Need advise/help with a Family Tree album!

[pjlla]

As some of you may remember, I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was going to attempt to do a Family Tree type album. Well, Thanksgiving weekend arrived and I was able to get my hands on the photos that I need. Most have been scanned and identified and I'm ready to get started!

That said.... I'm not sure exactly how to do this. Let me tell you what I had in mind, and you can let me know what you think or what you've done.

I plan to do a 2 page spread for myself, my brother, and my two double first cousins (including spouses and children), a 2 page spread for each aunt/uncle pair, a two page spread per grandparent, and a 1 page LO for each great aunt or uncle or cousin, a 1 page LO for each Great-Grandparent and whatever I can for anyone further back than that. I think I will start with most recent at the front of the book (my generation).

Each page with have photos (one as baby, one of childhood, one of adulthood, one of late life) of the person featured (or couple featured) along with their vital information (dob, dod, etc). I would like to include any anecdotes and tidbits of information that can be found/dug up on each person. Obviously for some people I will have MUCH MORE information than others.

The very first 2 page LO of the book will be a large family tree diagram.

I think to make things quicker I will pick a focus color and two accents, and stick primarily to those colors. Lots of the photos are sepia tone and lots of b/w.... obviously the more recent (1965 to present) are color. What colors could I pick that would go well with ALL of this?

Does anyone have any information on a good photo recovery software program to help clean up some old damaged photos? Preferrably an affordable one!

Lastly, if you have done any ancestral history or geneology work, do you know of any good FREE websites for locating information?

I know that this is a lot of rambling.... thanks for reading this far!! Thanks in advance for any and all help!................P

 

[GrayFal]

Wow - what a great project......Good Luck!

My mother just gave me a small bag of pictures of DD 20 to make an album for her College Grad in May 2006 and I am worrying about that!

 

[KeepSwimming]

Bumping this because I am also looking for some FREE websites to track geneology.

The rest of your album sounds a lot like the one I am currently working on. Random suggestion: some of my older generations are SERIOUSLY lacking on cute stories or "memories" so I have started putting random historical facts about the time they were born, or the place they were born to help fill in the pages.

Good Luck!!!

 

[piratesmate]

Free Websites:
http://genforum.genealogy.com/
http://www.rootsweb.com/
http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/index.shtml
http://www.cyndislist.com/ships.htm
http://www.ellisisland.org/
http://www.familysearch.org/

The first two on the list have discussion boards similar to this one. You can often get help from someone who is paying for Ancestry.com - for things like census records. The people on them can also help direct you to RAK genealogy boards for the area you're searching. I've found some great boards dedicated to specific localities and have even found some people researching the same lines that I never knew existed!

You should also check with your local library to see if they have access to HeritageQuest.com - that's extremely expensive, but there is a library about 1.5 - 2 hrs away from me that not only has access, but will give library cards to people not actually living in their area if I'd drive out there. I haven't done it yet, but can use this site at the local Mennonite Heritage Center.

As for a program for the photos...I've been using PhotoShop CS. Unfortunately, it's not exactly affordable. DS was using it, which is why I even have it. I've been extremely pleased with the results, but it takes a long time to do. There have been photos that I've had to go in & edit pixel by pixel in certain areas. But even torn photos have come out fairly good.

As for colors - I'm no good in that area. I've just used the same colors for each 2pg LO - beyond that it's anyone's guess what I'll use. LOL

Can I ask what you're using for the family tree image? I've seen a CM family tree page, but I'm using a smaller book.

One last thing - for your info...if you know what town they lived in, see if the local Historical Society has old newspapers on film. In the time period from about 1870 - 1910 I was looking for obits trying to find out some DOD. I discovered that for the most part there were no actual obits.

However, there were often blurbs about who visited who last Sunday and things like 'Gertrude's horse & buggy was tied to the post as usual last Thursday evening while visiting her brother & his wife when Farmer Brown, who had just left the Trewigtown Pub, ran his cart into the buggy and smashed it.' (While that's not an actual quote, it's close enough - and yes, the sentences in the paper ran on & on like that! LOL)

That story was about family members I already had lots of info about - via oral family history. However, it amused me & is a good sample of the kinds of things you can find if you're willing to read through old papers.

 

[TN Dreamer]

The websites suggested here are great. Some websites charge a fee for look-ups. I have been tracing my family tree since 1997. It started as a school project for my son, all that was required was three generations. Well, I could not stop there, I have now traced back to the early 1700's. I use the Family Tree Maker software. I am able to print out family tree charts in different formats. This easiest way to get started is to just start with you. Then start tracing back from you. Put down everything you know about your family. If you are fortunate, (like me) to live in the same area your ancestors settled, visit your local courthouse, or library (some have genealogy rooms).
PS this is very addictive. Once you get started it so hard to stop.
My plans are to put together a scrapbook for my mother, my dad passed away two years ago, with old photo's and a family tree.
This will be a very rewarding project. Good luck.

 

[MinnieAnn]

My favorite free sites are rootsweb.com and familysearch.org. Both have a wealth of information and it's easy to search them.

I am at the organizing stage of my heritage album(s), but I'm doing something quite similar - starting each section with either a tree with the names on it, or using a pedigree chart for the family that the section will cover. I will have lots more photos and memorabilia from the recent generations, but I have quite a few pictures that go back quite a ways.

I have an Epson scanner that does a pretty good job of fixing folds and cracks in old photos. It's amazing what computers can do.

I'm doing each family line with the same color scheme and including maps of the areas where they came from and their migration routes, if I can put those together.

I think I will have a whole album devoted to my ancestors' military service. I've gotten really interested in the Civil War since finding that I had ancestors on both sides!

Genealogy is a fascinating and rewarding hobby - and such a great fit with scrapbooking.

Good luck in your research!

 

[piratesmate]

I just came across several free downloadable family trees/charts that might be useful to you for your albums! I'm very excited because I've been looking for one shaped like a tree for some time for a smaller book I'm working on! (had purchased the tree page from CM but couldn't use that)

http://www.misbach.org/pdfcharts/index.html

HTH!

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

I planted a tree once and I have a few ideas. You will need a bag of yarn, a bowling ball, and an insurance benefits card. Start by digging a hole a little larger than the tree. For this I used a bowling ball. Depending on soil conditions you'll need to drop the bowling ball from a height of around 20 feet. I can't stress this enough, do not stand underneath the bowling ball to determine if it is going to land where you wanted the hole. If you choose to ignore this recommendation, see insurance benefits card in the supplies list. Once you have the hole, put the tree in the hole. I've found that it works best if the leaves are at the top. I tried it both ways but the tree seems to grow better when the leaves have air to breath. Sure it's easier to water the roots when they are in the air so I guess it is a personal preference. If you choose to have the root ball in the air you'll need the bag of yarn to tie the tree down otherwise it falls over. Don't stand under the root ball or if you do, see the insurance card in the supplies list above. For a family tree, repeat the process for the daddy tree, the mommy tree, and 2.5 baby trees. Trees are kind of a lot of work. Maybe you should start with like a Family Chia head or something. Hopefully this will help you get started. If you want, you can check the flower and garden board on the DIS. Run through these steps with them and they can tell you whether it will work or not.


Jeff

 

[piratesmate]

Who wound you up this week Jeff?

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

Yeah I am not sure it was just this week. This is kind of my life. Besides goofy posting I also reply to SPAM. My theory is that if someone took the time to write to me then I should be considerate enough to reply. Oddly enough few of them respond to my reply. So now I don't know if I really am the recipient of a Nigerian fortune or if I own an acre of land on the moon. It's sometimes frustrating but I usually find other people to reply to so I am good.


Jeff