I’m a big fan of the show Frasier. The interplay between Frasier’s and Niles’ snobbery and the down-to-earth personality of everyone else in their worlds is rife with humor, and I’m pretty sure I’ve watched each episode at least three times.
One of my favorites is a Season 7 episode called A Tsar is Born. Frasier and Niles develop a theory that they are descended from the Romanov family and embark upon a genealogy project to prove it. Hijinks ensue, and imagine their surprise when they learn that the only connection they have to the Romanovs is a great-great-grandmother who was a servant of the royal family before stealing a precious heirloom, stowing away on a New York-bound ship, and starting her new life as a prostitute in the United States!
Your family’s story may not be quite so sensational or potentially embarrassing (although it might be!), but I guarantee that there is some story somewhere that will surprise you if you know where to look.
Maybe you have a great-great-aunt who was the first female student at her newly co-ed college. Maybe your great-great-great-grandfather was a butler at Buckingham Palace — before that whispered accusation derailed his career, that is.
Or maybe your family’s weird tradition of spending Christmas Eve night on the living room floor has an origin story you never would have imagined.
Right. But how do I start?
The good news is that there is a whole cross-section of genealogists and ghostwriters that specialize in discovering exactly these kinds of hidden family stories. Genealogy ghostwriters, who “produce family history books [that] preserve their loved ones’ pasts and make them more accessible to future generations,” according to Marc Wallace, a financial analyst with an interest in exploring human relationships.
A major benefit that Wallace points out in hiring a genealogy ghostwriter is that he or she will help with interviews, which can be a “daunting task” for some people. It might be awkward to ask your great-grandmother the story behind her broken engagement or difficult relationship with her daughter, but a professional genealogy ghostwriter will have the training and empathy to help her open up comfortably.
Ghostwriter Laura Sherman has over two decades of experience and points out that most people seeking a ghostwriter (for any project) come to her because they’ve “hit a brick wall.” In many cases, Sherman says, they have begun to doubt the validity and value of their project. “With a friendly ghostwriter,” she says, “[writing a book] can be easy and fun!”
Sherman goes on to say that writing a family history is the most precious assignment a ghostwriter can receive. And across the board, every ghostwriter I’ve talked to or whose work I’ve read feels the same way about a genealogy assignment.
Revealing another family’s story in full requires a great deal of trust and goes against the Don’t air your dirty laundry in public mindset that feels natural to so many of us. No wonder Sherman and others feel so honored by these assignments!
The fun of this project, for the ghostwriter and the members of the family, is that they get to become detectives in a sense. Successfully completing a family history book requires a great deal of research, intuition, and interviews, says Sherman.
Recording their stories for children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren is a worthwhile endeavor, whether you decide to publish it widely or keep it within the family.
What’s the point of hiring someone?
Given all the benefit of embarking upon this family history project, it might seem like the best bet is to do it yourself. And maybe that’s right.
But, in all likelihood, if you want an in-depth, comprehensive story that meets its own potential of, hiring a genealogy ghostwriter is the way to go, for several reasons. Let’s face it: your time is precious and, unless you are a professional genealogist, it might be hard or impossible to devote the necessary time to this project.
A genealogy ghostwriter has the time and flexibility to delve into this in a way that, honestly, you might not.
Another benefit is that a ghostwriter who is specifically trained in genealogy ghostwriting has the unique combination of skills necessary to overcome those genealogy brick walls that are all but inevitable.
Records are incomplete, Uncle Bill’s story conflicts with Aunt Sue’s, and how are you supposed to do justice to Great-Great-Grandpa’s trial and conviction without him here to give his own side of the story?
A trained ghostwriter has the experience necessary to combat these difficulties. A certified genealogist also has the qualifications, eligibility, and memberships necessary to access records or archives that might be closed to the general public.
Finally, a professional ghostwriter has developed the empathy and interviewing and writing skills necessary to draw people out and weave their stories together in an artful, compelling way. When you combine all of these skills into one person, a genealogy ghostwriter, you are sure to come away with something that is rich, layered, and full — something that honors your ancestors and all of their contributions.
So there you have it!
Take it from me — if you want to do your family’s story justice and really dive into its history, a genealogy ghostwriter is the way to go. (And lucky for you, The Writers for Hire happens to have one on staff!)
