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12 Tips for Starting Your Family History Getting StartedHere are some tips for starting your genealogy and family history research: 1. Start with yourself and what you already know about your families. Look around home and ask relatives for copies of documents and artifacts they may have about the families you have in common. Look in those documents for all the dates and other information that may help you identify your ancestors. 2a. Use charts to make the information you have found easier to track - for yourself and for those who try to help you. Charting helps to show the relationships and the information you already have - and more importantly, what you still need to find. All the surnames and the "Uncle Joe," "Aunt Mary" and "Poppy Smith" references make a chart absolutely necessary to get the most from your research. 2b. Form a search strategy. Decide on a piece of information you want to find and then think of possible ways to locate that information. Without a particular research goal in mind, you won't know when you have found what you want. If other information comes out from that particular research, great! A search strategy helps you organize the questions you want to ask those who may help with your search in various institutions. It also help you form your online searches. 3. Vital records searches are next. Gather birth, death and marriages certificates. Don't be surprised if the spelling of names varies from the spellings with which you are familiar. Dates also may vary. Don't worry if you cannot locate all the dates. You can fill them in as your research continues. If you have no idea when an ancestor died in the 20th Century, try to Social Security Death Index (SSDI) and look for obituaries which often contain essential information. 4. Census Schedules for population provide helpful information to begin filling in missing pieces. Remember that 1930 is the latest census for which personal information has been released by the government. The 1940 information is expected to be available in April 2012. Most of the 1890 US Census disappeared in a fire. Other censuses reviewed the agricultural and manufacturing lives of our ancestors and named their physical infirmities. 5. Online Databases can also help with filling in missing pieces. The databases include not only the census schedules but military registrations (even if you ancestor did not serve in the military) and military record indexes, scattered vital records, voter and tax lists, directories, yearbooks, membership lists, local government records such as land ownership, wills, and court orders, patent registrations, and much more. 6. Newspaper and book databases are searchable by names or keywords in many cases and surprisingly often contain the names of people who were not famous. Doesn't take a lot of effort to run their names and you may find an interesting tidbit! 7a. Public libraries have material that may be relevant to your search. If your ancestors lived in the area served by your public library, you may find maps, newspapers, records, indexes, directories, and many other documents that can help with your search. If your ancestors lived in places far away, your local library still may have much helpful material - both in the local history collection and in various areas of the nonfiction sections. You also will want to seek out the public libraries that serve the areas where you ancestors once lived and through online catalogs and Ask-A-Librarian contacts, learn what is available about them in those areas. 7b. Interlibrary Loan lets you get materials from other libraries of various types, often at little or no charge. You often can borrow books or microfilm. If the material cannot be borrowed, you may be able to obtain photocopies of particular pages from an index or from a book if you know the pages. Cheaper than a trip to that library, most often. Don't forget to use your favorite search engine or ask a librarian to check to see if the index (or even the book in some cases) is online to give you a head start. 8. Courthouses and other government facilities are treasure troves of records for the areas they serve. Become familiar with the types of records and the offices that maintain the records. These vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and are worth the time it takes to learn about them. 9. University libraries often have material in their collections which span many states and countries. Take advantage of their online web sites to find out what they have - and remember that most libraries have uncataloged materials which may be known only to the librarians. Ask for help with specific questions - and never, ever tell the academic libraries you are searching for an ancestor. Phrase a specific question to help these busy librarians help you. Actually, librarians in most libraries are quite busy and they want to help you find what you want ... so help them by knowing what you want to know and phrasing it as directly as you can. 10. Archives collect important records that otherwise might disappear and organize them to be findable. They usually have knowledgeable archivists at work who are delighted to locate the kinds of records they have to help you help yourself. Again, be mindful of their time and ask specific questions. 11. Special libraries serve many institutions from public and private corporations to organizations such as museums, think tanks, and zoos. Some charge for access to their records. Keep these in mind if you are looking for a piece of information that may be in the files. 12. Waiting for your ancestors to be ready to be found is a part of genealogical research. If you don't find them in today's search, try again. Think of other places you might search. Map their travels to and from a locale. Investigate groups to which they belonged. Re-try online database where new material is added often. Go back over the material you already have found ... because something you learned in the early days may take on new meaning in light of what you have learned in the meantime. Enjoy the hunt! Contact the Local History Specialist for assistance. |
August 2008