Researching Your Family Tree
Doing research on your family’s genealogy is a wonderful way to learn more about your ancestors. Although many families are familiar with parts of their “family tree”, there are still probably entire branches that need to be researched and explored. Finding out more about the history of your family can be a fascinating activity that you and your family can enjoy together. With the help of the Internet, researching the past can be easier than ever before. When you are researching your family’s history, many sources are useful for getting information, such as boxes of old family photos, written public records, and even stories passed on by older relatives. You can introduce your children and grandchildren to some of the wonderful relatives that they will never get to meet by doing your research now and recording the important facts. Documenting your family’s history will also give you the satisfaction of knowing you are compiling information that will be passed on to family members for generations to come.
Where You Should Start
A good place to start is with yourself, then work your way back into your family’s history. Document all the details and family history that you already know and you will have a better idea of what you still need to do more research on. Make sure you are careful in keeping good records, and be sure to include where you got the information. If you are fortunate enough to get verbal histories from some of your relatives, make sure to substantiate the information by finding original documents such as marriage, death, and birth certificates. Still, verbal information can be a rich source of clues that can help you find the facts you need. Keeping records can be much easier if you use forms and log sheets designed specifically for genealogical research. You can find free templates online, or simply make your own to suit your needs. Storing these pages in a binder, along with page protectors that you can use to store associated photos and documents, can help you stay organized.
Sources of Information
Immigration papers, military records, family Bibles, baptismal records, marriage and divorce certificates, verbal histories, birth and death certificates, journals, and diarys are all great places that you can gather information. Old photo albums can also be extremely useful. As you are doing your research, you might be fortunate enough to discover some old photographs that you didn’t even know existed. You might also enjoy making copies of a few of these old photos by using a scanner and a printer. These vintage photographs can then be displayed in 4×6 picture frames and you will have no need to worry about damaging them as you would the fragile originals. Online databases, search engines, and web sites devoted to providing free online family record search tools and information can all be extremely helpful.
Utilizing What You Find
Once you begin to research your family’s history, you might find your relatives will be interested in what you are doing. Most people would love to find out the history of their family, but they don’t want to take the time necessary to do the research. You should share the information you find with other relatives, so that everyone can benefit from your efforts. You can purchase some decorative charts to document your family tree, and then put them in some familiy picture frames to make a special gift for interested relatives.
Tags: ancestry, family history, geneology, researching family tree
