2011, but I made a death-bed promise to her that I would finish writing the book. It was a bittersweet moment when I held the published book in my hands for the first time, knowing that Mom was not physically here to share in this dream come true.

Other family historians will be curious – how did you manage to amass enough details to fill over 600 pages?

Some people come from families with deep pockets, but as I mention in the Acknowledgments of the book, I come from a family with “deep closets.” They were savers extraordinaire! There are letters between the sisters dating from 1910 to 1957. There are diaries and farm journals as well as a copy of the manuscript “Adventures of William Seibel Out West, 1882-1885,” which my great-aunt Hermine wrote in 1936 after interviewing her father about his youthful adventures on the Mississippi. In the 1970s, my cousin, who had developed an interest in our heritage, began a correspondence with the two surviving Seibel sisters, Hermine and Minola. Her first request was, “Tell me about my grandmother Ada.” That opened the floodgates! Both sisters wrote manuscripts about their memories. Hermine, being the 4th daughter, offered an earlier perspective of life in the Seibel household. Minola, the youngest sister, was the more prolific, writing character profiles of each family member as well as manuscripts about her memories of life on the farm, in the schools, her university and work experiences, as well as her service with the Red Cross during WW II. She also included a genealogy of our ancestors, including their hometowns in Germany and the dates of their emigration. What a treasure trove! Armed with all of this primary source material, I set about compiling it into one cohesive story. About 85% of the incidents in the book are true. I had to “embroider” other portions, for example, to demonstrate Sophie’s deteriorating mental condition. I followed the rule of one of my college English professors: “Don’t just tell me; show me! Make me feel I’m there!”

If one person who is no longer here could read the book, who would you want that to be?

My maternal grandmother, Ada. She died when I was only 18 mos. old, so I have no memories of her. However, in writing this book, I feel that I have come to know her. On so many occasions in her life, Ada set aside her own ambitions to fulfill the role of surrogate mother to her seven younger siblings. I doubt that she was ever thanked or that she expected to be thanked—there was a job to be done, so she did it. Ada would probably be amazed that anyone thought her life story worthy of writing a book about, but I think she was an unsung hero!

The book is a tribute to resiliency, hard work, and determination. But like every family, your family had some painful stories and some rough times. How did that shape your efforts on the book?

Some of the Seibels’ most painful moments are the most compelling—the stigma of mental illness, the aftermath of the Spanish Influenza, the anti-German sentiment surrounding WW I, the lower social standing felt by those from rural origins. These incidents allowed me to highlight the Seibels’ strength of character and the incredibly deep and supportive bonds that held the siblings together.

Was it hard to include some German chit chat in your dialogue?

I wanted the book to be authentic. I knew that my ancestors originally spoke only German but slowly transitioned to English as they assimilated into the American culture. Initially, I used the online translation website BabelFish to make the English-to-German translations for the text. However, I was aware that the translations were not always accurate. Fortunately, my job brought me into contact with a bilingual German fellow who graciously fixed all of the German translations for me. I am very chagrined to be so monolingual!

How long did the writing take? How much time was added to that for design, layout, and managing the project on the self-publishing site, CreateSpace?

I have been writing this book for 9 years. (I’m a slow writer, plus “life” has a habit of getting in the way!) In May 2015, I decided the entire Seibel saga (100 years) would be too much content for one book. I broke the story after Chapter 32 (1929) and proceeded to explore publishing on CreateSpace. From my initial decision to publish until I held the finished volume 1 in my hands was about 3 months.

Are you planning a sequel, or other books?

I am currently working on volume 2, which will continue the Seibel saga and cover the years 1930-1985 (circling back to where volume 1 begins). I foresee two books as my life’s literary output.

Describe some things you learned about research and writing along the way.

I learned that I could completely lose myself in the research, which I actually enjoy more than the writing. And it is true that you can research almost any topic on the internet—how to make soap and apple butter, butcher hogs, plant strawberries, drive a Model T, dance the Charleston, speak 1920s slang, etc.

