This month, guest blogger Linda Stufflebean shares her genealogical experiences connecting with ancestors through social history. She will introduce herself, after which she will tell her story and provide valuable information you can use to connect with your own ancestors.

I’m Linda Stufflebean and I have been a family history researcher since 1979. Most of my friends would agree that I’m totally obsessed with genealogy. In addition to doing some professional work, I have been a volunteer teacher in Tucson, Arizona since 2010. Through the years, I have visited numerous repositories, court houses and cemeteries in the quest for details about the lives of my ancestors. Of course, there have been brick walls along the way. I have been fortunate to find ways to knock down – or march around – many of them and decided to focus my blog, www.emptybranchesonthefamilytree.com on both methodology and education.  Please take a minute to browse the tabs on the home page. I don’t sell anything and there are no ads, but there are links to resources ranging from digitized county histories to genealogy resources around the world. 

Knowledge of social context is key to understanding our ancestors’ lives regardless of the time and place in which they lived. Our ancestors can come alive and let their voices be heard again if we, as researchers, take the time to dig deeply and enrich our knowledge of their stories.

How would you start your genealogy journey? Probably the same way most of us did. We want to learn about our immediate family and the more distant relatives – those who came before us. We asked our parents and grandparents about our ancestors’ names, when they were born and died, where they lived and maybe even what they did for a job.

From that information, we built a pedigree chart, identifying each person by name and the dates of their birth, marriage and death. Eventually, the single page of ancestors grew and, all of a sudden, we had a blossoming family tree.

But wait! What did we know about the lives of each of those people, other than they were “hatched, matched, and dispatched?” Knowing only those vital dates is what experienced researchers call name collecting, which isn’t a bad thing. How are we going to find out more about our ancestors if we don’t know their names and when or where they lived?

This beginning research step of name collecting is just an introduction to or “meeting an ancestor.” We can identify him/her in terms of who, when, and where, but these ancestors are only names on paper. The next step, then, is to uncover the what, how and why that molded their life stories.

Getting to Know Them

Before the digital age, it was much more difficult to piece together our ancestors’ lives. Technological advances and the abundance of online records have made it easier than ever to find details that had been lost to time.

Censuses, land records and probate files expand our knowledge of the family unit and help build a FAN (Friends, Associates, Neighbors) Club for our ancestors, but, in terms of learning more about the PEOPLE who are in our family tree, it only takes us one slightly bigger step past name collecting.

Seeing the Big Picture

However, every one of our ancestors led lives that were influenced by family members, friends, jobs, places, ethnic traditions, daily activities and even politics. No one has ever lived in a vacuum. Our lives, whether we like it or not, are affected by multiple worldwide factors. It is these factors that allow us to really get to know someone who has been nothing more than a name in our tree. The big picture provides the social history within the context of time and place. That is the key to understanding our ancestors’ lives.

 Methodology- Life Stories

To get started on this new genealogy adventure, choose one ancestor about whom you’d like to know more and study in depth. Remember, an ancestor is simply one who was born before us, so if you have a parent or grandparent nearby, I’d recommend choosing that person because resources might be more plentiful than for someone who lived, for example, in the 18^th century.

One regret I’ve always had is that, although I was fortunate to have two grandmothers to question, it never dawned on me at the time to ask what their parents and grandparents  (my great grandparents and 2X great grandparents) were like. What kind of persons were they? Did they have hobbies or special talents?  What were their lives like?

If there are family photos at hand, choose one and ask about it. My Nana worked in the Passaic, New Jersey mills when she returned to the U.S. in 1910. I can’t remember for sure, but I think she worked at Botany, one of the largest along the Passaic River. She and I walked together many times to the downtown area where the factory shops still operated in the 1950s. I knew what the inside of some of the buildings looked like from those experiences.

Now look at the photo below that Nana kept for many years. She is the young lady standing second from the right in the dark blouse and light skirt. I don’t know anyone else in the photo, but I’m sure that some of the women were from Ujak, my grandmother’s village. Newcomers to Passaic got factory jobs on the recommendations of current employees. Her FAN club consisted of her extended family and friends from Ujak already living in Passaic and Garfield. As the saying goes, one picture is worth 1,000 words and I can clearly visualize the daily grind in a dirty, noisy mill.

Some died because of an accident at work, but many more died from the scourge of tuberculosis that spread among the workers. Workers were easily replaced so you showed up for work until you were too sick not to. By then, others had been infected and the cycle repeated.

Research Possibilities

Did you ancestor live in a rural or urban setting? Who lived in his/her neighborhood?

What would childhood have been like for that person? Did extended family live nearby?

What about church events, school events, fraternal organizations, military activities, volunteering, hobbies, holidays, vacations or trips back “home,” pets, jobs, toys, friends?

Was this ancestor an immigrant? If so, where was he/she born? Did the family settle in America and never return home or were trips made across the ocean? Why did the family originally leave?

