Process to Collect/Archive Family Stories?
Nov 22, 2011 10:24:09 GMT -5
Post by gregorylouie on Nov 22, 2011 10:24:09 GMT -5
Hi Folks,
I'm a newbie to this forum. I am interested in hearing and collecting the previous generation's stories of life. In my opinion, stories are what make a family tree come alive.
So I am wondering if anyone recommends a particular process for gathering these stories and then collating them in a useful form. My ideal genealogy product would have a clickable family tree that would link the name of an ancestor to his/her story of life. While I'm still imagining, I would love to have a family tree full of wisdom teachings from our elders. (Similar to the Japanese samurai tradition of clan precepts or last statements written by the head of a samurai clan to the leaders of the next generation).
In terms of Chinese genealogy I've been inspired particularly by Siyi Genealogy legacy1.net/ efforts and the Museum of Chinese in America's Story Map www.map.mocanyc.org/. Imagine a family tree with the kind of clickability found on the MOCA StoryMap site.
Further imagine, if uploading stories was as easy as that in StoryMap, but with a family tree interface.
At present, I'm looking for something with a very low technical entry barrier. I want to maximize the number of family members that enter stories or their interviews of family elders. I'm flirting with the idea of using a Google Docs Survey form. That would allow us to broadcast a fairly standardized set of questions. The strategy requires that we find a way to involve family members scattered across the U.S. (our family is out-of-touch with China). My hope is that we could interview the previous generation of elders before they pass on.
All that to ask, does anyone know if there is such a feature (story collation) available from any of the popular online family tree vendors? I imagine it would be a marketable feature that would add tremendous value.
I'm a newbie to this forum. I am interested in hearing and collecting the previous generation's stories of life. In my opinion, stories are what make a family tree come alive.
So I am wondering if anyone recommends a particular process for gathering these stories and then collating them in a useful form. My ideal genealogy product would have a clickable family tree that would link the name of an ancestor to his/her story of life. While I'm still imagining, I would love to have a family tree full of wisdom teachings from our elders. (Similar to the Japanese samurai tradition of clan precepts or last statements written by the head of a samurai clan to the leaders of the next generation).
In terms of Chinese genealogy I've been inspired particularly by Siyi Genealogy legacy1.net/ efforts and the Museum of Chinese in America's Story Map www.map.mocanyc.org/. Imagine a family tree with the kind of clickability found on the MOCA StoryMap site.
Further imagine, if uploading stories was as easy as that in StoryMap, but with a family tree interface.
At present, I'm looking for something with a very low technical entry barrier. I want to maximize the number of family members that enter stories or their interviews of family elders. I'm flirting with the idea of using a Google Docs Survey form. That would allow us to broadcast a fairly standardized set of questions. The strategy requires that we find a way to involve family members scattered across the U.S. (our family is out-of-touch with China). My hope is that we could interview the previous generation of elders before they pass on.
All that to ask, does anyone know if there is such a feature (story collation) available from any of the popular online family tree vendors? I imagine it would be a marketable feature that would add tremendous value.