I also learned a huge appreciation for authors–even ones whose books I don’t enjoy! Writing is time-consuming, often mentally exhausting, and even emotionally draining. On numerous occasions, I cried while I wrote. There were times when I was writing that I could feel a presence in the room with me, almost as if someone was looking over my shoulder and whispering, “Tell the story.” I included a quote by Dot Stutter on a forward page of the book that sums up this experience: “I hear ethereal whispers, persuasive, soft and still. Daughter, if you don’t remember us, who will?”

Can you talk about some resources/help you found that other family historians may not be aware of?

I found a website that lists Cleveland-area weather history since 1871. This sounds like an odd resource, but when writing about a farm family, it was helpful to check how the weather was impacting their daily lives, decisions, and economy. I also found the site “Vintage Ad Browser,” which offers ads for various subjects through the decades. Besides being just plain fun to peruse, the ads provided a perspective on various eras and helped me to mentally engage with a particular time.

Do you have a few tips about self-publishing?

I researched all of the print-on-demand publication services, and good reviews pointed me toward CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon. There was no cost to publish, except when I purchase a copy of the book. Initially, I struggled with CreateSpace’s formatting template. (I read many blogs for tips.) It was very time-consuming to cut and paste 32 chapters from Word documents into their 6 x 9 format. For volume 2, I have wised up and am writing the book directly into their template and saving it in that format.

I also created a Kindle version of my book. Converting it into the proper format was a rather opaque process, complicated by trying to marry 140 images to the HTML document. Once again, blogs to the rescue!

What is your advice to others who feel they have a family story to tell in a book?

Start writing—the first draft doesn’t have to be perfect. You can revise it many times, and reading what you’ve written gets the creative juices flowing. Make the story engaging–not just a retelling of dates, facts, and events. Details bring a story to life and engage the reader. If you are fortunate enough to have older living relatives, ask them about their memories and document them. Ask them to identify the people in old photos, and then write those names (and the date if possible) on the back of the photo. Every family has stories and they need to be preserved. We can’t truly know ourselves until we know where we came from. And we all “come from a place called home…”

The stash of written documents that helped tell the family’s story. In addition, there were letters and also pictures, many of which were included in the book.

I Come From A Place Called Home is available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format.

The post you are reading is located at: https://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2015/09/03/book-about-your-family/

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Over the years I’ve acquired many magazine holders for my growing collection of genealogy journals and periodicals.  The situation looked something like this:

Part of the journal collection in a variety of holders.

Not bad, but I was always running out of room in the boxes.  Recently, I bought some loose single copies of the Rhode Island Genealogical Register, to fill in some gaps in my collection of the bound volumes.  I knew I didn’t want to throw the loose volumes in a box.  Then I would have to pull out all 20 of them to find one issue.

The idea of grouping my issues by year came from this 1923 issue of The New England Historic Genealogical Register that I acquired a few years ago at a book giveaway table at a Rhode Island Genealogical Society meeting.

The New England Historic Genealogical Register, all issues for 1923.

I was fascinated with the modest efficiency of what is, essentially, a bookcover.  It serves as a faux binding for an index volume and four issues.  Because it’s labelled, you can more easily find the issue you are looking for than in those boxes.

Making the journal covers

I gathered up some paper, tape, cardboard and my trusty P-touch label maker.

Shelf liner paper, various large postcards and other light cardboard I found around the house, and some shopping bags.

I got some drawer lining paper with a coupon at Michael’s.  It was conveniently cut in sheets that were a perfect size for smaller journals.  I also tried some shopping bags, but decided in the end they were too thick.

I gathered the journals and put each one in order by year.

It’s like making a bookcover, except you add some light cardboard to the inside cover, one in the front of the first issue and one in the back of the last issue, and tape the bookcover to the cardboard to add structure. NOTHING gets attached to any journal issue.  The 2 or 3 issues in the middle of the set are, essentially, loose and could fall out, but it’s surprising how well these hold together.

Folding the top and bottom of the paper sheet according to the size of the journal. Adding the cardboard sheet.

The back cover being slid in place.  Note the tape is on the cardboard.

Each pile of 4 issues tends to slide around a bit while you’re working on them. That’s actually helpful, making it very easy to position the front and back cover.