Do you have vintage photos that have remained in your family? Or, are you super lucky to have family letters, diaries, or journals?

If images can’t be found online, contact local public libraries and historical societies, as each archived news items and memorabilia pertaining to the town. Be sure to look for town and county histories, too. Many were published in the late 1800s and early 1900s in addition to special dates in American history, such as the Centennial in 1876 and Bicentennial in 1976.

Military records can reveal much more than name, rank and serial number. Revolutionary War pensioner John Stufflebean detailed his capture in the Illinois area, his forced running of the gauntlet and eventual escape from the British.

Family stories, as opposed to family lore, can tell us much about our ancestors, but there is a careful line separating the two and the details need to be proven. Family lore includes statements like “We descend from a Cherokee princess,” which is always 100% false because Native Americans didn’t have princesses in the tribe.

On the other hand, many family stories have a grain of truth. My parents always said that if we pull a hair out of our nose, we might die. It took me years to get to the bottom of that thought, but it was a true fact in my mother’s family. Her grandfather had been trimming nose hair when he cut himself and got a strep infection a few years before penicillin was invented. Infection spread very quickly and he died 48 hours later.

Finding Genealogy Treasure

Where are answers to be found? For late 19^th and early 20^th century people, NEWSPAPERS were the very intrusive social media of the day. Today’s platforms can’t compare to the amount of “private” information that appeared in daily or weekly local papers. Enough can’t be said, either, about the varied items found in newspapers. “Social” activities that made the news ranged from birthday parties, weddings and funerals to hospitalizations, locals’ economic difficulties, out-of-town company, and families moving away. People feeling poorly were mentioned as well as births/losses of children, weather and local criminal activity. Public drunkenness, fights, court appearances, and sales of animal stock and crops all made the news. Divorces were also big news and a source for gossip.

Churches and schools kept detailed records (which might or might not have survived), but they too, featured prominently in the local paper. The availability of class photos and yearbooks might bring surprises. My elementary school in Passaic, New Jersey (Population 55,000+) never took a single class picture (1950s), but my husband’s grandmother is in multiple class pictures in Hobart, Oklahoma (Population 2,900) beginning in 1905!

Organizing Your Discoveries

TIP: Be sure to save news clippings, church booklets, military records and photos as they are found online. Download items immediately and save them to a file on your computer. Record collections appear and disappear, depending on contracts that websites have with the repository that has custody of the records.

Digital items should always be saved on your computer, not just in an online tree. Mine are saved in ABC-order surname/first name folders.

All genealogy software programs have a place to save notes about each person in the tree. If you’re not sure about actually writing a biographical sketch, all the factual discoveries and family clues can be stored in the notes.

TIP: My go-to method for organizing details for a biographical sketch is to create a timeline that includes all the facts found. Excel is a really easy way to enter and save the information because by starting with the year of the event, it is easily sorted into chronological order when new details are added, but out of sequence. Genealogiy software programs can also generate timelines, but each fact has to be entered into the program by hand.

If you prefer paper notebooks, that’s okay, too. Again, I would suggest sections arranged by surname and then first name.

When you feel comfortable that you now really “know” your ancestor, move on to another person or try developing knowledge of a single family’s life.

Checklist

When I get it into my mind to deep dive into one ancestor or family, my methodology is to leave no stone unturned. While it takes days, weeks or even months to look “everywhere,” the rewards are huge. Here are suggestions to begin your research:

• Interview family members – ask questions to develop a picture of daily life
• Locate family photos
• Learn occupations
• School life
• Church activities
• Record the FAN Club (Friends, Associates, Neighbors)
• Daily life – Pets, Hobbies, Holidays, Vacations
• Military service
• Try a general online search for your ancestor + place. Someone else might have already researched the person and found documents/photos. At the very least, you might have a found a new genealogy buddy with whom to collaborate.

Once you’ve learned and recorded information from living family members AND done newspaper searches, expand your search parameters. The FamilySearch Research Wiki will give detailed information on the types of records existing for counties, states and countries. Some information may be included about individual towns and cities.

• Check genealogy websites like Ancestry, MyHeritage (both by subscription or free through Grapevine Public Library) and FamilySearch (free account)
• Land records –Organized by county and state on Family Search
• Probate records – Organized by county and state on FamilySearch
• Court minutes and orders – Organized by county and state on FamilySearch
• County Histories – Links to thousands of digitized books on my blog
• Local Library – Contact for historical information. Ask for the local history/genealogy or reference librarian.
• Local Historical Society – Historical societies are underused resources. Many people think that their family “wouldn’t be” in their records, but historical societies save an amazing variety of materials.
• State Archives and Libraries – Many states have online collections and reference librarians and/or archivists that can help with specific requests.
• Tax records – Organized by county and state on FamilySearch. Collections are more prevalent for Southern states.
• State censuses – Not all states conducted state censuses, but if your place of interest did, it was probably five years after the federal censuses were taken. And can provide another snapshot of the family five years later.

