In "Along Those Lines . . .” this week, I want to talk about some tips and resources that can make planning the family gathering easier, and that can increase your success at information gathering.

Setting Your Goals
Your first goal is to make the reunion fun and enjoyable for people of all ages. Just getting all the relatives together over a meal may be boring to some people, especially to the younger crowd. You want your family reunion to be a memorable occasion. Therefore, you have to take the initiative to make it different.

The best family reunions are those that have a goal or a theme. Let me suggest a theme called "The Times of Your Life." Everyone should bring at least one story about an important or memorable time in their own life. You might send a blank sheet out with each invitation and ask people to write their story and be prepared to read it. Taking turns over a meal, each person can tell his or her special story. Afterward, you can collect the sheets, and they can become part of the family history. The information can be transcribed and copied, placed in a binder, become part of a family newsletter, and could become part of your database.

As for you, you need to set your own goals for information gathering. Make some decisions about what information you want from specific relatives. This is your opportunity to catch them in person and ask those burning questions that may fill in important gaps or point you down another research avenue. Make a list of the people about whom you want information, what information you want to obtain, and the names of relatives who might be able to provide the information. Perhaps make a sheet for each attendee with whom you wish to talk and the questions you want answered. Whatever you do, formulate a plan and a methodology that you think will work in the reunion environment you are creating.

Advance Preparation for Gathering the Data
You want to get people's interest in the family history and generate excitement among them. Advance preparation is the key. Start by getting all the information you have on this branch of the family organized. Enter the data into your database or fill out the pedigree charts and family group sheets. If you're computerized, your database program no doubt has a wide range of reports it can print for you.

One way to get people interested in the family is to give them something to look at. A real attention-getter can be wall charts. A printout of the family pedigree chart or descendant charts posted on a wall will draw people's interest. Multiple charts showing multiple branches of the tree and more people's names can really draw a crowd. (People love to see their own names on the charts, and this encourages them to participate in “their” tree.) You will also complement these wall charts with binders that include the family group sheets for each of the lines.

Be sure to let people know that if they see an error or an omission in the charts and family group sheets, you want their input. Make sure you create some forms on which people can add information, and be sure to bring pens and pencils. The forms should have a space for the informant's name and contact information. After all, you will certainly want to cite and follow up your sources. Also, don't forget to have some SASEs for people who say, "I have some information for you, but it's at home. Can I mail it to you?" Give them blank forms and an envelope, as well as a telephone number and/or e-mail address where they can easily reach you.

Make sure someone reliable is taking pictures and capturing the event. One activity you can create for younger people is to establish a "press team." Let two or more people be responsible for taking pictures of everyone at the reunion and collecting names. For example, one person can photograph people, while another carries a steno notebook. In the notebook, create a list for each roll of film (or digital camera disc), and for every shot, record the names and positions (left to right) of all the subjects. This makes labeling the pictures a lot easier after the event. If you're using a videotape recorder, make it a game and let the subjects say their name, where they're from, and tell one fact about themselves.

Take advantage of having everyone together to have them sign a notebook with their name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and a Web page address if they have one. One family member can coordinate this for his or her family. After the reunion, this can be transcribed and distributed to everyone. What a treat to have the entire family address book compiled and current at once!

As you can tell, you will need lots of paper, pencils and pens, camera film, videotapes, and extra batteries,

Great Resources to Help You
There are a number of books on the market about organizing a successful family reunion. Some are long and involved and take a lot of time to read. One of the best books around is "Celebrating the Family: Steps to Planning a Family Reunion" by Vandella Brown. The book contains a straightforward set of practical steps to organizing and staging a successful reunion. The book contains forms, checklists, and sample letters you can adapt to your own family's needs.

On the software front, a company called FormalSoft has produced a great new software package on CD-ROM called “Family Reunion Organizer.” It provides all the tools you need at your fingertips to pull off a successful reunion, starting with building a checklist, creating a family address book, setting a budget, selecting a date and location, enlisting help from others, defining to-do's and tracking assignments, creating reports, generating invitations and nametags, and a host of other activities. The software will help you create a Web page to announce the reunion and provide information for distant relatives. Also included are some great icebreaker ideas, games, and other activities to get people mingling and talking.

For more ideas and information, there are some great collections of materials on the Web. Better Homes & Gardens' Web site at http://www.bhglive.com/food/cookhelpers/reunion/reunion.html provides an organized set of instructions for planning a family reunion. The Genealogy Forum on America Online has placed many of its materials on the Web for free access, including its Family Reunion Center, located at http://www.genealogyforum.com/gfaol/reunion/HowTo.htm. Here you will find information about planning a reunion, creating a family newsletter, and forming a family association. Finally, Cyndi Howells' Web site has terrific collection of reunion materials at http://www.cyndislist.com/reunions.htm.

Putting It All Together
Organizing a reunion can be a formidable undertaking. However, there is no better means to renew old relationships and build new ones, and to bring the younger generations into contact with the older ones. As a family historian, a reunion is a golden opportunity to share the family's historical information you have uncovered with family members. You may obtain important new information about the past from family members, and you can make contact with and learn about a whole new group of new descendants. With some advance planning, your reunion will be a gold mine for you and a wonderful memory for everyone who attends.

Happy Hunting!

George

Editor’s Note: You can buy both Vandella Brown’s “Celebrating the Family” book and the “Family Reunion Organizer” software in the Ancestry.com E-Store.

"Celebrating the Family: Steps to Planning a Family Reunion" by Vandella Brown http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog/
product.asp?pf%5Fid=9746&dept%5Fid=10101000
$9.95

A Note from the Author
During the last several months, MyFamily.com and Ancestry.com have been reorganizing their Web site to provide more information and better access to it for all of its users. Many people have written me to ask what happened to the archive of the "Along Those Lines . . ." columns and to ask for links to the archive or to specific articles.

I am pleased to report that, with the introduction of the new Library function at Ancestry.com's Web site (http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/main.htm), the column archives are on their way back. I'm told that all the columns are in the process of being indexed by keyword and will soon be 100 percent searchable. As the new facility unfolds, all of the "Along Those Lines . . ." columns from January 1998 to the present will ultimately be restored. You can access the archives at www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/george/archive.asp. Thank you so very much for all of your gracious e-mail, for your interest and enthusiasm in the column, and for your patience during the process.

George

George G. Morgan is a proud member of the Council of Genealogy Columnists. He would like to hear from you at atl@ahaseminars.com, but due to the volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every message. Please note that he cannot assist you with your individual research. Visit George's Web site at http://ahaseminars.com/atl for information about speaking engagements. George is also the author of "The Genealogy Forum on America Online," which is available in the Ancestry Online Store at: http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog/
product.asp?pf%5Fid=1101046&dept%5Fid=10102000

Copyright 2000, MyFamily.com. All rights reserved.