History of You: Share Your Story

Every family has a story that lives only in grandmother's telling. A photograph with no caption, a great-grandfather remembered by one name, a letter from the front in an old box. The History of You bot exists so such stories do not vanish. 📜

It works as the project's reception desk: you can send a question or share a story of your own.

What the bot is for

The profile says it plainly: here you can ask a question or share a story for the History of You project. The project is educational and covers family history and genealogy. It talks about how to look for ancestors and keep the memory of relatives.

The bot connects you with the authors: you write, they read. There are no complicated menus, you just open the dialogue and send a message.

What you can send

• A research question. How to find information about an ancestor, where archive records live, how to start a family tree.
• A family story. A tale about a grandmother, a move, the war years, a trade or a family tradition.
• Details about documents. A description of old papers and photographs if you want to understand what they show.

What the authors publish and when they reply is up to them. Do not expect an instant answer. ⏳

Writing a story people want to read

A good family story stands on detail. Describe how the kitchen smelled, what people wore, what they joked about at the table. Small things like these bring a text to life.

1. Name the people: first name, surname and years of life, if known.
2. Give place and time, at least roughly, for example a village near Tula in the late forties.
3. Tell one episode rather than a whole life at once.
4. Separate fact from family legend: "this is what we were told" versus "this is what the record says".
5. Attach a photograph if you have the right to show it.

Personal data you should keep out

Family stories often mention living people. Before sending, think about whether they agree to have names, addresses and details of illness made public. 🔒

Do not send passport numbers, home addresses or full photos of documents. Names, dates and the story itself are enough.

Where to begin tracing ancestors

If you are just starting, write down everything you know from parents and grandparents and cross-check the dates. Then move to documents: certificates, parish registers, archive requests.

Ask specific questions. "How do I find my great-grandfather" is broad, while "how do I find records of a man who lived in a given province before the revolution" can actually be worked on. 🔎

Why keep family memory at all

The older generation is leaving, and the details leave with it. Writing a story down today is easier than rebuilding it from scraps tomorrow. A record gives children and grandchildren a chance to learn where they came from.