How to Use Family Sources in a Genealogy Search

Family members remain one of the best beginning sources of knowledge in your genealogy search.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer Monitors
• Printers
• Computer Desks
• Internet Access
• Printer Paper
• Computers
• Genealogy Software

1. Write down all the names you know on both sides of your parents' families. Begin with your name and work backward to your parents and then their parents.
2. Find your birth certificate. This contains your parents' legal names and birth dates.
3. Contact your parents, if possible, and solicit their help with names and dates. You'll likely find names of relatives you've never heard of but who were an integral part of your parents' early childhood experiences.
4. Check with your parents to see if they'll let you look through their family legal records (birth certificates, death certificates, military records). Make photocopies and return the originals to a safe place.
5. Go through old family photo albums. Look for writing on the backs and below the photos in the albums.
6. Look at framed photographs. Sometimes something such as an obituary notice is stored behind a photo in a picture frame.
7. Examine journals. Leaf through old books looking for notes written in them or papers placed between the pages. These are often found in old trunks in attics, but can even be found on everyday bookshelves.
8. Look behind old mirrors and pull out dresser drawers and look for taped messages.
9. Visit or call your relatives. Tell them what you're doing and what you've discovered. In most cases, they'll be delighted to help with your search and want to add missing names and dates.
10. Solicit stories from relatives. You'll find lots of treasured tales this way. This information can be added to a "note" section about each ancestor. These stories transform an ordinary genealogy into a piece of art.
11. Plan a family reunion based on the genealogy theme. This can be done at the onset of your search or after you've discovered new family members. Books are available to guide in planning a reunion based on a genealogical search.
12. Visit family cemeteries. Names, birth dates and death dates, as well as messages, are often found on the headstones. Cemetery records can also contain a wealth of information, and it's possible to find lost and unknown relatives buried near family members.
13. Record your information. Although you may do so manually, many reasonably priced software packages are available to aid in genealogical storage and organization. Almost all come with large resource databases. The majority of these software packages have free trial offers that you can download via the Web. This way, you can find the software that you like the best.
14. Create a family CD, Web site or newsletter. If you need help in getting started or in recording the information, many companies are available to help.

Tips & Warnings

• Family members are sometimes reluctant to provide information for whatever reason. Be prepared for this, and remember that the living are more important than the dead.