30 family history writing prompts · family history writing prompts look over your research for an...

30 Family History

Writing Prompts

Writing your family history can be tricky. It’s hard to know

where to start. Use these 30 writing prompts as fuel to kick-

start your family history writing journey. Some prompts

are silly, some prompts are serious, but all will get you

thinking about your genealogy in new ways. Beneath each

prompt are lines for you to fill in digitally, but please print

out this book if writing by hand is easier. Write as much or

as little in response to each prompt as you would like.

Happy writing!

from the editors of

For more family history writing inspiration, download our workbook Story of My Life. Pass the stories of your life through the future generations of your family and re-discover old memories in one organized workbook.

<http://www.shopfamilytree.com/story-of-my-life>

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family history writing prompts

Write a letter to an ancestor you’ve never met. Include questions you’ve always wanted to ask him or her, plus some that reflect what you’ve already learned about your ancestor (for example,

“Do you enjoy your new job?” or “How are you coping with your father’s death?”).

Write your response here:



Think of your ancestor as a character in a novel, and describe him or her in a few short paragraphs. What color are her eyes? What is she wearing? How does she carry herself? What kind of voice

does she have?




Imagine your ancestor getting the keys to his first house or car. Write a journal entry from his point of view that describes the car/

place and his feelings about it.




Write an obituary for an ancestor. Be sure to include information about any surviving ancestors, the deceased’s occupation, and his

age at death. Use contemporary obituaries as a guide.




Write a scene that describes a block party in your ancestor’s hometown, and invite everyone who appears on a page in a US

federal census record. Use census data to learn ages, occupations, and relationships, and tap into your imagination for the rest. Who’s talking to who, and what’s the hot gossip?




Select your favorite family photo, and write about the moments just before and/or after the photo was taken. Why was it taken? Was

your ancestor happy to be in it?




Select two ancestors who lived in different centuries, and describe a scene of the two interacting with each other. What do they talk

about? How are they different from one another?




Imagine the first time your ancestor got to vote. Write a letter from them to a relative detailing their impressions. Where was their polling place? What was the process like? What about the other

people in line?




Pick an ancestor’s hometown and do some research on how it was during your ancestor’s time. Use historical pictures/postcards and city directories to learn about the town, then write a brief tourism

ad for the locale highlighting the town’s attractions.




Using your location research from yesterday, describe your ances-tor’s walk down the street. Invent his destination (work, church, market, etc.) and use a city directory and your imagination to de-

scribe who/what he might see on the way there.




Describe the first meeting between two of your ancestors who would later get married. What are their first impressions of each

other? Include any details you know about your ancestor’s appear-ance, occupation, age at that time, etc.




Craft a poem or love letter from one of your ancestors to his or her future spouse—or, if an ancestor was divorced, write a letter from

one to the other explaining why he/she wants to leave.




Describe your ancestors’ wedding. Study marriage certificates, wedding banns and photos, and contemporary clothing and

rituals to fill in details.




Write a diary or journal entry that details your immigrant ancestor’s journey. What are their impressions of their fellow passengers?

Research passenger lists and ship descriptions to make your description more accurate.




Pick an ancestor from the 1800s, drop him into today, and (as your ancestor) write a letter to family members still in the 1800s. How

would he describe today? What surprises him? What questions would he have?




Imagine one or more of your ancestors as the characters in a fairy tale or fable. What role would they play, and what is the setting?

What would be their fate?




Who was your ancestor’s best friend? How did they spend their time together? Write a paragraph or two about an adventure they had

(real or imagined) based on what you know of their childhood and the time period and place they lived.




Identify a major event that happened during your ancestor’s life-time, and (as your ancestor) write a first-person journal entry de-

scribing it. What would your ancestor have thought about it? Would he have found it exciting? Frightening? Frustrating?




Write a paragraph describing three items your ancestor would never leave home without.




Select an ancestor who served in the military, and write a letter to him or her from the perspective of a loved one on the home front.

Ask about his or her health, or the conditions in the war. Read real-life wartime letters for inspiration.




Look over your research for an ancestor or family and create a time-line of his life. List the date for each record, where the person or family was located at the time, and what they were doing. Notice any gaps in your research (such as the glaring absence of the 1890

census)? Use those to make a to-do list.




Come up with a pitch for your ancestor’s biography. Is it a sultry tell-all, or just-the-facts? What major theme(s) does it cover? Be

sure to give the bio a title and sub-title, and write the book’s summary as it would appear on the back cover.




Write about how your ancestors celebrated Thanksgiving. Is it their first in America? What did they eat, and who were their dinner

guests? What are they grateful for? Get other family members to collaborate.




Review historical resources like the Sears Catalog and “buy” three Christmas presents for an ancestor. Why did you choose those three,

and how would your ancestor respond to them?




Pitch a movie about one of your ancestors. What interesting event do you want the film to portray? What kind of film will it be? What

actor/actress would play your ancestor, and who would play the other characters? Be sure to give your film a title and tagline. If

you’re feeling extra ambitious, write the movie’s preview.




Record a memory of one of your ancestors that you want to pass down to future generations—a parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. Set the scene: How old were each of you at the

time? What happened? Why is this a memory you treasure?




Imagine your ancestor had access to the internet during his lifetime, and write a Facebook post or series of tweets describing something he’s witnessing in real-time. Is there a contemporary (historical) is-sue he would feel strongly about or an event he wants to respond to?

Or maybe he wants to air a family grievance?




Imagine a typical day for a female ancestor. What time did she wake up, and what did she do throughout the day?




Write a brief biography of yourself—everything an ancestor might want to know about you. After all, someday your ancestors will want

to know as much about you as you do about yours!




Select a family heirloom (watch, quilt, Bible, etc.) and write a narrative from its perspective. Where has it been? How did your

ancestor acquire it, and what would it have encountered throughout the years? What important family milestones

might it have witnessed?


30 family history writing prompts · family history writing prompts look over your research for an...

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