Empty Branches on the Family Tree, has an extensive list of U.S. General Resources and links to resources in all 50 states.

Creating An Ancestor’s Life Story

Of course, writing down our ancestors’ stories is important so they aren’t forgotten. However, even if the story remains as knowledge in your own mind, you will have a better understanding of each as an individual person.

TIP: At the very least, write a short sketch about an ancestor. Remember, stories are often forgotten after the second generation. Then, they are lost to time.

More importantly, don’t be overwhelmed by the prospect of having to write an entire book. Of course, that’s an option for those who wish to take it on, but a short sketch about a single ancestor or family does the job of preserving our family stories.

How to write up ancestral stories is outside the scope of this post. However, there are some excellent resources for those wanting to learn more and will be listed at the end.

I do want to share one quick example, though, of the difference between a few facts, which introduce us to an ancestor:

Julia Scerbak:

Born 17 August 1893, Passaic, NJ

Family returned to Ujak, Slovakia in 1897

Came back to Passaic for good in 1910

Worked in Passaic mills, likely at Botany

Very religious, attended St. Michael’s Greek Catholic Church, Passaic, NJ

Or learning more about Julia as a person and seeing life through her eyes:

It was 1914 and the world was facing war. Julia, although born in Passaic and now living once again back in her birth town, thought about her parents and siblings still living in the small village of Ujak, Slovakia. She was worried for her brother, Peter, now 18 years old. Although he, too, had been born in Passaic, the Hungarian army officials wouldn’t care about that. It was Saturday night and the long work hours in the Passaic mills were over until Monday morning. Julia was downtown outside the shops, excitedly looking for anyone who had recent letters from home. It wasn’t hard to find news because there were literally hundreds of cousins and friends in Passaic who were from Ujak and letters from home came often. Her cousin shared the news that Julia feared. Authorities had come through the village and drafted all the young men into the Austro-Hungarian army. Peter was now a soldier off to war. She would be praying for her brother tomorrow at St. Michael’s Church.

Julia was my grandmother and I knew a lot about her as she lived until 1985. From the history of Passaic and Nana saying she worked in the mills, I knew that was a fact. She was extremely religious and a devout parishioner at St. Michael’s. She definitely would have been praying for him to return safely home.

I also knew from my grandmother’s stories that many men and women from her village came to Passaic where they all worked. Some stayed forever, while some returned to Europe after a few years. Even if she hadn’t told me that, I learned from historic records that the village of Ujak (today called Udol) and its 850 residents from 100 years ago has dwindled to 300 today. Much of the population decline happened because hundreds, yes, hundreds, left Ujak for America. That most definitely impacted Nana’s life and was one of the “push” factors that led to her decision to return permanently to America.

Which format is more interesting? Meeting Julia through a few facts or understanding Julia’s life when placed in a social and historical context?

Resources for Writing Their Stories

If only one resource is used to learn about writing engaging stories, it should be Telling Her Story: A Guide to Researching and Writing About Women by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, published in 2024 by Scattered Leaves Press. It can be ordered online for $24.99 and is worth every penny. Don’t pass it by because you want to write about male ancestors – the strategies are the same for both. Sharon DeBartolo Carmack has written a book which, in my opinion, should become the classic standard.

Bringing Your Family History to Life Through Social History by Katherine Scott Sturdevant, published in 2000, but very relevant. Used copies available online from $6.50.

Articles:

18 Writing Tips: Tell Family Stories with Confidence on FamilySearch Blog

Memorializing Ancestors with Bite-Sized Bios on MyHeritage by Marian B. Wood on MyHeritage Knowledge Base

Blogs:

Here’s an example of a bite-sized bio written by Marian B. Wood (above) on her blog, Climbing My Family Tree:

Sharing Ancestor Bite-Sized Bios More Widely Because LOCKSS

DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogyby Roberta Estes – In addition to being a genetic genealogy expert, Roberta does an incredible job telling her ancestors’ stories. By the way, the Library of Congress likes her work so much, they notified her that they are saving it for posterity in their collections.

Empty Branches on the Family Tree – by Linda Stufflebean (My blog with no ads and nothing for sale). This link is the first of a five part series on the format I created to write my ancestor life sketches.

Substack is a publishing platform being used by more and more genealogists whose focus is telling engaging family stories. Sign up for a free account and browse “genealogy.”

Videos:

Although not directly about writing family stories, Gena gives tips on the kinds of details we can learn about our ancestors that will add to interesting life stories.

What Life Was Like for Your Ancestors in the 1920s by Gena Philbert-Ortega

GenFriends: Researching Female Ancestors with Special Guest Gena Philibert-Ortega

Researching our family tree is one of the most rewarding hobbies out there. Not only does it help us understand effects ancestors’ choices have had on our own lives, it keeps alive the memory of those have passed on. Take the time to move from meeting those ancestors to really getting to know them through that social context. It’s well worth the time spent.