3 Family History Book Ideas (and How to Create Them)

YOU ARE READING: 3 Family History Book Ideas (and How to Create Them) AT PhebinhvanhocEN

Are you the guardian of your family’s history? If so, chances are you’ve amassed folders full of records and documents, uncovering fascinating family stories in the process. he has spent considerable time building a family tree that spans several generations. maybe you’ve inherited photos, scrapbooks, or keepsakes that bring the past to life. if you’re lucky, you may even have an ancestor’s journal, a family bible, or handwritten letters.

These are wonderful treasures to own, but they do bring with them a certain sense of responsibility. As your genealogy collection and knowledge grow, you may find yourself wondering how best to share your discoveries and how to preserve your work for future generations.

One of the best ways to do both is with a family history book. A book organizes and preserves what you have learned in an easy-to-read format. it’s easy to give as gifts, take to gatherings, donate to libraries, and pass down from generation to generation. Better yet, web-based programs now make it easy to design an attractive and affordable book. you choose a project type, upload materials, drag and drop your photos, and insert text. You can even save your book to update as you discover more about your family history.

Three popular types of DIY genealogy volumes are:

picture books
narrative books
family history books

We’ll show you options for each and share a step-by-step tutorial for a sample project. we’ll leave you full of ideas and inspiration to create exactly the book you want.

1. photo books

Photo books are easy to create and their versatility lends them to an endless variety of projects. since they are image-based, you don’t need a lot of accompanying text. all you really need to get started is a set of images, or things you can scan or photograph, that go together. Printed in full color on glossy paper, these relatively inexpensive books make wonderful keepsakes and gifts.

Photo albums are ideal for a single theme or focus: a person or a couple, a place, an event, or a collection (like great-grandmother’s recipes). Think about the photos you’d like to share and keep, and how they might be presented together in a book. Or if you have a story you’d like to tell, look for images to illustrate it. consider your audience. who could read the book? what are they likely to find interesting and engaging?

Some ideas you might consider for a family history photo book include:

biographical sketch: photographs of an ancestor and their family, the place(s) where they lived, and historical records, along with biographical details and anecdotes
memories: photos of a parent, grandparent, or other relative, with text taken from personal memories or interviews
historical family album: old and ephemeral photos (paper products such as tickets and funeral cards), with identifying legends
“our family:” photos and brief descriptions of living relatives, perhaps through grandparents or great-grandparents, ideal as a gift to a child
family reunion: photos of one or more family reunions, with identifying legends
ancestral people: photos of a place where ancestors lived, perhaps enhanced with maps and old postcards
home history: photos of a family home or country house enjoy by various generations over the years, with notes or quotes about what it means to people
reproduction of scrapbooks or albums: digital scans of the pages of an old scrapbook or photo album, with an introduction about the book and descriptive notes or captions
recipe collection: digital scans of handwritten family recipes, perhaps with photos of favorite foods and utensils or dishes of a family chef
heirloom collection: digital images of family heirlooms and keepsakes, with descriptions of their origins and how they have been passed down.

once you have an idea for a book in mind, gather the materials to be included. Scan old photos, scrapbook pages, recipe cards, and more. as you scan, give your images descriptive names and group them in a folder on your computer desktop. this way, you can easily find them later.

Next, type an introduction, description, story, or other text for your book in a word processing program. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to perfect it. writing helps you focus your thoughts, gives you ideas on how to present the material, and prepares you to copy and paste into your book template.

photo album makers

You can choose from several online photo book publishing websites. they all work essentially the same way, but each have their own themes or templates, page layouts, and embellishments out of the box. printing costs depend on the size of the book, number of pages and type of cover. I generally recommend choosing an easy-to-manage (and shelf-fit) size like 8 × 11, 11 × 8, or 10 × 10 inches. Some of my favorite photo book websites are:

blurb: Create your book using one of the ready-made layouts or download the free layout software to create your own.
mixbook: 84 family-oriented design themes include memoirs, cookbooks, reunions, and family history.
mycanvas: Design options include meeting scrapbooks, old albums and recipe books. this site can import images of your family tree from ancestry.com.
shutterfly: You’ll see dozens of customizable themes, such as family memories, reunion, life story, family ancestry, and recipes .
snapfish – Again, you can choose from a variety of family-based sizes and themes. Once you’ve gathered your photos and selected a web editor, creating a photo book is pretty simple and straightforward.

