How Do I Start My Family Tree?
1. Start with yourself.
Write down your first, middle, last name.
Date you were born - month, day, year.
Place you were born - city, county, state
There are some rules in Genealogy (the study of researching ones family tree or family history) to remember.
RULE #1: ALWAYS write down your resource of where your information came from.
2. Write your father's information just like you did your own in number 1.
If your father is deceased:
Date he died - month, day, year
Place he died - city, county, state
3. Write your mother's information just like you did in number 1 and 2 except write her maiden name, not her married last name.
4. Put all this information on an organized sheet called a "Family Group Sheet".
5. Add your siblings's information, if you have any, just like in number 1 and 2.
6. Your first "Family Group Sheet" is finished.
7. Put this "Family Group Sheet" in a file folder (wal-mart sells 100 file folders for under $3.00).
8. Or you can start you a notebook with tab dividers.
9. Label your file folder or tabbed divider with the Father's name.
10. Find the oldest, living person in your family. Let them know you are starting a Family Tree and would like to get some information from them. Offer to share all your findings with them. Thank them for the information you get from them which will be the same information that you wrote down on your first "Family Group Sheet" but with thier immediate family. Them as a child listed on their parents page just like yours.
11. Get all the "Family Group Sheets" you can, from them, on individuals in your family that they can remember.
12. After you get all the "Family Group Sheets" you can from them, ask your parents, aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles, etc. for "Family Group Sheets" on individuals that they remember of that you already don't have. They may can even fill in some blanks on "Family Group Sheets" you have already collected.
13. If a child on the "Family Group Sheet" is married they will be listed on their parents page and then also have a "Family Group Sheet" of their own.
14. Don't forget to file each "Family Group Sheet" in it's own file folder and label them with the Father's name.
15. After you have accumulated over three file folders of "Family Group Sheets" you can keep them in alphabetical order by last names. Then when you want to find a certain family you can find it easily by the last name.
16. One further step is to make a list of each person in alphabetical order so you can find which "Family Group Sheet" they are on.
17. It is always best to keep a hard copy of all your findings and to start out organized. You will collect so much information it will be overwhelming and you won't be able to find anything if you don't start out organizing and keeping it organized.
18. Another and easy way to keep your information if you have a computer is on a Famiy Tree Program. There are lots to choose from. Some are free based with some blocked options on them and some you must pay for. You can find these on the internet. Legacy 6.0 is a free standard download and is what I started with and still have information on. They also have a deluxe version you can buy. A couple of others are Family Tree Maker and the best I have read about would be Roots Magic. There are alot of other programs but will not list them all.
RULE #2: When uploading your Family Tree to the internet, Respect Your Living Relatives Right To Privacy. Mark the living as living. Don't broadcast living persons and their personal information on the internet for Identity Theives to get.
19. Assuming you have all the "Family Group Sheets" you can possibly write up from your memory and everyone else's memory in your family, then it is time to start finding documents to prove that each person does indeed exist and that your dates and places are correct.
RULE #3: All Docmentation is fiction until proven a fact.
Things to look for around your home and to ask relatives about:
1. Birth Certificates
2. Marriage Certificates
3. Death Certificates
4. Family Bibles
5. Diaries
6. Journals
7. Old Newspaper clippings
8. Obituaries
9. In Memory Of .... from funeral homes
10. Report Cards
11. Diplomas
12. Certificates
13. Old ID cards
14. Old Drivers License
16. Old bills
17. Letters
18. On back of old pictures
19. Baptism Certificates
20. Business Licenses
21. Old bank statements or old checks
22. Old greeting cards
23. Guest books from funerals, weddings, etc.
24. Year books
25. Church bulletins
26. Church newsletters
27. Old school books
28. Anything that you can think of that would or could have names, dates, places and/or pictures in it or on it.
RULE #4: ALWAYS write down your resource of where your information came from. (Just another reminder.)
When you have found your documentations ask if you can get copies and put all these things in the appropriate file folder. If the person the documentation is for is married, then the documents will be filed with thier married family file folder. If the person has never been married then their documentation will be filed in their parents file folder. If you have a notebook instead of file folders then insert each document into plastic sheet dividers and file them under the correct family tab divider.
RULE #5: If someone lets you get copies of documentation or gives you any kind of information, be sure to Thank them and offer to share your information.
If you have a computer and scanner, scan all documents that you collect and insert them into your family tree program with the appropriate person.
After you have searched your whole house for documentation and have asked all relatives for documentation and everything is filed in it's place then it is time to start filling in more blanks and finding more of your grandparents. You'll be suprised to find out how many grandparents you have that you didn't realize you had.
Places in your own town and surrounding towns to look for more information at:
1. Other persons in your family researching the same family tree
2. Graveyards
3. Funeral Homes
4. Local Archive Buildings
5. Local Libraries (don't forget the college libraries that are close to you)
6. Local Historians
7. State Court Houses
8. Local Libraries
9. Old Church records
Some places on the internet to look for even more information:
1. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
2. http://genealogy.com/index_r.html
3. http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp
4. http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/index.shtml
5. http://www.census-online.com/
6. http://www.genealogy.org/
7. http://www.findagrave.com/
8. http://www.footnote.com/
9. http://www.deadfred.com/
10. http://www.myheritage.com/genealogy
11. http://www.ancestry.com/
12. http://theoldentimes.com/index.html
Places to keep track of your genealogy:
1. http://www.myfamily.com/welcome/
2. http://www.familytreemaker.com/
3. http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/
4. http://www.genopro.com/family-tree-software/
5. http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp?page=home/welcome/simplePAFRegistration.asp
6. http://www.myheritage.com/family-tree-builder
7. http://www.rootsmagic.com/
Online genealogy newletters, magazines, etc. to help with your research and learning:
1. http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/03/labeling-digital-genealogy-image...
2. http://www.rootstelevision.com/
3. http://www.familytreemagazine.com/GeneralMenu/
4. http://amberskyline.com/treasuremaps/
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrWf6VmKVCs&feature=related
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk2RVQBLrq4&feature=related
7. http://www.newspaperarchive.com/keywordlanding.aspx?key=obituaries2&WT.term=Ad+%2370188...
8. http://personallifemedia.com/podcasts/415-family-history
Good Luck with your researching and hope to meet up with you later!!
Deborah
© 2009 Deborah Claxton
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Contributor's Note
This is a rough draft of my article. No findings of your family tree are guaranteed. What you find depends on how hard you search. I hope this article will help you in researching your family tree. To help keep you organized read my other intels. Thanks and happy hunting!!
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