How to Research Family Genealogy

Researching family genealogy can be puzzling but with these steps it should make the job easier

Things You'll Need

• tape recorder/camcorder/camera (optional)
• pen and paper
• access to Internet
• genealogy software

Instructions

1. First, start with what you know about your family history. Write down important dates and names. It might be easier to have some sort of genealogy software like family tree maker to input the data

2. Interview relatives about the history of the family. Older relatives make a great source for getting detailed genealogical information. Not only that they can tell interesting stories about the family which is a great addition to your research. You might want to bring a tape recorder or video camera to record because it might be a little difficult to write everything down.

3. Records. After getting details from relatives you can now begin to research more details. I would look up census records of your ancestors to located them and get vital information from them. Sometimes you can even view or get copies of their birth certificates and death certificates. Other records you may want to look into our adoption, wills, deeds, and military. To gain access to records you can go to your local library or it might be available on the Internet. Visit cemeteries to locate relatives so you can document it. It is important to get as many copies of family historical records as you can. It might be beneficial to have a camera to take photographs of documents if you cannot get copies.

4. Photographs. Go through the family photos and try to identify as many relatives as possible from all the records you have collected. Match a face with the details.

5. Filling in the spaces. If you have trouble identifying or locating relatives which is a good possibility I would suggest going to an Internet genealogy website or maybe your local community has a genealogy group and posting the information you have. I have found when I did this I came in contact with long distance relatives who helped me fill in holes with my own family genealogy. Some websites I would recommend is Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com and the Mormon church has the largest free collection of family genealogy and their site is FamilySearch.org

6. After you done all the research you can I would input everything into a genealogy software program so you can make your own family tree. After putting in all the data you can create you own album and put photographs and stories from relatives and make copies and have it bound. In my family there was a videotape and dvd made of the family photos set to music which I thought was quite nice.

   Hopefully these pointers will help you on your quest to find about your family. Good luck!