How To Start A Genealogy Search

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How To Start A Genealogy Search

The best place to start a genealogy search is in your own backyard! Start by writing down your immediate family. Because genealogy and family tree searches are both horizontal and vertical in nature, you are best to place yourself, as well as your brothers and sisters, on the same line (literally or figuratively).

Start by asking questions, if the relatives are available. If you know of some living relatives, such as aunts and uncles, cousins, etc., call or write to them and ask if they can provide you with the information for themselves and for each relative they remember; even incomplete details are better than none.

Information that will be helpful to you in your genealogy search will be first and last names, dates, and places of birth and death, names of children and dates of their birth and death. The information is invaluable; if you receive a letter with the information, keep it forever—it will become a family heirloom document for later generations.

Sometimes it’s quite interesting to type your own name (first or last) in the search engine on the Internet. You’ll bring up articles about other people with your first or last time—(or both). it’s more of a temporary diversion, since most people with your first name (unless it’s particularly unusual or passed down through generations) won’t be related to you.

Latter Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) gathers and maintains international genealogy search records, including the largest genealogy library in the world, known as the Family History Library. In addition, it also has 3,400 family history centers and over 2,000,000 rolls of microfilm. Obviously, not all are available online, although the church does have a free Internet Family Search service.

The church keeps records of infant blessings, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths. The church also encourages its members to keep records—with this additional input, newspapers, magazines, temple records, membership records, and journals are also available. In addition, they also offer biographies, church censuses from 1914, church histories, and various other items of research.

Software

There are many sources of family tree and genealogy search software, both downloadable online (for a fee) or for purchase at local computer or department stores. Many software packages include a limited membership to one or more of several databases available to your genealogy search online. If you are provided with a trial offer (for two months, for instance), use that resource as much as possible to ensure you get the highest value for your purchase. Remember, however, that responsibility to cancel after the trial period becomes your responsibility, and forgetfulness is not necessarily a basis to request a refund.