How are you saving your family history?

Here is an example of a WORD document I create for a Civil War veteran ancestor that includes copies of the NARA records(individual cards), original documents, organizational tables and info, battlefield maps, copies of OR's and pages from other resources. This example is reduced in size just to show you how I format the Header and pages and how I arrange the documents and annotate some of them. Document has a total of 17 pages.

This document is for Stephen Musselwhite of the 17th Mississippi Regiment who fought at Gettysburg only to be wounded at Chickamauga and discharged.
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Very nice work. My g-grandfather was also in the 17th Miss., in Co. B. He was present at Gettysburg as well and was later wounded and out of the war in front of Ft. Sanders at Knoxville.
 
We pretty much knew all of our ancestors 3-4 generations back and usually a story or two about them. Some lines were known further back as a few women in the family were DAR and Colonial Dames and had done the research. I’ve tried on several occasions to expand on it but I find it overwhelming as the branches multiply over the generations and I get lost in it all.

However, I am the keeper of the family Bible from my father’s maternal side, a 1613 King James with some amazing genealogical entries. The first is from 1639, and for several generations not only is the day of birth recorded but also the time to the hour and minute.

This large family was from Pennsylvania but my branch ended up in Mississippi in the 1830’s when my gg grandfather moved south. On one of his annual trips back north in 1842 the Bible was presented to him by his father as noted inside the cover and it stayed with him. They became dyed in the wool southerners; he sent 4 sons to the war with one killed and the other 3 wounded in various degrees. The last entry in the Bible records the father’s death in in 1877. The next to the last cites the death of his son simply saying “Died Febry 20th, 1865 at the City of Mobile, Alabama in the service of his country.” (A Lt., he had been mortally wounded at Nashville and transported afterward to Mobile). The family never reconciled with their northern branch cousins after the war.
 
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All of you can do this if you would like. All the libraries are willing to help.
Before the days of internet, I was searching for any service records of my Gr-Grandfather. The librarian mailed me a typed company roster that included another name that matched his brother. However, I had been to the brother’s grave abd he died in December 1861. I didnt see how he could have been a soldier and have died that early in the War. Fast forward ~1 year later and I discovered that was his brother. I should have followed up on the librarian’s hint.
BTW, the brother died of disease— not a battle.
 
Co. B was the “Mississippi Rangers”, mustered in at Holly Springs.
Company G was also from Marshall County. Robert Moore was in that company. The director of the Marshall County Museum in Holly Springs is a Moore descendant. Robert Moore’s journal was published in book “A Life For The Confederacy”.
I highly recommend you get that book since your ancestor was in that regiment.
 
Trying to weave this back to the Main Topic, how do you document these name changes and these impossible finds?? If you assume your family will read your Trees and Documents, how do you draw attention that this name did change and here is proof?

I have a TILGHMAN branch on my Mother's side and there is a large book on this family. I used it to record the lineage going back to Germany---but I haven't verified all of this data. The interesting thing is that for 3 or 4 generations, they spelled their name TILLMAN.
Nothing seems easy after you go back to 1840 and earlier when they didn't record names of wives nor children in the Census records. That makes it difficult to find the surnames of the wives.
My father was Frank Tillman Neel and his father (who died in the 1920's in his twenties) was James T. which I presume was also for Tillman. My stupid father knew nothing about the name other than that according to my mother (who likely heard it from his sister) it got him the nickname "Tilly" when he was a kid, so naturally he hated it. I've wondered if there might be some connections with other Tilghmans like those in Maryland?
 
My father was Frank Tillman Neel and his father (who died in the 1920's in his twenties) was James T. which I presume was also for Tillman. My stupid father knew nothing about the name other than that according to my mother (who likely heard it from his sister) it got him the nickname "Tilly" when he was a kid, so naturally he hated it. I've wondered if there might be some connections with other Tilghmans like those in Maryland?
As it happens my paternal great grandmother's nickname was Tilly (her middle name having been Matilda). So I can see how your grandpa wasn't happy.
 
I'm new to the forum and wandered over here after receiving a greeting from this forums host over in Camp of Instruction. So, hello! I'm NSSAR so, yea, I've been exposed to a gamut of attitudes in my family in regards to genealogy. I was never critical of those that were indifferent to family history. I focused on disseminating information to those who desired it. I thought it was an interesting observation that some recent immigrants in the past wished to disenthrall themselves from their heritage, and dedicate themselves to becoming "Americans". Thank you for such an interesting thread.
 
