Start a family tree based on what you know
Where to start? How I can even begin to build a family tree? These are questions I hear all the time from people who want to get started, but have no idea how. Our time is precious and there is no reason to waste weeks months or even years stumbling around trying to start working on a project of this magnitude.
What Are you sure?
The first thing to tell people is to make a short list of what they know for sure. From the most basic information that you can start building your tree. It is likely that know your date of birth parents and birthplaces. If you know the details of his grandfather, who is even better. If it does, however, there is no need to feel frustrated. The information can probably be found.
If in doubt about any of the information they have gathered, just put an asterisk by it and remember this is only a guess. There is nothing worse than sticking in a particular way they were sure it was correct only to discover later that was wrong.
Do not reinvent the wheel
Too many of us will seek and find information that has already been met. I ask people if someone in your family has done researching your tree before. Almost always get a no answer. After some questions more often you change your answer and say something like … "Well, I think my cousin did something like this a few years ago but it was only by my mother. "
Well, there you go. If your cousin or someone who did research for you, then why will spend years looking for the same information already found? Do not be afraid to ask your family for the information gathered. Most of the time you'll probably find they are happy to share with you.
Those of us who are in Genealogy are happy to find someone who is also interested in him. It is not owned information. Genealogy is the research of the family that is meant to benefit the whole family.
Distant relatives and Help
When you think about your grandfather, secondly, to realize that there are probably a lot of people around today about it. People had a lot of kids at that time. In turn, there were many children and so on and so on.
The first place to start is to look for distant relatives and see what research they have done on their common ancestor. This is a continuous process. Will never end. I constantly find articles, message boards and entire Web sites dedicated to the ancestors of the mines that were initiated by a relative distant.
You can do a simple Internet search for your ancestor to find this information or if you decide to join a website like ancestry.com you can find much there. There are family trees of people out there online, which might contain your ancestor.
As these trees carefully and see how their data coincides with yours. A note of caution however would take the information with a grain of salt. Many times, unfortunately it seems to me trees that contain inaccurate information. Although the trees began with the best intentions there are errors, however.
Perhaps your relative far was related to his uncle instead of his second great grandfather seconds and not worry about the accuracy of the information on your ancestor. Many of these trees have on the facts of other trees and perpetuate misinformation.
That's why you should always get a second source to back up what you've found. Not totally dependent of the relatives of others trees. Usually we find that many people have pieces of the puzzle, but not the whole picture. Take it on yourself to be the one that puts everything together in a coherent package.
If you find information that conflicts with the investigation of another person, do not be afraid to oppose it. All want the truth and nothing but the truth. A researcher would be happy to know he found something he could not.
The tracks in front of you
A good tip to start your research is to talk to so many people in your family as possible. Everyone knows something that nobody else knows. Ask your relatives what they know about of their ancestors. You can find out why his grandparents emigrated to other parts of the country. Any information you find out, I guarantee you will not regret.
Do not spend forever trying to find something your own mother or aunt knows. It gathers together stories and catalog. Ask your family a number of important questions not normally arise in regular conversation. Write the questions down and hit her in a kind of interview.
Good questions might be in As important milestones in their families past. Such as why they moved and when the decision was taken. Make a list of the ancestors that we know so far and go through the list asking relatives what they know about each person. Do you actually meet the ancestors or what stories were passed?
Recently I found a distant relative living in the same city as me, who really knew and I knew my second great grandfather. This information is priceless when considering a statement eyewitness of what happened 80 years ago. No book will contain stories of what life was like for them.
Cite your sources
I know, knew. It is the first rule of genealogy. Can not be emphasized enough however. Not only the actual documentation of sources, but the organization itself their material is crucial. When you are on a roll that is so tempting to continue on the next page and discover even more non-stop and documentation which got the information.
I've done this myself. I get excited when I find something and go on to become what he was seeking. Then I step back and say: "Now, where I can find this information? Website What was that about? Then, the retreat begins.
Resist the temptation to rush. Stop writing everything down. Organize the information on your computer and a printout. If not, imagine the frustration of losing your entire hard disk at shutdown.
If you can, get a file cabinet and start stuffing it full. Eventually need more than one, but is a start. Be sure to find a way to organize that makes sense for you. People will tell you how to organize information, but each has its own way of remembering that something should be.
Taking care how to start a project of this magnitude will benefit in the years to come. It will save much time in the long term which can have more time to do a thorough investigation on people and unravel the mysteries of the past.
About the Author
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