Where do I begin?

Looks like we have two things in common! I do hope someone who has "got it together" can respond and clue us in on the "secrets" to organizing. I know I have to start by getting everything in one place but that might take up the space of a whole room (ha, ha). We need help. Come on people, help us get organized!

Sorry to be responding to this so late. I think you have so many great ideas that I am going to implement. I have made it my goal to have something put together by Christmas this year. I want to do it as a memorial to my beloved father who passed away last September. I want his legacy, his family and his and my mom's ancestors to not be forgotten and to put in writing a story about their lives. I really appreciate you responding to my post.

One thing you might consider is a family reunion. My Mills family started the reunion back up with 100th birthday anniversary of my great great grandfather. This was a great way of getting the family all together and remember the great stories that would of been lost with time. It makes a family book more meaningful.

That is a great idea but unfortunately there are not many of us left. My Dad passed away last year. My grandmother's have been gone quite a while. I never knew my grandfathers. My cousin is adopted and I have a half cousin whom I don't even know where he is. We may have distant cousins in "the old country" but I don't even really know them, so I am kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. It is a very good idea for people who still do have lots of family. There is no better time than the present in which to glean that most valuable information and stories from those who have that information to share before their time on this earth passes.

I appreciate your interesting post and ideas. It is always nice for someone to have done the work ahead of you and made your research easier. My mom has said that both my grandma and one of her sisters did research but I have yet to find anything in writing to account for this research. I know we had one family bible that got lost in a move. It was in the care of my mother's aunt, my grandmother's sister. As she got older and moved from one place to another, she said she got rid of it or gave it away, something like that. I always longed to find that bible and glean the family history that is in those precious pages. Would love to hear more about your 2nd cuz's book and how she went about putting it together.

Oh and I forgot to add my FIL's cousin had a several hundred page tree using the boring tree format you know like say Jane Doe b. d. - m. John Smith b. d.
generation 1., generation 1a. ect I had to hightlight what she sent me in MS word and save it so I know where I left off!*LMAO*The 2nd cuz didn't write a book but had intentions on it. THat's one big drama there if you really want to hear about it. But she's had the time (she single), the money to do all the research, plus she has a...oh what do you call it a place where they keep alot of old census and other vital records but on a regional level for the US.
The book was written by MIL's distant realtive in the 1970's. Her kentuck side started with 8 brothers and it follows each brother and some of the more known family members and their decendants to around the 1970's or perhaps earlier. It's been a few yrs since I've seen the book.
I'd say start with the main family on each segment and build to current with as much as you know. I use Family Tree Ledgends and I"ve been trying to figure out how to convert it into a format that will show EVERYONE.
I know about such mysteries but I've heard of people comming across family bibles and trying to find the rightful family. As in the olden days they recorded the births and deaths of folks in them.
I have mystery on my end as well, I had gotten some property from my Aunt's estate (dad's side) and it has a few pieces with initals on it to someone who's either a Sr or Jr only problem is my "half" sisters won't give me any info on my dad (nonetheless anyone else) & play dumb and there's no one to ask on that side that's living that I know of other than them two. THEY REALLY TICK ME OFF!

Well, genealogy can be rewarding but it can also be very frustrating. In the beginning I had to kind of fight with my mom and dad for information. I don't know what they were afraid of, may be skeletons in the closet? Well I did find out some very interesting things on my own, without their help. My grandmother always told us that her husband, my dad's father had died of pneumonia (1918). Turns out he was shot to death! And, if that is not bad enough, his brother was stabbed to death in 1916 due to some jealousy issues with perhaps a married woman and her spouse. Still have not found all the details about that one. I found out my dad was married before, which was really funny because when I was younger my mom was adamant about me not marrying a divorced man. It can be a roller coaster. I can make you mad but if you like history, as you know, it can also be very rewarding.