Posts Tagged ‘ancestry’
My latest book, Branching Out: Genealogy for Adults Lessons 1-30 is now available on the Nook and Kindle.
The paperback version in in proof stage and will be released by NGS on May 9. You will be able to purchase it on CreateSpace when it is released. At this time I am not sure if there will be copies for sale at NGS.
Stay tuned for more information on this book and the Engaging the Next Generation: A Guide for Genealogy Societies and Libraries which helps societies and libraries create youth genealogy programs. That book also contains the entire 30 lessons for the 4th-8th grade student books. I am hoping to have these available for sale at NGS.
What’s in this book?
Lesson 1: What is Genealogy and Why Should I Care?
Lesson 2: Where Do I Start? What Do I Need?
Lesson 3: Genealogy Databases
Lesson 4: Timelines
Lesson 5: Sources and Citations
Lesson 6: Direct and Indirect Evidence
Lesson 7: Interviewing Family
Lesson 8: Write a Story
Lesson 9: Research Plans and Logs
Lesson 10: Research Agendas for Libraries and Archives
Lesson 11: Home Sources
Lesson 12: Hidden Sources
Lesson 13: Vital Records
Lesson 14: Census Records
Lesson 15: Social Media
Lesson 16: Health and the Causes of Death
Lesson 17: Occupations
Lesson 18: Probate Records
Lesson 19: Land Records and Maps
Lesson 20: Military Records
Lesson 21: Religious and Cemetery Records
Lesson 22: Immigration
Lesson 23: Naturalization Records
Lesson 24: Newspapers
Lesson 25: Ephemera
Lesson 26: Examine it Once, Twice, and Again
Lesson 27: Travel and your Family History
Lesson 28: Storing and Organizing Paper and Digital Files
Lesson 29: Putting it all Together
Lesson 30: Where to Go From Here
Generations publishes six new genealogy textbooks for kids. Parents, teachers, and genealogical societies looking for a how-to genealogy textbook for elementary through high school-aged students need to look no further. In Branching Out, a new series available from Generations, author and professional genealogist Jennifer Holik provides parents and educators with the tools they need to teach genealogical research skills to children and teens.
Through thirty fun and educational lessons, students will learn the foundations of genealogy and how to begin research on a level that they can understand and enjoy. Each lesson contains a clearly defined goal, all necessary vocabulary, additional reading assignments, and lesson and homework assignments to extend understanding of the concept.
The Branching Out series of books begins with six paperback textbooks which are also available as a PDF or PowerPoint download. The PowerPoint files, which were created with the visual and hands-on learner in mind, contain the same information as the textbooks with a few fun and interactive extras.
The Branching Out: Genealogy Lessons for Adults will be released in April with additional books for families, genealogical societies, and educators to be published later in 2012.
The books are available on CreateSpace in paperback form at the links provided. The PDF and PowerPoint files are available at the Generations Store at: http://www.e-junkie.com/generationsBranching Out: Genealogy for 1st – 3rd Grade Students Lessons 1-15 Book $24.95
PDF $17.95
PowerPoint $17.95
Branching Out: Genealogy for 1st – 3rd Grade Students Lessons 16-30 Book $29.95
PDF $20.95
PowerPoint $20.95
Branching Out: Genealogy for 4th – 8th Grade Students Lessons 1-15 Book $26.95
PDF $18.95
PowerPoint $18.95
Branching Out: Genealogy for 4th – 8th Grade Students Lessons 16-30 Book $32.95
PDF $23.95
PowerPoint $23.95
Branching Out: Genealogy for High School Students Lessons 1-15 Book $29.95
PDF $20.95
PowerPoint $20.95
Branching Out: Genealogy for High School Students Lessons 16-30 Book $34.95
PDF $24.95
PowerPoint $24.95
If you live in the Chicagoland area, you can meet Jennifer and purchase books at the Fountaindale Public Library’s Author Fair on Saturday, April 14, 2012. For more information visit the Ge
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Hey Kids! Want something fun to do on Saturday, September 10, 2011? You can attend the Free Family History Camp for Kids at FGS 2011 Conference!
The Federation of Genealogical Societies is holding its annual conference in Springfield between September 7th and 10th. There will be four full days of education for the adults and now a day for you! I am one of the FGS2011 Official Bloggers so you can watch my Generations site for updates throughout the conference.
Here are the day’s details:
Date: Saturday, September 10, 2011
Time: 9 a.m. to noon
Cost: Free admission; registration is required
Place: Hilton Hotel in downtown Springfield, Illinois
Ages: 10 to 14 years old
Want to know more? Check it out here or at the link above.
Related articles
- Follow Friday – Official Bloggers for FGS2011 (familyhistorytips.wordpress.com)
- Thankful Thursday – Connections (dupagecountygenealogicalsociety.wordpress.com)
- Tuesday’s Tip – Research Question Checklist (kidsgenealogy.generationsofstories.net)
If you visited the blog last week you learned about many great PDF resources provided by PBS through their Ancestors series. Today I would like you to download and print a Timeline.
This timeline is great for kids because it outlines every age from birth to age 18 on a sheet about one specific ancestor. At the bottom of the sheet it has a space for listing source documents where you gathered the information. Use this along with the Research Checklist from last week to uncover your ancestral information.
Last week I posted a few great research files from the PBS website. There was another fantastic resource you should know about. It is called the Ancestors How to Select a Record to Search.
