The
power of a good story is undeniable. And if an imaginary story has
power, a true story has more power yet. And true stories about our
families can have, for us, the greatest power of all.
What
do family stories do for us? Researcher Bruce Feiler discovered that
family stories can be a key ingredient in creating a resilient family
— a family whose members have the strength and connectedness
that helps them deal with the inevitable challenges and triumphs of
life.
Rosalene
Pacini never knew her great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth Xavier Tait,
in this life. But as a child, Rosalene heard stories
of Elizabeth’s faith in the Lord, and of her courage and
determination in overcoming obstacles. Rosalene found herself turning
to these stories again and again for strength as she weathered the
storms and challenges of her own life.
For
example, when Rosalene’s husband took a position in a foreign
country and the family moved there, Rosalene felt overwhelmed. But
she recalled that Elizabeth too had had the experience of going to an
unfamiliar land and dealing with a new culture and surroundings.
Elizabeth
had endured and thrived, and her experiences gave Rosalene the
strength to endure and thrive as well. She eventually came to love
and appreciate her time in a land far away from home.
As
we gather and record the stories of our families, we can strengthen
ourselves and our loved ones, perhaps for generations to come.
Family
Tree allows you to record stories about your ancestors in several
different ways.
Add
a Life Sketch
On
the Details tab of the Person page, you can add a life sketch —
a brief overview of a person’s life. The life sketch in Family
Tree is limited to 10,000 characters, which translates to about 1,500
words. Many life sketches may be shorter than that. Here’s how
to add one:
In
Family Tree, navigate to the Person page of the individual for whom
you want to add a life sketch. At the top of the page, under the
gray banner, there’s a section entitled Life Sketch.
If
you see the word Open to the right of Life Sketch, click it to open
the section (if you don’t see the word Open, the Life Sketch
section is already open).
Click Add.
In
the box under Write a Life Sketch, type the life sketch. Some people
find it easier to draft the sketch in a word processor, and then
copy it into the box.
If
you want to add an experience from someone’s life (rather than
a life sketch), or if you want to add a life history longer than
10,000 characters, you can do that too:
In
Family Tree, navigate to the Person page of the individual for whom
you want to add a story. In the gray banner at the top of the page,
click Memories.
Look
for the Stories section (you may need to scroll down to see it). If
you see the word Open to the right of Stories, click it to open the
section (if you don’t see the word Open, the Stories section
is already open).
Click Add.
Click
Create New Story.
Type
a title in the Title field, then write your story in the Story box.
Again, you may find it helpful to draft your story first in a word
processor.
If
you want to add a photo for the story, click Attach Photo, select a
photo, and then click Add.
When
everything is the way you want it, click Save. (You can always come
back and edit the story later).
Create
or Capture Media on a Handheld Device
Finally,
you can use
the Memories app
on a handheld device to capture and add digital recordings and photos
to people in Family Tree. (Currently the app is only available for
iPad, but FamilySearch says an Android version is on the way.) Visit
the FamilySearch blog
for more information.
Now
It’s Your Turn
So
here’s the assignment for this column: Think of — or find
— a story from your family history that needs to be told, and
add it to Family Tree. (One way to find stories is to talk to others
in your family: parents, grandparents, siblings, and other family
members.)
Stories
don’t have to be long or about some unusual thing. The point is
to capture something of a person’s life and to preserve their
experiences for those who follow. You never know who might need to be
inspired by the story you record.
Kathryn Grant is a user assistance professional with a passion
for usability and process
improvement. She also loves family history and enjoys the challenge and
reward of building her family tree.
As a child, she lived outside the United States for four years because of her father's job. This experience fueled her natural love of words and language, and also taught her to appreciate other cultures.
Kathryn values gratitude, teaching, learning, differences, and unity. She loves looking at star-filled skies, reading mind-stretching books, listening to contemporary Christian music, attending the temple, and eating fresh raspberries.
Kathryn teaches Sunday family history classes at the BYU Family History Library, and presents frequently at family history events. For more information, visit her Family History Learning Resources page