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Diaries and Letters
By Nick Grbin
If you're lucky, you may have found or inherited a diary or your ancestor's letters. How many movies have been made by people's personal diaries? For example, Anne Frank's horrific account of the holocaust!
Diaries can be rich in information and fascinating. Most diaries are either in a bound book or some kind of notebook. Letters can also be rich in information and history. Dates and addresses are crucial to the genealogist. They can place your ancestor in a certain time and place in history.
Never separate the letters from the envelope or give the envelope to stamp collectors. Often a postmark may be the only clue to the date of the letter and your ancestor's place of residence.
Letters that have multiple pages should never be separated. It is vital to preserve their page order. Some letters have funeral notices or newspaper cuttings. They are usually vital to your research.
Sometimes reading the handwriting of diaries and letters is difficult. Don't get discouraged. It's interesting how soon you can get use to people's handwriting. The key here is to persist and don't give up. Often you can find someone in the older generation that is familiar to that style of writing. Seek them out. You could be pleasantly surprised.
Don't skimp on any details, or you could miss some vital clues. Think like a detective. It works! An abbreviation in one letter may be spelt in full in another. A name beginning with "G" may be spelt in full or more easily readable in another letter or diary page.
Now that you have identified family names, make notes. Interview other family members that may know something. If you have a computer and scanner, scan some important pages and email sections of the document to others to help you identify people and places. Start searching records such as census, heritage records, birth death & marriages and so on.
Diaries and letters can enable you to do some detective work. It could open up new lines of ancestry you never knew existed. Enjoy!
About the Author
Nick Grbin is the webmaster of http://www.genealogy4beginners.com/
The web site outlines a Genealogy Ebook that saves time, effort and money researching your Ancestors, You can subscribe to the FREE Family History for Beginners Newsletter with great tips & information.
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/40359.html
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