Tips on how to get started

 

Occasionally someone who knows Iím into the genealogy stuff asks me how they can get started.Ý Hereís my list of ideas for the beginner.

 

  1. This is probably the first and MOST IMPORTANT thing to do ń Talk to anyone and everyone in your family ń the older the better!Ý Pick their brains for any knowledge they have of your relatives and ancestors.Ý Write down or record everything they say.Ý Someday youíll be glad you did this.Ý I canít tell you how many times Iíve wished I could talk to one of my grandparents now that I know that they knew things Iíve been digging for.
  2. For every individual, learn as much as you can.Ý The essential data is full name (watch out for nicknames and people who go by their middle name), birth date, birth place, marriage date, marriage name, spouse, death date, death place, and burial place.Ý These are the most useful pieces of information.Ý But donít stop there.Ý Youíre really working on a story ń the story of your family.Ý Every bit on information helps tell that story.Ý Learn (and record) everything you can.
  3. Get organized.Ý From the very beginning establish some good record-keeping habits.Ý There are many very helpful forms you can download and print.Ý One nice collection is available at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/freeforms Two I would really urge you to use:Ý a family group sheet, and an ancestor or pedigree chart.Ý Use family group sheets to keep track of the members of a family (parents and children).Ý Use the pedigree chart to build your family tree.Ý There are many other useful form, but itís easy to get buried in paper.
  4. Document your sources.Ý This is important.Ý Note your source for every bit of information you find.Ý Thereís lots of data out there that isnít document and is based on assumptions, often faulty.Ý When you look at data, look for the sources to decide if itís really a certainty, or if it might be questionable.
  5. After youíve done your initial interviews and gotten some good data, look to the web.Ý A great starting point is the WorldConnect database at Rootsweb.com (http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com )Ý The database has 100s of millions of user-contributed names.Ý Start by searching for the oldest ancestors youíve found.Ý Keep in mind that itís bad form to post data about living people on the web.Ý You will find some information, but for the most part, what you find on the web will begin with people several generations back in your family.
  6. Another way to search the web is using your favorite search engine (I prefer Google).Ý Use your family name and ěgenealogyî as search terms.Ý You might get really lucky this way.Ý Beware about one thing.Ý You will get a lot of hits that lead you to data that costs money, mostly from Ancestry.com.Ý Most of this isnít bad, but I have yet to pay for anything Iíve found.Ý Thereís almost always a better way.
  7. By now youíve probably gotten yourself buried in forms and are starting to get a bit confused about how everyoneís related.Ý Itís time to spend some money on computer software.Ý This will help keep you from going nuts! ÝFamilyTreeMaker (http://familytreemaker.com ) is possibly the most popular and most available.Ý Personally, I like Legacy (http://www.legacyfamilytree.com ).Ý Itís as good (if not better) than ÝFamilyTreeMaker and itís cheap!Ý The starting version is a free download.Ý The full-function version is only $29.95.Ý If you are a Mac user, look at Reunion (http://www.leisterpro.com )
  8. If youíre like the rest of us, youíre probably now obsessed!Ý Itís time to start learning how to dig into census records, church records, vital statistics, and other sources.Ý Thatís another set of instructions!

 

Good Luck!