Jed Mutone: I began genealogy twenty five years ago and love it. First of all I disregarded al family gossip. I searched and used only valid source documents. On the interline, ancestry.com is one of the best.Learning the value of indexing is essential. If you cant find your ancestor try searching your ancestors neighbors--they lived at the same time and shared the similar problems. Keep trying every trick you can think of. Google is superb searching. I found a lot just by guessing at things. I got back as far as the 14th century--though before 1600 gets very murky and suspicious. Finding and using an ancestors will is most productive--if you can find the right records court! Military service even in the 1600s is a good trail. reading town histories is essential. There are so many roads. But if you love history, the long years and a hundred libraries is something you will never forget. Good luck to you. In the process you will find yourself....Show mor! e
Riley Migl: One beginning tip is to fully realize that every person in the world is unique, and what works for you, won't work for the next person. It WILL NOT ALL BE ONLINE, it will not all be in one place. The Mormon Temple will not have your birth certificate for example, since it is legally protected. My mother was born in 1909; I was born when she was 40. And HER father was 70 when she was born. I don't know how old you are..but your grandparents might have been born in the 1940s. This matters..because the census is open for research up to 1930 (right now), 1940 will be released this year. YOUR grandparents may still be living, and the records YOU need, might only be available through home sources. YOUR ANCESTORS might have been living in Alabama in 1870 (and records survive)..the same grandfather I mention above, was born in Poland. I can't get to those records. The method of research is to always start with yourself..always use documents...and always work bac! k in time. There are thousands of free sources, which does not! mean ancestry.com is not worth the money..for a serious researcher, the small fee is well worth being able to access census records at home, at 3 in the morning. It would not be worth it for ME..because they don't have a Polish census to begin with. Your own situation defines what is worthwhile, and until you reach a person (and analyse them as a distinct person), you won't know that. The best resource for the LDS files is not the compiled/ submitted records. They spent YEARS AND YEARS before computers, going to courthouses or other locations around the world, microfilming original records. Their ultimate goal is to digitize those films, but it has not yet happened. I started my research before the internet..which is a bonus, as I know that the internet is gravy, but not the whole meal. Just because it isn't online, does not mean it isn't "out there". http://www.cyndislist.com/beginners/This is only the beginners area of cyndislist. You need to look through the entire site! which collects nothing but genealogy websites. As you start seeing your ancestors..where they lived..and when..then the game kicks in, to FIGURE OUT what record(s) will get your info....Show more
Sheron Perrez: http://familytimeline.webs.com/recordsinyourownhom... that is how you start and how far back you get depends on the records you have access to............ and the quality of those recordsIs ancestry.com worth it?................ personally NO, if you are just starting, if you are an experienced researcher yes/ maybe............ the adverts are blatantly misleading bordering on complete lie, so a company who is prepared to behave like that they can stick their membership fee I will not be paying.....and from experence I have NEVER found one family history that is correct when the person has used that company....they come into FH class, so I get to see a lot of people and they are really upset when they hit brickwalls and get advice/queries from several experie! nced researchers in class about cheacking what they have already done..! ..........many have thought hints are real, they thing everything is verified, they think transcriptions, collections and trees are records and they think ONE bit of information means you look no further........I was taugh x3 primary records before you believe any one event...not easy to get especially the further you go back, but it has set a level and I try to aim for that....most of my lines are back anywhere between 1550-1700....lots hang on 1700-1750, one or two 1870-90 and one 1300 but that is an exception and although possibly good enough evidence for some I continue to look for more recordsLDS.........great place to find records....BUT make sure you know the difference between RECORDS and collections, donations, IGI....these can't be trusted, they are not verified and unfortunately the LDS 'hide' this fact by just saying eg 'marriage record collection for kent'........... use as a clue but NEVER trust as the majority of their data can be IGI, collections, donations! ............. always check back to real records, or images of real records....generally if it is typed it is not a record...could be a transcription, collected/donated data etc........... it was an LDS/Mormon who is a friend who started me in FH, so this is not me not likely LDS, the x3 RECORDS are from her advise and have served me very well...Show more
