Tips to Genealogy Research

Genealogical research can be a very expensive, time consuming and may take an extroadinary amount of effort invested. However, it can prove to be the adventurous journey of a lifetime.

I suggest one take their time in the process. You must control the process and not allow it at any point to control you. It can be educational as well as exciting.

I have learned the various tips I will list here along the way during my thirteen years of research after the intitial eight year of searching for my birth parents and siblings. Some I have been able to utilize myself and others due to my unique circumstances I was unable to.

I have attempted to list my tips by stages of your research. It allows for an orderly process though you may arrange your search in the manner most comfortable for you.

Before beginning your research I strongly suggest following these three steps:

A. Create a search journal; this will assist you in keeping track of the steps you have taken in your search.

B. Create a search file/binder in which to place all documents, interviews or photographs you may obtain during your search. Save the information in an orderly way as to preserve the information you have gathered(future generations will appreciate it and you will to when searching for information quickly) I use plastic sheet protectors on all of my documents (keeping dirty fingers off of them)

C. As early in your search as possible, if you have a computer with Internet access; join Genealogy newsgroups for the cities, states or countries you may be searching and/or support groups. They can not only provide resources to search but also moral support during your search process.


RESEARCH TIPS:


Start With Your Immediate Household:

The first step in genealogy is to identify what you already know. Start with yourself and work backward in time by filling in as much information as you can, by memory, on a Family Tree Chart. When you're done, you'll know who's missing in your family tree.

Here's the information you'll need for each missing person:

Full name (including maiden names for women)

Dates for vital events (birth, death, marriage, residence, etc.