This four page document outlines information on record types and where to find information for that type. For example, if you are looking for a birth date of an ancestor, look for sources like cemetery records, military records, town records, and census records. These are just a few of the records listed.
Not only does the sheet outline where to find records but also background information on a place, group or subgroup. Examples include the history of a place or group or record repositories.
The sheet ends with a glossary of genealogical terms. These are all terms every young family historian should learn.
Download the sheet and print it out for your research file. I think you will find it very useful.
Yesterday I posted a great resource called the Research Question file. Here are a few more files from the PBS website you may find helpful when you conduct your research.
When Tyler found out I was interview Luke and then letting Luke interview me, he had to get in on the action. If you missed Tyler’s interview, check out the previous post. Today, he is interviewing good old mom.
Q: What kind of book do you like to read outside when we are biking?
A: I like to read almost anything. Historical fiction, history, genealogy, love stories. Books that grab my attention.
Q: What’s your favorite book out of these cat in the hat books?
A: I like One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish the best.
Q: What kind of food you like best?
A: I like chocolate, pizza, ice cream, salad, and steak.
Q: So which kind of book is coming that you want?
A: I want Deborah Harkness to release the second book in the three book series of A Discovery of Witches. I loved her first book and cannot wait for the second and third.
Q: What is your favorite thing to do?
A: I have a few favorite things. I like to research my family history. I like to travel, especially to warm, sunny beaches. I like to read and see movies and I like to scrapbook.
Q: Why is it that you can’t let Drew watch his TV at daytime?
A: Drew is at school so he can’t watch TV during the day.
Q: What is your favorite number?
A: 6
I typed the questions as Tyler asked them. If you read Luke’s interview then you will see his questions are very different than the ones Tyler asked me.
Thanks for interviewing me Tyler!
There is a great book called Hidden Sources Family History in Unlikely Places by Laura Szucs Pfeiffer. The point of the book is to briefly describe additional sources of records you might find around the house. Let’s look at a few sources that are not the usual vital records and census documents.
Artifacts
Wooden box brought home from China by Robert Brouk.
Artifacts are memorabilia passed down through the generations. These artifacts usually contain a story and some clues about the ancestor who first owned the artifact.
This artifact was just sent to me from a woman named Ginny. She married my cousin, Robert Brouk. Robert was a Flying Tiger in China 1941-1942. I just wrote a book about his brief life which included his war diary. Robert died three weeks after he and Ginny married. Ginny helped me fill in parts of Robert’s life and after I sent her a copy of his book, she sent me a few artifacts he brought home from China. This wooden box was one. It is an artifact I will treasure always.
Body Transit Records
Did your family have someone who served in World War I, World War II or beyond, and died during his service? 
My great-great-uncle Michael Kokoska served in World War I. He was killed in France. This letter is an example of a body transit record. It tells his father where his remains will be shipped.
This record came in a Burial File. The Burial File tells a lot about the soldier’s service, how he died, where he was buried, and even has letters from family members.
Cemetery Records
Cemetery records may be lying around your home stuck in an old book or box. These records may include plot layouts that tell you who was buried together. These records help identify family members.
Dictionaries and other books
Last weekend I was sorting through some of my artifacts and came across the cover of a dictionary my mom passed to me. Most families write family information inside the cover of a family Bible and list the person’s name, birth date, who they married, and when they died. My grandmother listed these items on the inside cover of a dictionary! Always check the inside of old books before getting rid of them. You never know what you will discover!
If you are a kid, or you are a parent reading this blog, you may have heard of Fancy Nancy. Fancy Nancy is a series of children’s books written by Jane O’Connor. The books are Level 1 Readers, perfect for new readers.
I love Fancy Nancy because she is spectacular and uses big fancy words. After she uses a big fancy word, she will tell you what it means. For example, in the book Fancy Nancy My Family History, Nancy talks about her ancestors and says “All of mine are deceased. That’s fancy for dead.” I also love Fancy Nancy because I have all boys and she is such a girly girl with her cool colorful clothes, sparkly accessories, and fabulous attitude. She is so different from my boys. Sometimes I wish I was more like Fancy Nancy and was sparkly.
In this story, Fancy Nancy has to write a story about one of her ancestors (that’s fancy for family members who lived a long time ago) and then present it to her class. She talks to her grandpa over email about her family and he sends her a picture of his father, her great-grandfather. He tells her about him and Nancy decides to write her story about this man.
The book is short, sweet, and spectacular (that’s a fancy word for great). Check it out if you are looking for a younger kid-friendly book about explaining family history.
Yesterday we looked at Home Sources such as Bibles, photographs, military records, and newspaper articles. Today let’s look at other documents that might be around your home.
This is a marriage license for my great grandparents, Joseph Kokoska and Bessie Zajicek. It was issued in Chicago and has their marriage date and location on it. Marriage records are a good source of information. Sometimes they have variations of name spellings which can be helpful when searching for records.
Death certificates are another good source of information. Many list the names of the person’s parents, the person’s birth date and place, death date and place, sometimes an address, spouse’s name and other information. Always keep in mind that you may find a birth date listed on a death certificate that does not match the birth date you found in the family Bible or a birth certificate. In these cases, look for other documents that have the person’s birth date on it to try to figure out which is the correct date.
Mass cards or funeral cards are good sources of information. Some contain birth and death dates and burial location. Others may only contain the death date. Regardless, it is a good source of information.