Norine Lomonte: Ask your family questions now. I still have questions I want ask, but no one is left. Go back and look at resolved questions like yours for lots of advice. You can also post names and dates here, and someone will come along to help. Good luck and be aware it can become addicting. http://www.ehow.com/how_6848112_do-genealogy-begin...http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/...Show more
Valentine Michaud: Beginning genealogy research is easier because you are constantly finding information. Always start by asking family and other relatives questions. Next are libraries for indices and genealogy or lo! cal history books. I have gotten back to the 1500s' on 2 lines and 1700s! ' on 2 other lines.Here is a website that should help you: http://www.genealogy-research-tools.comGood Luck and enjoy the ride along the genealogy pathway....Show more
Sammy Hatzenbihler: > What are some good tips?http://www.tedpack.org/genhead.htmlhas three sections and dozens of pages of tips.> how they managed and how far back they found?I started when I was 12, by sending off for my ancestor's Revolutionary War pay records. Turns out I can't verify my great grand aunt's DAR application, so he may or may not have been my ancestor after all.On one line I go back to Charlemagne, but there are a couple of questionable links in that chain. On another I go back to a fellow who cams to the USA in 1854, because he1) Was the younger son of a noble family, 2) Backed the wrong side in a failed revolution3) Poached the King's game(Lots of rumors, no facts, on that line.)> Is ancestry.com worth it?It is if you use it. Otherwise it will be like those exercise machines you see o! n Craig's list: "Paid $800, used twice, sell for $400". You wouldn't pay extra for HBO if you didn't like movies; don't subscribe to Ancestry if you aren't going to spend a couple of hours a week at it. (I subscribe and love it, but I do genealogy like normal people do crossword puzzles.)> Mormon templeThe Mormons have small rooms (big ones in their bigger churches) called Family History Centers. They have access to more resources than you can shake a stick at. best of all, they have volunteers who know what they are doing, love to help beginners and don't try to convert you. Call the temple, see if they have an FHC and, if so, when they are open. That would be an excellent place to start. Take a list with as many of these basic facts as you have for as far back as you know, even if it is just your grandparents. Even an estimate helps; "1940's in Wisconsin" is better than "I don't know", not as good as "01 Feb 1945, Beloit, Wood Wisconsin"NameBirth date and placeMarriage da! te and placeDeath date and placeSpouse's name (maiden name for women)On! the places, don't forget the county and state. Here's a list of the states and counties in the USA that have a town named Palmyra, as an example. There are probably Palmyras in Canada and Australia as well.State CountyAL LowndesAL PikeAR LincolnGA LeeIA WarrenIL LeeIL MacoupinIN HarrisonME SomersetMI LenaweeMO MarionNC HalifaxNE OtoeNJ BurlingtonNJ HunterdonNV LyonNY WayneOH KnoxOH PortagePA LebanonTN MontgomeryUT UtahVA FluvannaWI Jefferson...Show more
Hollis Demasters: Build a good foundation by following a good research process:1. Interview your living relatives.2. Examine your documents and those of relatives that will allow it.3. Prepare for research by learning about basic genealogy, genealogy specific to your known ancestors.4. Organize your data. Free software is available.5. Research one d! ocument at time for one generation at a time for one person at a time.Resources will vary depending on where and when your ancestor lived, what records they left behind, and what is available for that place/time. Not everything is online and/or free. A few hints for making good use of resources: Avoid user-submitted or prepared trees/pedigrees except where they have sources cited, and go to the sources. Indexes and transcriptions are better than trees but still likely to have more errors. Use these to get you to the original source. Try to find and work with original documents or images as exclusively as possible. Understanding how each type of record was collected and prepared and what that means is an invaluable tool for assessing the information.Some helpful starting places:http://www.cyndislist.com/ (START with How To and Genealogical Standards and Guidelines)https://www.familysearch.org/http://www.deathindexes.com/http://www.censusfinder.com/http://www.findagrave.com/H! ere -- Many of us have resources or knowledge specific to certain docum! ents, times, places, and groups.Google -- Look for local libraries, archives, agencies, and GenWebs, or websites similar to above for your ancestor's country.Offline -- Libraries, archives, museums, genealogical societies, Family History Centers (operated by the Mormons), etc. BIG note: FHCs and some libraries have free access to some of the paid subscription sites....Show more
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