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Getting Started On Your Family Tree Updated: 17 May 2007 By: Rick Roberts, Biography & Archived Articles Beginning a family history project is much simpler than you think. Always begin with what you know and work back in time. Begin with yourself, then your parents, then grandparents, and so on. Records of birth, marriage and death are the first bits of biographical information that you need to gather to positively identify people and confirm genetic and social relationships. Steps-by Step process for beginning a family tree project: Step 1. Record what you know about your family.
Record what you have learned about yourself and your ancestors on a paper Pedigree Chart or in a family tree software. A Pedigree Chart helps you to visualize the relationships between you and your ancestors. Family Group Research Forms are helpful for recording family groups. They provide a place to record names and vital events for a set of parents, their marriage, and their children. A new Family Group Research Form is needed for every family unit. If a person was married twice, a different Family Group Research Form is needed for each family unit. If you decide to use family tree software rather than paper forms, the software will generate completed Pedigree Charts and Research Forms, populated with the information that you have entered into the software. Genealogy software programs can generate dozens of different charts and reports and are very easy to use.
It is a good idea to audio or video record your family interviews because you will be able to replay them and pick up new bits of information each time you listen. Remember to get permission before recording your interviews. Beyond the oral information that your relatives can provide ask to copy any documents, sources of information or photographs that they may share, such as:
2. Letters 3. Scrapbooks 4. Newspaper clippings 5. Announcements 6. School records 7. Family Bibles 8. Baby books 9. Medical records 10. Photo albums 11. Certificates 12. Church records 13. Memorial cards 14. Family traditions 15. Autograph books 16. Other family books Digital Cameras and document scanners can be a big help insofar as copies can be made without having to borrow the document or photograph. If your relative is willing to lend you a document, make sure that you return it promptly and in an unaltered condition.
Institutions such as governments, libraries, religious organizations, employers, service clubs and others, house a wealth of information to help the family historian. The key is learning which records are available, where those records reside, how to access to them, and how to interpret and use them once you have them in hand. There are how-to books to help you locate records for most countries in the world. Oftentimes there are also how-to books for finding records for specific immigration groups -- examples include The United Empire Loyalists or Home Children. Many institutions and governments are beginning to digitize their documents and create electronic indexes to help you find the document you desire. Research guides are now including references for both traditional (physical) and online resources for family history research. Some important categories of institutional and government records include:
Also available are books of transcribed vital records. Vital records are the documentary evidence of important events in a people's lives, that help the researcher to uncover their roots. An example is the availability of published transcriptions of announcements of birth, marriage and death that were originally printed in newspapers. Also transcriptions of inscriptions of memorial stones in cemeteries, marriage registers, baptism registers, burial registers, funeral home records, land records, wills & probate, census, military muster lists, and much more. Local histories often provide useful information about specific people and families from a specific community. Local histories also help researchers understand the place so we can better understand what our ancestors lives were like. This page is under construction today. Please bookmark it and check back later. Step 5: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Subscribing to family tree magazines and periodicals provides a rich source of ideas and research strategies. Don't forget to subscribe to our FREE online magazine. It's complimentary! Shopping Cart & Order Desk Global Genealogy & History Shoppe 1-800-361-5168 ( 9-5 Monday to Friday )
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