Most sites have tutorials and offer sample designs to give you ideas. Generally, you will follow this procedure:

upload your images to the website.
select a theme or design template.
Place your photos on the template, resizing and rearranging them as desired.
Adjust backgrounds and layouts, if desired.
add text by typing or pasting it into the spaces provided.
review, edit and preview.
place your order. Within a few weeks, you should be receiving a beautiful, full-color book in the mail. At that point, you may already have an idea in mind for your next project. and now that you are familiar with the website and how it works, the book will be even easier to create.

2. narrative books

You may be missing photos, but you have a lot of information to share about a family or individual. you may have already written a story. in that case, a more traditional text-based book might better meet your needs. narrative books allow you to tell more complex or deeper stories. they may include some illustrations, but the emphasis is on the writing rather than the pictures.

Narrative books are usually printed in a standard book size, such as 6 × 9, 8 × 10, or 8.5 × 11 inches. depending on how much you want to spend, you can publish in black and white or full color on a variety of paper types. you will design your own cover and select paperback or hardcover. Some narrative books you could put together include:

biography of an ancestor: portrays the life of an ancestor within the historical context of the time and place in which they lived.
genealogy numbered: This is a traditional family history that identifies all known descendants of an ancestral couple. To help readers cross-reference pedigree charts and keep track of who belongs to which branch, use a numbering system like ahnentafel or register.
Family Origins: Select a key family for your research and tell the story of their life, migration, and origins.
Journal, Diary, or Annotated Letters: Share enhanced transcriptions of an ancestor’s writings with notes on family history and historical events.
Creative Nonfiction: This type of narrative provides a historically accurate account of an ancestor or family using literary elements such as plot, characterization, and theme to tell a meaningful, interesting story.

Whatever type of narrative you have in mind, it’s best to write and edit your manuscript in a word processing program before beginning the book creation process. all the services listed below allow you to upload a finished document or pdf file.

online narrative book publishers

Most offer sample books you can check out, and some have video tutorials:

blurb: has several print options and conversion to an e-book is available. Use free desktop software called Bookwright to design and customize layouts. you can sell books through advertising or other distributors.

bookemon: Choose from several different types of books and use the quick & easy document uploader or all-in-one book creation software. books are sold through bookemon.

lulu: Choose from multiple sizes, stocks, and bindings. lulu’s cover wizard will help you design your cover. you can sell through the site and other distributors, and e-book conversion is available.

stories to tell: This company is not a do-it-yourself online publisher in the sense of the above services. instead, it offers assistance with editing, design, and publication decisions, especially for biographies, memoirs, and family histories.

Once all the writing, formatting, and design elements are in place, you’ll no doubt be eager to see your finished book in print. In addition to ordering copies as gifts, consider purchasing extras to donate to genealogy libraries, repositories where you’ve done research, and libraries in your ancestors’ hometown. The more widely your work is distributed, the more likely it is to reach family members who want it, now or in the future.

3. family history books

If the process of writing and creating a narrative book seems a bit daunting, but you envision more than just a photo book, a third option is an ideal between the two.

mycanvas offers family history book templates that integrate pedigree records, family group pages, timelines, and pedigree charts with text and images. The publisher, Alexander’s, partners with subscription genealogy site Ancestry.com. If you have an ancestry member tree, mycanvas will import your tree’s source information, document images, and citations directly into your project. this saves time that you might otherwise spend entering and formatting data. (however, you do not need to have an ancestry account to use mycanvas). mycanvas is web-based, so you don’t need to download software.

You can choose from four types of family history books:

Standard Book: This book traces a person’s ancestry, going back in time. is ideal for showing the origins of a family or for birthday, graduation, newborn or Christmas gifts.
Combined Book: This option illustrates the ancestors and descendants of a couple, great for anniversaries, holidays, and family reunions.
Descent Tree Book: Moving forward in time, this book documents the descendants of an ancestral couple. This is great for family reunions.
Descendants List Book: This book is similar to the Descendants Tree Book above, but emphasizes the text over the photos. consider it for large gatherings or to donate to libraries.