I tried to use the shopping bags, but only managed to use them on 2 covers when I decided they were too stiff and bulky.  I decided wrapping paper would be better, but good quality wrapping paper, like the kind you get at the Container Store.  Fortunately I had hit their Dec 26 sale pretty hard last year, so I looked over my supply.  Wow, Christmas-y.  Oh well.  I like Christmas.

For the larger journals, I cut up wrapping paper.  It worked very well.  And it was cheerful looking.

The Christmas paper from the Container Store made a nice cover.

When I was done, the journals were all separated by year and easy to find.

The journal covers in place. They take up a lot less room than the boxes, and the issues don’t slouch like they do in the boxes.

Making it work

• This lends itself to using what’s around, although my idea about shopping bags didn’t work.
• Instead of drawer liners I think another time I would go with all wrapping paper, and, with more planning, not Christmas paper. For people who save wrapping paper from use to use, this could work well.  But it would have to be heavy.
• Rolls of shelf lining paper might work or, of course, the ubiquitous brown paper bag, or brown wrapping.  Almost any large sheet of paper is a possibility.
• Another time I might be more careful about matching all issues of something in one paper.  Although in subsequent years it’s bound to get mixed up anyway.
• For those worried about the loose issues inside, an elastic from top to bottom would protect them more in the case of an earthquake or a broken shelf, and wouldn’t show.
• For the cardboard inside the front and back cover, large postcard ads worked well, or shirt cardboard, old folders, even large index cards for the smaller journals.  It need not be absolutely as large as the cover.
• Another time, I would make labels on the computer.  It took too long with the P-touch.

The newly faux-bound journals are looking good.

I did about 30 volumes; the rest are elsewhere in the bookcase. I’m keeping some holders around for new issues. I guess I would have to do this once a year.

The post you are reading is located at: https://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2015/07/21/journal-collection/

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When I was new to genealogy I remember reading somewhere that a compiled book suitable for giving to the family could not be assembled in a day or two.  Good advice!  Unless your tree is tiny and in good shape, and you don’t want to add much more, you will need some time to choose wisely, clarify your stories, make it flow, and make it look good.  This book is a Christmas gift, and I’m starting it especially early so that I can have it ready in time for any good sales that come up on the printing sites.  I usually use Lulu.com.

The book is about mom’s mother’s family, the Darlings.  I have been researching mom’s family for several years (Dad’s family of Scottish Highlanders is graduate-level work that I will pursue when I’m a little more experienced).  They are divided into Darlings (her mom’s side) and Baldwins (her Dad’s side).  For the last six months I have been working almost exclusively on the Baldwins, after a major breakthrough.  So getting back to the Darlings was a bit of an adjustment.

My needs for this project are:

• Put my most recent tree in print form for posterity (until I make the next one) for my mom and for her cousin
• Record some of the blog posts that relate to this line
• Create photo pages with old family photos

My wants are:

• Make a full-color book so that the back photo/story section will be in color (can you say too expensive??)
• Have some interesting stories appear from the “notes” field on Ancestry.  Those are not public on Ancestry but they do print in a report.
• Compile stories, documents, vital records and items in the book which were not well suited to blog posts, but interesting to the family.  For instance, my great-great grandfather testified in a murder trial.  Well now that I think about it, maybe that is interesting enough for a blog post!

the title page of the book

The Software

I keep my tree in Family Tree Maker and Ancestry.com.  It’s all about synchronizing – those two things will synch up with each other every time I open Family Tree Maker.  I use Ancestry on my iPhone quite a bit, and I really like that I can note something there which is recorded in Ancestry, and it automatically synchs to Family Tree Maker next time I open it up.  The footnotes need some work, for sure, but that’s the biggest drawback. I like the way, if I attach a census record in Ancestry, it is automatically downloaded and saved on my hard drive by using Family Tree Maker.  I think there is better software out there, but none that presents itself live and up to date on the internet the way this pairing does.  And since I also have an auto-backup of my computer files, I feel confident that my tree is saved in numerous ways.

For the stories/photos/documents section of the book, I pondered what software would help me compile some pictures and some blog entries.  My trouble with Word, in the past, has been that I like to run the text and images close to each other, like this:

Text wrapping around the picture

But I find when I set the wrapping for a picture to “tight,” the pictures can, later, jump around the pages in unexpected ways.  This can get really frustrating.  Particularly at 11:30 p.m.  I think I found a way to alleviate this problem by setting the wrapping “through text” and then locking the picture into a certain position on the page.  This seems to work well although it’s not as elegant as all that wrapped text.

