How to Record Locations for Genealogy

Studying the history of your family can be interesting as well as open lines of communication with older members of the family.

Putting together a family tree requires deep genealogy digging. When you are searching out names and dates of relatives, it is often helpful to record as much location information as you can find as well. With each step backwards the records can become more difficult to locate and if you have a general area to start your search you are more likely to be successful.

Things You'll Need

• Recording device (paper and pen or computer)
• Information about your family

Instructions

1. Write out the name on the family tree or in the database. With each record you will have space to record location information.

2. Begin with the smallest location. Write it on the first line below the name. If you have a street address, you will start with this. Write out the address fully without abbreviations to avoid any confusion about the place.

3. Record the next smallest location information on the next line such as city. Oftentimes you can record city, county, and state on the same line. The country usually goes on the line below.

4. Repeat these steps for each person you have on your chart. For some you might have less information. Sometimes you might only have country information so the entry will be a single line.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are using a database it can be easy to decipher what each name means as you can label columns "county," "city," etc.

• If you are writing out the information you should clearly mark what each name is whether it is county or city. Some people choose to then write each on a separate line to make things clear such as:

• Address: 123 Blank Street

• City: Nowhere

• County: Polk

• State: Illinois

• Country: United States of America

• Computers can make this process much more simple and helps if you need to replace information.

• If you are handwriting everything, you should leave blanks for location in case you are able to acquire the information later in the process.

• If you choose to do everything on a separate line, the tree can become very large. Be sure to have a way to add additional sheets of paper or expanding the writing area.

References

• National Archives: Resources for Genealogists
• Kristen's Guide: How to Record Genealogy Data