Create and Maintain Family Associations or Organizations

Organizing a family association or organization is great way to bring people together and accomplish more in learning new information and preserving that information to share with other family members.

Setting the Scope and Purpose of an Organization
Decide how large or small you want to focus your association. Some families may want to organize around one husband and wife and all their descendants. Others like the Richard Brough Family Organization may decide on a broader agenda in an effort to do more than just have annual reunions.

Guides
Tips on Publishing a One Family Periodical www.genealogy.com/26_wylie1.html

Examples

 * Brough Family Organization
 * The Guild of One-Name Studies

Importance of Ancestral Family Organizations (AFO's)
The Brough Family Organization has stated the following about Ancestral Family Orgnizations (AFO's): "Ancestral family organizations are often able to accomplish much more than individual families or 'grandparent' family associations. Because of their extensive membership and databases, AFO's are often able to locate and obtain genealogical and historical information much faster and cheaper than individual families or grandparent associations.

Also, AFO's often know about--and can find and acquire from different parts of the world--unique genealogical data and historical records, such as those found in family bibles, personal journals, private indexes and photographic collections. These sources can provide genealogical information not commonly found in ecclesiastical or government records.

Finally, because of its broad membership and extensive number of contributors, AFO's can usually afford and support extensive research by professional genealogists much easier and for longer durations than can most individual families or grandparent family associations."

For an example of what an AFO can do, visit: http://www.broughfamily.org/ancestral_family_organizations.html

A Thousand Years of Family History (video documentary, 2009)
On November 17, 2009, the Brough Family Organization (one of the largest and oldest ancestral family organizations and surname associations in the world) freely released worldwide a 37-minute high-quality video documentary entitled "A Thousand Years of Family History"--which detailed the Brough ancestry of England and their descendants in Europe, America and Australia.

In several ways, this video is a "first" of its kind: It describes nearly a thousand years of history related to a well-known family surname in England--without dwelling on royalty or celebrities. Also, the documentary uses over two dozen narrators and commentators, along with historical photographs, artifacts, and computer graphics, to succinctly tell the story of the Broughs of England and their descendants--who eventually embraced different religions and spread across several continents. In addition, the video describes how genealogical research and recent DNA tests have been used to clarify family relationships and better understand family traditions.

This video is family-friendly and faith-promoting, and is a good example of what other ancestral organizations around the world can do to visually show and explain their heritage to family members and relatives. The video can be freely viewed on YouTube at:

Family History video on YouTube: A Thousand Years of Family History

Also, additional information about the video--including its entire audio script--is available on the RBFO website at: http://www.broughfamily.org/family_history_video.html.