When someone has the urge to begin tracing their genealogy, the question is “Where do I start?” This article offers ideas on how to begin in a logical, orderly way.
Everyone who has traced their genealogy had an initial urge. Perhaps stories told at a family reunion or a funeral. Perhaps seeing grandma’s old address book. Perhaps a project for school. Everyone had to start somewhere, but where? Is there a right way? Is there a wrong way?
Begin Family History Research with the Present Time and Generation
All books on how to conduct genealogy research say the same thing: Begin your research with the present time and generation. That means with you, your parents, and maybe one more generation. And, if you have children, “research” on them as well. Of course, research on yourself and your children is really a matter of having the right documents in the right place.
As you begin this research, you have no idea where it will take you. Do you just want to know about a few generations so as to know more about yourself? Do you have a school project where the teacher says take it back to your great-grandparents? Or are you suddenly curious to know as much about your family as possible, going back as far as possible? Should you eventually find yourself in this last category, you will be thankful to have learned how to conduct research properly from the start.
So begin with yourself. Draw a pedigree chart (or use a pre-printed one) beginning with yourself. Add all the information requested: birth date, birth place, marriage date and place; and, for those who went before you, death date and place.
Don’t Ignore Family Lore and the At-Home Clues
Stories and information passed down through the family can be called family lore. While not always correct, family lore can be a wealth of information. So can items in the house, or the house of a relative. Such items as military medals, photographs, a family Bible, a funeral card, etc. can give basic information from which to springboard. “First steps involve discovering these clues, organizing them into a coherent pattern, and then following them on what might be the most remarkable and compelling journey of your life: the reconstruction and preservation of your own family’s history.” [The Source, page 7]
Don’t Skip a Generation in Genealogy Research
Early in your research you might encounter family lore that sounds interesting. “Our family is descended from Patricia Alden who came on the Mayflower.” Or maybe “The John Pierce whom Pierceville was named for was your great-great-great-grandfather,” but nobody can find the link.
Note these tidbits of family lore, and file them for future research. Someday you may be able to work your way back to that John Pierce. Then the family lore can be included in your sources. But don’t skip the intervening generations and research John Pierce of Patricia Alden. It’s so tempting to do that, but should family lore turn out to be wrong, you will have wasted time, effort, and perhaps documentation money.
Begin Early to Document Sources
A mistake many, if not all, genealogists make is to fail to document where information comes from. Years later you might come upon a note that says “Aunt Tillie b. 6/7/1891”. You might since then have found conflicting information. You know where the new information came from and suspect it might not be correct. But how did you find out about Aunt Tillie in the first place? Might that birth date found a long time ago be more accurate than the one you found recently?
So when you obtain a piece of data that is important enough to write down, also write down the source, even if the source is nothing more than “Family lore as told by Judy Smith.” Having that much information will allow you to consider the accuracy of the data. Would Judy Smith have been more likely to know Aunt Tillie’s birthday than your other source?
Documentation includes having copies of critical documents such as birth and marriage certificates. Obtain a copy of your own birth certificate and put it in your genealogy file. Do so for any living ancestors. In some states birth certificates are not available for genealogy research due to privacy laws. So it’s important to get these documents soon after you begin researching. Eventually, should you go on to research many generations in many family lines, you will acquire many documents. Learning how to obtain and properly file them at an early stage is good discipline for future research.
Genealogy is a wonder hobby to many. Almost all genealogists begin casually, and end up being passionate about their avocation. Starting off in the right way pays many dividends in the future.
Reference: The Source: A guidebook of American Genealogy, 1997, Ed. by Szucs and Luebking
David A. Todd - David Todd is a civil engineer, a genealogist, a citizen concerned with the environment, and a writer by passion.
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