I'm new to the forum and wandered over here after receiving a greeting from this forums host over in Camp of Instruction. So, hello! I'm NSSAR so, yea, I've been exposed to a gamut of attitudes in my family in regards to genealogy. I was never critical of those that were indifferent to family history. I focused on disseminating information to those who desired it. I thought it was an interesting observation that some recent immigrants in the past wished to disenthrall themselves from their heritage, and dedicate themselves to becoming "Americans". Thank you for such an interesting thread.
Welcome! I agree with your approach--those who are indifferent are only making their own lives less full. The observation you noted is seen from time to time so I guess it exists on a per-individual basis; I don't see it in my own immigrant family nor in their community. I've nothing but admiration for their dedication and effort of the heritage societies; my own mother-in-law was a state regent for DAR.
 
My stupid father knew nothing about the name other than that according to my mother (who likely heard it from his sister) it got him the nickname "Tilly" when he was a kid, so naturally he hated it. I've wondered if there might be some connections with other Tilghmans like those in Maryland?
Back in those days, the middle name usually reflected the maiden name of the Mother or another line on the maternal side. So he could have a TILGHMAN in his background.
 
Sometimes those who seem indifferent change their minds. My husband and I did a whole book about his mother's family and sent it off to siblings and cousins. Almost no one acknowledged it. But then, after several years had passed, we got a call out of the blue from a cousin. He and his wife had been watching Finding Your Roots on TV and thought, wouldn't it be nice if someone did our family history for us. Then they remembered - someone had! They pulled out the book we had made and enjoyed it thoroughly. We laughed after talking to them and said better late than never.
 
Sometimes those who seem indifferent change their minds. My husband and I did a whole book about his mother's family and sent it off to siblings and cousins. Almost no one acknowledged it. But then, after several years had passed, we got a call out of the blue from a cousin. He and his wife had been watching Finding Your Roots on TV and thought, wouldn't it be nice if someone did our family history for us. Then they remembered - someone had! They pulled out the book we had made and enjoyed it thoroughly. We laughed after talking to them and said better late than never.
Isn't that Biblical? Casting out bread onto the water? What a nice thing to happen. Of course it would have been more pleasant for you two to have heard in a more timely fashion but, from the point of genealogical information, it was just fine.
 
Isn't that Biblical? Casting out bread onto the water? What a nice thing to happen. Of course it would have been more pleasant for you two to have heard in a more timely fashion but, from the point of genealogical information, it was just fine.
It was lovely to know that they read and appreciated it. I think if they had thanked us when they first got it, it would have been an obligatory thanks. But after they had seen and appreciated the stories on TV they understood how much work we had done and how lucky they were to have the document. So the belated thank you was a lot more meaningful.
 
I'm new to the forum and wandered over here after receiving a greeting from this forums host over in Camp of Instruction. So, hello! I'm NSSAR so, yea, I've been exposed to a gamut of attitudes in my family in regards to genealogy. I was never critical of those that were indifferent to family history. I focused on disseminating information to those who desired it. I thought it was an interesting observation that some recent immigrants in the past wished to disenthrall themselves from their heritage, and dedicate themselves to becoming "Americans". Thank you for such an interesting thread.
Welcome @seanfidheall !

I agree with everything you and @Fairfield said.

The fact is ... our relatives have different interests.
Many of my family are some of the best in their fields ... but history of any kind doesn't interest them.
But at the same time, I'm not interested in their passions .... such as tax law.

They are not interested in visiting a lost family cemetery, while I'm not interested in the latest accounting app.

:bounce:

However, we still get along.
 
I find that only a small percent of any family is interested in family history so I have saved the stories for those individuals in future generations who will be interested. My Maryland family had lost track of cousins who went south in the 1750's who ended up owning 60 plantations and had 9 Confederate Colonels. To insure that the stories will be saved, I wrote "Rebels in my Tree" about my Lamar Confederate cousins, plantations, blockade running, and other illustrious Lamar cousins that I only learned about by digging out the stories and writing a book about them. I'm amazed that the Maryland part of my family had simply lost the connection to their cousins on Dixie.
Rebels cover 2 - Copy.png
 
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