Genealogy research tips

Some tips for the family about genealogy, including where to begin, living relatives, libraries, official records, on-line research, organizing your findings.

Genealogy is one of the most fascinating and rewarding hobbies that an individual, or a family can take up. It can also be one of the most frustrating – it can be time consuming, expensive and, the further back you try to trace your roots, the more difficult it can get to find accurate information. People take up genealogy for many different reasons – perhaps to determine their ethnic origin, to satisfy a passion for history or ‘detective’ work, or to explain certain family traits or characteristics. It’s the ideal hobby for a family to take up, as everyone can participate. Different family members can concentrate on different aspects or branches of the family.

The amount of information open to the family who takes up genealogy can be overwhelming. Many genealogists say that the obvious place to start is with those of your relatives that are still living. If you have grandparents – or great grandparents - who are still alive, they can be a useful source of information and can perhaps supply information about their own parents. Some researchers tape their relatives’ reminiscences for future reference. So it can be fairly easy to gather preliminary information going back several generations.

At some point in your research, you will probably find that one of your ancestors came from overseas. Many of us can proudly trace our roots back to somewhere in Europe. Ellis Island, where millions of immigrants arrived in the United Staes, has its own web site and can be an excellent place to start. This can make the trail even more difficult to follow – you may need to look at ships’ records, immigration records, and even try to obtain records kept in other countries. Some companies specialize in assisting researchers with a particular country. Many families eventually make a once-in-a-lifetime trip to their ancestor’s European homeland – this can be a memorable thing to do.

You can find a tremendous amount of information on-line, as many sources of reference are now available to anyone with a home computer. You may have to pay a monthly or yearly subscription to access much of the more useful information, or you may have to verify your credentials as a legitimate researcher. Decide whether the information is helpful to you, before you pay any subscription or fees. Some government departments also make records available for a small charge. There are many genealogy sites that have ‘notice boards’ where you can post messages, chat sessions with other enthusiasts, and links to other sites.

One of the first problems you encounter when starting out on the genealogy trail is the sheer amount of information - and how and where to store it. As soon as you start researching, decide how you are going to keep track of your findings – many beginners start out using basic storage such as filing cabinets, scrapbooks, and folders. Make sure your information is easy to find and cross-reference names and dates as much as you can. You can buy blank ‘pedigree’ charts which have the space to accommodate up to 15 generations of a family. Many people add in their own ‘extras’ such as newspaper cuttings, old letters, photographs, recipes, certificates, etc to add interest and make their findings a little bit more meaningful and interesting. The end result is more than just a list of names and dates – it’s a fascinating picture of your family.

If you have a home computer, you can buy several programs, ranging from the basic to the extremely sophisticated, which will allow you to create a family tree on your home computer. Most of these programs allow you to add notes, cross reference names and dates, and personalize your work. A computer can also store old photographs too, making a family tree ‘slide show’ a possibility. And best of all - a computer file can easily be shared with or transferred to other members of the family, for everyone to enjoy.