I will try to write down all the helpfull hints here I have used
or found useful in years of research. If anyone has any suggestions
or hints to add for the newcomers to Genealogy, please do not be shy
send me e-mail with your Hints or Suggestions and I will add them to this page
NUMBER ONE, What is Genealogy ??
Genealogy is the study and research done to find your ancestors
Genealogy is an addictive hobby or pastime for most of us
Genealogy mixed with a bit of family history can reveal much about one
and one's past habits, genes, traditions etc..
NUMBER TWO, What kind of tree do you want ??
Depending how "picky" or determined or lucky you can be or get
And this may change as you get into it and decide you want more or less
than you had first planned.
I had a priest once who has done many family trees for people say
"researching all members of a family is something that will kill you,
the Simple Tree is the best way to go"
So it is really UP TO YOU, as to what kind of Tree you want or end up with
Genealogy research will give you either a Simple Family Tree, a detailed
Family Tree, an Ancestry Chart or you may have a sloppy Family Tree
and quit but I doubt it, remember its addicting
1. A simple Family Tree will be when you search for ancestors by father
only; father, his father, his father etc.. with their wives..and brothers
and sisters maybe
2. A detailed Family Tree will be when you search fathers, mothers, uncles
aunts and their children
3. An Ancestry Chart is Just that, Ancestors on both the mother and father's
side, your mother her parents, their parents , their parents, and same on the
father's side.
NUMBER THREE, Where do you start ??
I would say here what I always say, "Start at home" !!!
What I mean by that, start with your parents, your grand parents,
uncles, aunts, great uncles, or aunts. Gheeee you may even find out it has
already been done :) if not well.....
Ask questions, make sure you get all you can from them, pictures, bibles
notes, stories, dates, pick their brains and do it NOW !! do not wait
until grand ma passes away then kick yourself, it wont help
NUMBER THREE, What next ??
My second piece of advice would be do not ASSUME !!!
Assuming will get you off on the wrong track and you will get lost
and if at some point you feel you HAVE to, do it very carefully noting it
was an assumption.
Record it all, all the information you have gathered, write it down
use a tape recorder, a video camera, but keep it all, you may need it later
even if its only what seems like an insignificant fact to you at the time
or even if it's a negative answer, a NO may show you were the YES is at later
Do not only stop at asking who were your grand parents or who were your
great grand parents, ask if they had brothers or sisters which are known
beleive it or not, when going through church registers, priests,
parsons, etc.. did not think about us doing Genealogy back then
The noive of 'em right ?? :)
Yes many church registers do not have parents of bride and groom entered
in marriage records. So many times the only way to get one more generation
back is to know some brothers or sisters of the ancestors, the marriage
record of one of them may have the parents listed
Ask about dates, ask if they remember anything about where their parents
or grand parents came from, where they went to, where they worked, what they
did etc.....
NUMBER FOUR, write down your sources !!
Write down where you took all information, bits of history, stories
the name of the person, book name and page, microfilm numbers, everything
and anything that you get, note where you got it
So if you need to go back to it or if for some reason someone else needs
to finish what you started they will not have to do the same work over again
or even for yourself, if you need to go back to some sources, you will know
exactly where to go or where NOT to go.
NUMBER FIVE, always marry your people !!
Some people do genealogy and I often hear "I'm looking for Jean son of Joseph"
or "I can't seem to find Paul son of Patrick", once you start doing genealogy
you will realize, I hope, there are maybe 4 or 5 Joseph or Patrick or Paul
in any one family at times. Or uncle Paul or Patrick are a dime a dozen
Always note your Joseph as husband of Mary or Josephine and put a date or
at least an approximate date (noted apprx.) so you know at all times which
Joseph or Paul or Patrick you area talking about or working with
NUMBER SIX , Work backwards !!
No, don't turn your chair with its back to the desk :)..
But start with you, your parents, their parents, their parents
Starting with the first ancestor of the Leblanc or Brown family to arrive to Canada
for example and trying to work your way down to your father is not the best
way to go
NUMBER SEVEN, How do you save all that information ??
Well some people save it in a scrapbook, make notes, buy a binder to place it in
Others have a computer to enter the data in and sort it all out. Whichever
way works for you. At first you will find a notepad works fine but as you get
more and more information, names, dates, you will find out you need something
more to keep it in. If you decide to go to a computer and a "Family Tree" program
there is not ONE best or better program but again whichever works for you
From experience, just make sure it does what you want before inputting ALL your
data. Check out that it imports and exports GEDCOM files (which are a way
to compress the data in the program and place it in a format which can be
exported to a file called GED file then you can Import your family data into an other
Family tree program without having to enter it all over again...
NUMBER EIGHT, Where do you go to find the information you need now??
Church registers, Provincial Archives, Libraries, Joining or visiting a
Genealogical Society near you, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
have probably what is the largest data bank in genealogy, try to find a branch
near you, they are in the phone book.
Many of you write often and say "I am new at this, where do I start"
or "I am new at this, where do I go next"
April 1998