My plan was to use Adobe Acrobat to compile the pdf book from Family Tree Maker followed by a pdf version of the Word document containing stories/posts/documents/photos.  Once assembled, I’ll have to make a cover on the book printing website.

Moving the Blog Pages

I’ve noticed a lot of offers out there to “print your blog” and “produce a book from your blog entries.”  However I really had no desire to print my blog entry-for-entry.  I wanted to only use some of the posts, and parts of others.  I couldn’t find an easy way to do that in any kind of automated fashion.  So if I was on my own, I wondered how Word would work if I just copied and pasted a complete post, pictures and all, into the middle of my stories/photo section.

I was surprised to find that Word worked incredibly well.  After cutting and pasting, the posts looked very much like they did on the blog.  I left off the header and side columns, of course, off.  I found a new type style to use for the post titles, but that was about it.  Occasionally I re-centered a picture.  They look like this in the book:

sample page of transferred blog entry

Making the Reports

I decided to include 5 Family Tree Maker reports in the book:

• A Pedigree Chart for the person whose ancestry is the subject of the book, Edna May Darling, my mother’s mother.  I feel that people may be able to follow the chart more easily than the report.

Page one of the nine page chart

• An Ahnentafel for Edna’s father, Russell Earl Darling.  I realized, going through this, that I am way too dependent on “Residence,” “Occupation” and “Burial.”  I should be using a wider variety of fields.  I made a list of desirable fields to use and taped them to my computer.  But that will be for future use.

Ahnentafel Report for Russell Earl Darling, 161 pages.

• An Ahnentafel for Edna’s mother, Eva Louise Murdock.  I knew my great grandmother.  She was a lovely person, and everyone who knew her could only remember her fondly.  In fact, knowing her somehow informs my understanding of my entire family tree.  So how embarrassing is it that her Ahnentafel is seven pages long?  Nice going!  Her father was adopted, but I have no idea how random that was or wasn’t.  Her mother appeared in the U.S. around 1881 as a twenty-year-old from Pictou, Nova Scotia.  Presumably, she was alone, although we all know it’s usually more complicated than that.   I have not reliably traced her parents.  I’m not sure where I even got seven pages.

Eva Louise Murdock’s Ahnentafel is seven pages long. Well, that’s embarrassing.

• A Place Usage Report.  Family Tree Maker does not offer an index, exactly, of places, but it does have a Place Usage Report.  So I created one for the direct ancestors only, in this section of the tree.  This was only 34 pages.  When you build a Place Usage Report into your book, be sure to specify, the ancestors of a specific person, otherwise it will give you places for the entire tree.

• The last section of the Family Tree Maker portion of the book is the Name Index.  This was 10 pages.  The only way Family Tree Maker will produce an index for your Ahnentafel is to put the Ahnentafel into a “Genealogy Book”, then  go to “Other” and you will see the option to add an index as a section of the book.  It only indexes the people in your Ahnentafel. 

The Documents Section

I wanted to add the photos/blog posts/documents/records in a section at the end.  Obviously, I had to be very selective.  I needed to group the items somehow and limit this section to ideas or family members that I thought would be somewhat recognizable, and more about the history of my family than the pangs and uncertainties of research.

I decided to group them by family name, arranging each item for that family name from latest to earliest.  This is not typical, I suppose, but I thought it might be more comprehensible to someone who is not used to all these names.  I think most people can understand “the Darlings”, “the Aldriches”, “the Murdocks” and so on.  I started the page numbers where the Family Tree maker sections left off.

Here are some sample pages:

first page of The Darlings section

another page from The Darlings

The Darling section will also contain some early census records and some stories about the earliest generations.

There are about 40 pages drafted for the last portion of the book and I expect this section to be about 150 pages.  While I have chosen and organized many of the items, it will still take a couple more weeks to finish those pages.

The post you are reading is located at:  https://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2015/10/12/putting-a-book-together-about-the-darlings/

The post that follows this, about printing the book, is here, “Producing a Self-Published Book in Ten Steps”. 

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