You can choose from several cover types (which you can change later in the process). once you’ve made a selection, mycanvas gives you the option to log in with your ancestral username or create a book with blank templates. mycanvas generates pedigree charts, family group pages, ancestor timelines, and record pages of your ancestry family tree. You can also add text and images, add theme or blank pages anywhere in the book, and rearrange pages. most of the tools on mycanvas are pretty intuitive, but before you start, you may want to check out the tutorials on the site under the support tab. You can also watch the free video course “mycanvas: Creating Family History Keepsakes”.

One final piece of advice applies to any type of project you create: These days, it’s tempting not to print things when it’s so easy and cheap to share digitally. But it’s still important to print copies of your family history book for the sake of longevity. the print stands the test of time. your print book never becomes inaccessible due to changes in software, websites, digital media, or operating systems, or because no one remembers which website has your project saved.

family history photo book example

by diane haddad

I made a family history photo book last year as a Christmas present for my dad. I think he liked it!

This type of project can be large and time consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some things I did to make my dad’s photo album a manageable project:

1. I decided on a limited approach.

I chose to center my family history photo gift book on my father’s father when he was young. our family didn’t know much about his early life, and my research uncovered some interesting stories. for example, his academic achievements and his participation in school activities were frequently featured in local newspapers where he grew up in a state orphanage.

If you had decided to cover your entire family or your entire life, the project would have been much more complicated. It’s not that I can’t do this (and I hope I can one day!), I just need to be able to spend the time.

2. I chose to select photos and logs to highlight.

The book could have been 100 pages long, if I had included every newspaper item and genealogical record I could find. When deciding what to include and what to leave out, my priorities were:

things with photos, including some newspaper articles and college yearbook pages in which he appeared.
Items that illustrate surprising or unknown aspects of my grandfather’s personality. for example, one article described how he jokingly ran as “josephine” in the college’s texas sweetheart election (and nearly won).
records explaining life events, such as the introduction of his mother’s divorce and the request for his admission to the orphanage.

some other photos to show important places, like the orphanage and the (now very well-known) bakery where my grandfather worked.

I included source information below each log image. in the narration, I used information from records of which I did not include images.

3. summed things up with a timeline/map combination.

In addition to helping me with the timeline of my grandfather’s life, he helped me organize the book. In creating the timeline, I reviewed my records, newspaper articles, and family documents. I composed the narrative as I did.

4. my own copy of the book is the draft.

I firmly believe that, at least once, you should see your work in the same format that your readers will see. that’s why we see a proof print of family tree magazine before it goes to press.

I carefully reviewed my photo book online, but when my print book arrived, I still noticed some typos and inconsistencies. (no doubt not looking at the book while waiting for it to arrive helped too!), so I bookmarked them, arranged them online, and ordered another copy for my dad’s gift.

5. I gave myself a lot of time.

I started writing my book in early October and worked on it after the kids went to bed. I finished it just in time for Christmas. you may have more time to spend on your book, but if you haven’t started yet, I recommend you start soon!

four ways to make your family history book more engaging

Family history books are great projects for sharing family history. Once you’ve got all your photo book essentials planned out, take your project to the next level with these ideas on how to make your photo book even more appealing.

1. tell your ancestor’s story in fewer words: You may not have 60,000 words to write about your ancestors, and that’s okay. there are many stories that can be captured in much less. the key is to incorporate photos and documents, such as certificates, recipes, old letters… anything that helps tell the story. You’ll find that with key visuals, it’s not hard to fill pages!

2. Put a unique spin on the story: How a story is told and who tells it can add a unique flavor to a story, so it pays to put your own spin on the story. you can share your own memory of the ancestor you are documenting or show the origins of a family tradition and how your family has evolved over time. Are you inspired by the love story of your great-grandparents or the trip to America? tells how his legacy continues to shine through the generations.

plus, if you’re giving this as a gift to another family member, you’ll be giving a one-of-a-kind gift that you can guarantee you won’t get from anyone else!

3. enrich the story with historical details: what was in the news at the time your ancestor lived? what local or global events were affecting them? even if your ancestor was not a soldier during a war, he may have had to deal with rationing or changes in his job. add historical details through copies of old letters, newspaper clippings, and photographs of his hometown at the time.

4. Create a timeline or pedigree chart: Of course, if you’re working on your family history, a pedigree chart is the perfect way to add a visual element to your photo album. but if you want another amazing way to add a visual graphic to your photo book, add a timeline! timelines can serve as a decorative element in your book while illustrating key moments in your subject’s history.

last updated: November 2021

Other content