Learning from NGS Family History Writing Competition Winners
Each year the National Genealogical Society holds a Family History Writing competition. The winning entry is submitted to the NGS Quarterly editors for possible publication. When accepted, NGS Quarterly readers benefit, for the contest winners’ work demonstrates excellence in researching and writing family histories.
Kay Haviland Freilich’s “Verifying an Ancestor’s Words: The Autobiography of Mary (Seeds) Haviland” captured the prize in 2009.[1] The family history documents the paternal family of Mary (Seeds) Haviland, who was born in Salem, Ohio, in 1878 and died in Pennsylvania in 1966. It offers readers several learning opportunities, such as how to structure, document, and add historical context to a family history as well as how to use NGS Quarterly format to number a genealogy. In addition, the author’s use of Mary’s unpublished autobiography as a source is likely to be of help to many.
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About Author
Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG
Laura Murphy DeGrazia, editor of NGS Monthly, is a professional genealogist specializing in the New York City area and Irish Americans. She is a former trustee and past president of the Board for Certification of Genealogists. From 2010 through 2014 she edited the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. Her book on researching in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County, New York, was published as part of the NGS Research in the States series in 2013. Laura is a member of the NGS Magazine Editorial Advisory Committee and the NGS Publications Committee.
Is there a list of NGS FAMILY HISTORY WRITING COMPETITION WINNERS? Are these winning entries viewable online? Where?
Thanks,
Bob Hayes