Part I
Starting at the Roots
In this part . . .
Youâre about to become an official genealogist â and you need to prepare yourself for the world of online genealogical research. This part sets you off in the right direction by introducing you to the basics of genealogy and helping you to form a coherent research plan. This part also shows you how to organise and preserve your finds, both online and offline.
Chapter 1
Laying the Groundwork and Planning Ahead
In This Chapter
Interviewing members of your family Putting a research plan together Finding genealogical records in your home Using official records to trace your ancestors Hold on tight! Youâre about to embark upon the journey of a lifetime â the journey of many lifetimes, in fact. The greatest journey begins with the first step. Well, although this bookâs about online genealogy, the first step in this adventure doesnât actually involve a computer â first, you need to lay the foundations of your research. Before you switch blindly into research mode, you need to decide what youâre looking for â and to do that you need to take stock of what you already know. In this chapter we guide you through your genealogical research from the very beginning. You start by gathering basic information about your family in the old-fashioned way â interviewing relatives, rummaging through forgotten boxes in the attic and using your finds to draw up a research plan.
We donât pretend that every piece of information you need about your ancestors is available online. It isnât. The online collections are magnificent and constantly expanding. Advances in technology mean that more and more diverse sets of records are now available at the touch of a button. These records set you galloping hard in the right direction, lay solid foundations for your research and help you build upon them. But online genealogy is just one of many tools that you can use to put together the pieces of your family puzzle. In this chapter we cover the basic points to bear in mind when you plan your research journey and offer tips on what you can do when you run into problems along the way. We also discuss several resources that you can rely on for genealogical information and provide a brief overview of a number of other resources you need to continue your research.
Making a Start: Taking Stock of What You Know
Taking the time to lay proper foundations for your research pays dividends later on: gathering basic information at the outset enables you to get going on the right foot and to construct a research plan based on your findings. However, lots of first-time genealogists make the same initial mistake. They become so excited at the prospect of finding their great-grandfather that they approach the task quite blindly. They switch on the computer, go online and type their ancestorâs name, such as Eric Davies, into one of the many genealogical websites. And the result? Three hundred entries for Eric Davies. Their faces fall and they give up on that particular line of research. Or worse, they pick up on a possible Eric Davies without verifying and cross checking the information and then spend years following a completely incorrect line.
We show you here how to lay proper foundations so that you can distinguish your Eric Davies from the dozens of others. All you need is to know a little bit more about him, and then you can make an informed decision â both about which Eric is the magic one and whether the website youâve chosen can provide sound information to further your research.
Weâll share a little secret with you now. If youâre in the fortunate position of having family archives with full sets of birth, marriage and death certificates, so you have good, verified information, you could by all means start with a particular ancestor, as long as youâre certain the information is correct. However, if youâre starting out on your family history for the first time, or if you know nothing about your family tree, your starting point for your genealogical research project shouldnât be a distant ancestor like Great Grandfather Eric. Instead, begin with someone you know â yourself.
Making notes about yourself: the biographical sketch
You already know a great deal about yourself â probably more than anyone else knows about you. You probably know your date of birth, place of birth, parentsâ names and where youâve lived. But the first step of your research project is to write down everything you know about yourself. This can be done in a number of ways. You may choose to begin in the here and now and to work back through your life, recording details such as places of residence, occupations, birth dates of children, marriages, dates of military service and other significant events in your life. Donât forget to record your birth date and the names of your parents.
Alternatively, you may begin with your birth and work chronologically through the events of your life, up to the present day.
You may find that your thoughts and memories come in a flood and end up rather jumbled. It is, therefore, a good idea to compile your biographical sketch on your computer so that you can rearrange your entries at a later stage.
Whichever method you choose, take time and care over this initial stage. In the weeks and months to come, youâll probably see just how valuable this information is â and wish that all your ancestors had recorded their details in the same way. If you have time, try expanding your biographical sketch into something resembling an autobiography. This document can be an invaluable insight into your life if you ever become the focus of a research project conducted by any of your descendants. We expect the popularity of genealogical research to last!
Locating primary and secondary sources
As you complete your biographical sketch, you may be surprised at just how much you know about yourself â just look at the sheer number ...
