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Guide for Church History Writers    

  1. SUBJECTS FOR CONSIDERATION
    1. Early settlers of the community
      1. Names
      2. Homeland
      3. Date of settlement for each
      4. Place of settlement for each
      5. Reasons for settlement
      6. Number of children in each family
      7. Sex and age of each child
      8. Age of parents
    2. Information about individuals
      1. Parents in each home
        1. Age of each
        2. Ancestry
        3. Physical characteristics
        4. Mental characteristics
        5. Scope of interest in world affairs
        6. Nature of work
      2. Date and circumstances of birth
        1. Type of dwelling or hospital
        2. Attending physician or midwife
        3. Any unusual circumstances
      3. Health
        1. Natural characteristics of body
        2. Diseases acquired and inherent
        3. Accidents and effect
        4. Methods and medicines employed in treatment
      4. Literacy
        1. Extent of schooling
        2. Place of schooling
        3. Influence of teachers
        4. Studies completed
        5. Major interest
        6. Difficulty or ease of securing education
        7. Higher education
      5. Income
        1. Source
        2. Amount
        3. Profession or occupation
        4. Place and conditions of work
      6. Property owned or rented
        1. Value
        2. Location
        3. How acquired
        4. Why and how disposed of
      7. Relation to the public welfare
        1. Offices held-elective and otherwise
        2. Property transactions
        3. Public services
        4. Offenses against law
      8. The marriage union
        1. Names of contracting parties
        2. Ages of contracting parties
        3. Place and circumstances
        4. Date
        5. Witnesses
        6. Minister
      9. Children from the union
        1. Death
        2. Cause
        3. Place
        4. Attending physician
        5. Surviving members of family
        6. Conditions of last will and testamentInformation about the community
    3. Information about the community
      1. Population
        1. Number of stated times
        2. Ages of persons at given times
        3. Size of families at given times
        4. Races and their proportions
        5. Nationalities and their proportions
        6. General population trends
      2. Education
        1. Origin of first school, and subsequent schools
        2. Number of schools
        3. Arrangement of school districts at different times
        4. Members of school boards at different times
        5. Sponsorship of schools
        6. The school curriculum at various stages of development
        7. Construction of school buildings
        8. Enrollment and attendance
        9. General trends in school development
      3. Economics
        1. Supply of natural resources: land, water, forests, minerals, oils
        2. Chief sources of money wealth
        3. Investments
        4. Business ventures
        5. Savings in cash, bonds, stocks, lands, houses, postal notes, mortgages
      4. Wars
        1. Men or women in service
        2. Battles in the community, or other military maneuvers
        3. Economic trends
        4. Moral conditions
        5. Effect on community institutions
      5. Social structure
        1. Schools
        2. Churches
        3. Youth activities
        4. Recreation facilities and programs
        5. Family relationships
        6. Leadership potential and activity
        7. Professional organizations
      6. Industry, business, and the professions
        1. Origins
        2. Development
        3. Participation by local youth
      7. Farming
        1. Land use: acres cultivated, pasture, timber, wood, waste, ponds
        2. Soil improvement practices
        3. Crops raised for home use and markets
        4. Topography
        5. Prices
        6. Effect of rainfall and seasons
        7. Land ownership practices:
        8. purchase, rental, inheritance
      8. Public utilities
        1. Types available
        2. Extent to which they are used
        3. Sponsorship: government or private enterprise
        4. Date of installation
        5. Leadership
        6. Effect on living
      9. Health
        1. Death rate
        2. Epidemics
        3. Health measures
        4. Diseases
        5. Doctors in residence
        6. Availability of hospitals
        7. Sanitation
      10. Transportation
        1. Accessibility
        2. Roads
        3. Modes of transportation introduced
        4. Use of domestic animals
        5. Development of motor transportation
      11. Recreation
        1. Types
        2. Places
        3. Sponsors
        4. Leadership
        5. Changing attitudes
      12. Government bills affecting local conditions
      13. Contribution to other communities
        1. Human wealth
        2. Natural resources
        3. Artificial wealth
        4. General changes and trends
    4. The church in the community
        1. Reasons for organization
        2. Leadership in organization
        3. Time and circumstances of organization
        4. The first building
        5. The first Sunday School
        6. Other organizations
        7. Pastors
        8. Development of the church
        9. Revival meetings
        10. Relation to denominations
        11. Relation to other religious bodies
        12. Effect on community morals
        13. Effect on family life
        14. Relation to education
        15. Relation to health
        16. Development of character
        17. Contribution to other communities
        18. Development of finance systems
        19. Development of physical plant
        20. Insurance
        21. Description of programs at various times
  2. SOURCES OF INFORMATION
    1. Government
      1. Federal Bureaus
        1. Census
        2. Commerce
        3. Postal
        4. Vital statistics
        5. Agriculture
      2. State bureaus
        1. Historical commission
        2. Vital statistics
        3. Public works
        4. Public education
        5. Tax
        6. Library
        7. Highway
        8. Health
      3. County bureaus and agencies
        1. Tax
        2. Education
        3. Health
        4. Public welfare
        5. Records
        6. Highway
        7. Deeds
        8. Library
    2. Local church
        1. Clerk or records committee
        2. Organization minutes
        3. Church histories
        4. Sunday school reports
        5. Church roll books
        6. Church records of marriages and deaths
        7. Church records of baptisms and church membership
        8. Maps
        9. Blueprints of buildings, cemeteries, grounds
        10. Tombstones
        11. Memorials
        12. Copies of denominations reports of conferences, associations, or conventions
    3. Local community or personal records
        1. Statements of older persons
        2. Family Bibles
        3. Diaries
        4. Letters
        5. Pictures
        6. Scrap books
        7. Wills and testaments and other legal documents
        8. Maps
        9. Land deeds and plats
        10. Private libraries
    4. Periodicals
        1. Newspapers
        2. Magazines
        3. Church bulletins and papers
        4. Church journals of local congregation or denomination
    5. School papers
  3. ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS
    1. Decide how to write the story- narrative, drama, fiction, factual statement.
    2. Gather all detailed material on cards of one size
    3. Decide on chronological arrangement by century, decade, year, month
    4. Place each card in proper topical or chronological setting
    5. Study carefully each unit of information to determine the significance so that each chapter will present some outstanding event
    6. Re-arrange all information into units of significance so that each chapter will present some outstanding event
    7. Select headings for chapter
    8. Write each chapter in outline form
    9. Write each chapter in detail
    10. Revise completely with unity of the story in mind
    11. Check each detail for accuracy and for proper relation to other details
    12. Have competent persons read and criticize grammar, approach, style, interpretation, continuity, and purpose
    13. Revise in final form
    14. Revise the revision with a view to making each chapter as brief and clear as possible

Written by: Garland A. Hendricks

If you have questions or comments, please email us at tbhc@bgct.org.

 

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