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There's more
to genealogy than creating family tree charts. Many genealogists are also family and/or
local historians, and because of that they tend to ask the
same questions that occupy historical writers, and that
the histories of Kings of King Makers often ignore.
Questions
like: What was life
like in....? What about furnishings, clothing,
transport, money, marriage laws....? What was the weather like in....?
Genealogists have
perused and transcribed old wills, manor rolls, military
rolls, hearth tax rolls, court documents, ships lists....
And they've put them on the internet.
They've found websites
that provide useful information about the lives and times of
their ancestors, and have created links
pages.
They've set up
mailing lists to discuss their areas of interest.
Why might you be
interested in an old will? Have a look at
some 17th century wills, and find yourself in a time when
feather beds and 8 gallon pots were sufficiently valuable to
be specifically bequeathed. Find out the kinds
of items that were likely to be found in the homes of
merchants or fishermen or....
Do you need to know
shipping routes, ports of departure
or arrival? How many passengers were likely to be found on a
ship? How many passengers travelled with how many servants?
Try some shipping lists.
Or what about some authentic
medieval names? Or what about [you name it]...?
Genealogy
Links
Here are two links
sites to get you started:
Cyndi's List:
currently boasts over 120,000
links.
Genealogy Links:
This site concentrates on searchable
databases.
Genealogy
Newsgroups/Mailing Lists
Rootsweb
is home
to many genealogy mailing lists. Although
some of the lists are dedicated to a particular family name,
Rootsweb has more than 24,000 lists, many of which relate to particular
places, periods, or groups (whether defined by ethnicity, religion,
occupation etc).
You'll
also find details of some mailing lists on Cyndi's
List.
Some
mailing lists are
more active than others; some list members are newbies,
while others are very knowledgeable about their areas of interest. Some
genealogy lists are strictly for genealogists; others are
for anyone interested in the "genealogy, history, or
society of [insert area of interest]." Check the
list descriptions. If you find a list that covers your area
of interest, and you're not sure whether it is or isn't for
genealogists only, ask the list owner.
As with all
things on the internet, the usual caveat applies to websites
and newsgroups: use your common sense, use the internet as a
starting point, and double check the facts.
Genealogy
"How To" Books
There are a many
books on "Researching Your Ancestors". Browse
through a few next time you're in a bookshop or your local
library.
Why might such
books be useful to the historical writer? Because the
best of them are a plain English guide to past laws and
society; they will tell you what records are available,
and what records you are unlikely to find, and why.
For example, most
experienced genealogists would be able to tell you that it
isn't a good idea to marry your 19th Century English hero to
his deceased wife's sister.
Genealogy
Software
This is the
software that genealogists use to record information.
Given the
popularity of genealogy, many of you will have a genealogy
program on your computer, and will be aware of what the
latest software can (and can't) do. If you have one of these
programs,
take another look at it, and start thinking fictional
people instead of dead people.
Ask yourself whether this software might help you create
characters and plan your books, or whether it might assist
in keeping track of developments in your latest WIP.
Although many
of these programs began life as "genealogy"
programs (names, dates, and family tree charts), some have
developed into family history research management tools that
will also hold narratives and photographs, help you record and
plan your research, will create bibliographies,
timelines, chronologies and....
And, yes, they
will also create family tree charts. Have you ever
picked up a novel and opened it to find a family tree chart
in the first few pages? Publishers use these because
charts make some relationships easier to follow. If
nothing else, consider using the charting facility, whether
your book is historical or contemporary, stand alone or one
in a series.
If you don't
have any genealogy software, but think you might find it
useful, then try talking to some genealogists about what the
various programs will and won't do -- there are numerous
programs available, and they all have different strengths
and weaknesses. If you don't know any genealogists, then
there are mailing lists for genealogy software.
All writers
work differently, and not everyone will find this software
useful. The question is: will it help you?
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