Tips on Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families, their histories and traditions. Interest in the study of genealogy has increased over the past decade thanks to the Internet which helps put history and data at our fingertips. In spite of this convenience, genealogists and amateur genealogists still have to do a lot of digging in order to locate and complete their family histories.
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Beginning the Search for Your Roots
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Start by gathering any information that you have about your family. Begin with yourself and your immediate family. Write down everything you can such as names, birth dates and places, marriages and dates and deaths. Then contact your family and ask for any additional information that they can give you. You will likely gain a host of information from your parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins. Be sure to document where you get your information in case you want to share or eventually publish it. Consider purchasing a genealogy software program for your computer to make it easier to keep track of all the information you are going to acquire.
Interview Your Family
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Genealogy is about more than listing births, marriages and deaths. Interview your parents, grandparents and anyone else you can think of that may have information and stories to share with you. Many families presently living in the United States have rich histories that involve parents, grandparents or great-grandparents immigrating here from many faraway countries. Check your family bible and have your relatives check theirs. Inquire about any documentation that provides detailed information about things like divorces, births, military service or weddings. Ask if anyone knows about or has any family journals containing dated information or interesting family stories.
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Gather Online Information
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You can find a wealth of information on-line. Some genealogy websites such as Ancestry.com require a fee, but many others such as MyHeritage.com and Rootsweb.Ancestry.com are free and not only can they help you with your genealogy search, but you can find plenty of information as well as forums on them. Some also have monthly newsletters to keep you updated on what's new in genealogy and you can subscribe to most of them for no cost.
A Word of Caution
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Your genealogy research could take you far and beyond the scope of what you might have thought was possible. If you are using the Internet as a tool for sharing and posting information about your family history and findings, ensure that you privatize your computer files before you send them anywhere and don't post private information about living relatives online. If you come across new family members that invite you to meet them, don't visit them alone; take another family member or friend with you.
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References
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- Photo Credit burial stone markers image by Tom Oliveira from Fotolia.com
