Researching our family history can be an exciting journey, but transforming that research into a compelling narrative to share with others can feel overwhelming. The challenge of deciding where to begin, structuring the story, and balancing engaging storytelling with historical accuracy can sometimes prevent us from even starting.
This lecture will offer a step-by-step guide on how to approach our family history writing, using a direct line from the Jacob B. Haas family, originally of Vermilion County, Illinois, as an example. By exploring their shared occupations across generations and their migration across multiple states, we will demonstrate practical methods for organizing research and crafting a narrative that is both factual and engaging.
Heather Robb holds a master’s degree in Genealogical Studies from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. She also has a bachelor’s degree in History and has done graduate studies in Public History, where she developed an interest in museum studies and architectural history. She is a graduate of the Boston University Genealogy Certificate Program and holds a Professional Learning Certificate (PLCGS) in American records from the International Institute for Genealogical Studies. She is a qualified genealogist (QG) through the Register of Qualified Genealogists based in the United Kingdom and is currently working on her Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) portfolio.
She has worked in the archive and artifacts department at the Airborne Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and has served as genealogical researcher for Purple Hearts Reunited for the last six years. She was a military spouse for the duration of her husband’s military career and found fulfilment in organizing events and activities with several organizations for military spouses at various duty stations.
Heather specializes in military records research and house histories. She also does multigenerational genealogy research to help extend family lines backward and forward. She loves being involved in genealogy education and has served as a coordinator for the ProGen study program as well as a facilitator with Boston University’s genealogy certificate program. She enjoys continuing her American genealogy education by attending national and state conferences as well as genealogical institutes like GRIP, IGHR, SLIG and TIGR and AppGen.
FVGS meetings are free and open to the public.
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