What is Genealogy?

Genealogy is the process of researching your family tree. It is a fascinating and often addicting hobby. It can create bonds and friendships between family members and even distant relatives. It often engenders deep respect and awe for ancestors. You probably will uncover a few skeletons along the way. It's okay, we all have them. So, get started and have some fun!

How do I get started?

Start with a pedigree chart. Write down all the relatives you know - starting with yourself, of course. Add siblings and parents. Don't forget uncles, aunts, cousins. Everyone fits into the picture. Talk to older relatives. They may not be as good at remembering what happened yesterday, but those characters can sure remember what happened 25, 50, even 75 years ago. They love to talk so let them. Ask them if you can tape record the session. And ask questions. They remember the strangest things. Like nicknames and odd habits. Their stories help to create images of real people in your mind, not just names and dates. Ask them if they have any pictures that you can have or get copied. Write the names and dates on the backs of the pictures. You may not remember who they are after they have gone.

Genealogy Survival Tips

1. Always have paper and pencil or pen and take notes. Memories have a way of adding or subtracting information at times.

2. Take a small tape recorder if you have one. Always as permission to record any conversation.

3. Always note where your information came from. If you have to go back to get more information you won't be forced to rely only on your memory. If it was a book write the title, author and page number and where you found the book. You will be dealing with a lot of small details.

4. Ask all of your family members if they have any family bibles, genealogies and histories. They can be an excellent source of genealogy information.

5. Find a filing system that works for you and use it.

6. Researching genealogy tends to run in spurts. If you associate with others who are doing research they will keep your enthusiasm going. Also, remember to give more of your time to the living - in other words - don't forget your living family!

7. Don't get discouraged if you run into brick walls. Take a break from that line and research a different ancestor. You can always go back to the original when you feel energized. Also, there are different sources for information, if you hit one dead end, try another avenue.

8. Never take a date or a spelling in a census as the absolute truth. Numbers are very easy to transpose, like 1869 instead of 1896. The further back you go in census records the less educated the person being interviewed and the interviewer may be and the names were often spelled wrong. It isn't unknown for a name to be spelled two and even three different ways in wills or other "Official" papers.

9. Get birth certificates, marriage licenses and certificate and death certificates on everyfamily member you can. Marriage licenses usually show the parents. Birth certificates show ages, parents, witnesses and sometime other information. Death certificates usually have death dates, birth dates, parents, who reported the death and where person lived and thing like the causes of death.

10. Always verify your information. Handwriting is difficult to read. Even public documents can have misspellings. Be careful. And for whatever reason, sometimes people don't tell the truth. They may be embarrassed by the "black sheep" of the family or just plain didn't like them.

11. Don't forget to get church records on your family members such as baptismal certificates, christening certificates, marriage certificates and membership information. They can contain very valuable information.

12. Go to the cemeteries where your ancestors are buried and look for other family members. Tombstones even those that may not necessarily apply to your current direct family members may be of value. Take your camera and take pictures of the tombstones you are interested in so you can recheck later without having to drive back.

13. You should consider buying a good "Genealogy Software Program" if you have a computer so you can keep track of all your findings. Some of the more popular programs are: Legacy 4.0 Family Tree, Master Genealogist, Family Tree Maker, Generations Family Tree, Family Trees Quick & Easy 5.0, and Family Reunion for Windows. Or download a FREE Family Tree Software Program by clicking here

14. Try entering the name you are researching in the search engines like MSN, AOL, Google, Yahoo, Excite, Lycos, AltaVista, AskJeeves, and others. You not only find individuals, but web sites and some genealogical web rings.