Article 2: beginning the research phase
The abundance of online genealogy information makes piecing together your family's history easier than ever. But searching through millions of pages can also be overwhelming, unless you're organized.
In this article, we'll build a solid foundation for research by creating an action plan that meets your goals. You'll learn about mapping information with family group and ancestry charts. Then the fun begins, we'll jumpstart your research by introducing you to the most useful online databases and genealogy research centers. Finally, we'll give you the lowdown on how software programs can help you in your quest.
Setting goals
Don't leap into the vast world of genealogy websites and resources without a plan of action. Defining your goals is an essential pre-research step. It will determine your timeline, what type of software you'll need, and the type of archives you'll want to access.
Once you determine where you're heading, you can create a timeline that will get you there. And not all goals have to be large. Remember, family trees are built branch by branch, leaf by leaf. So focus on one person at a time.
You'll also want to create a system for tracking your progress. A great resource for planning tools is Ancestry.com. You'll find a research calendar to record sources you've already searched, extract sheets to summarize information that can't be photocopied, correspondence records, and much more.
Mapping what you already know
In article 1, we showed you how to prepare for the research phase by gathering all the information you already had on hand; memories and stories, memorabilia, photobooks, etc. Don't skip this step. It's an important phase of the process and will save you a lot of time during the research phase. Once you have this info, mapping it out is the next step. This is the perfect time to introduce you to family group sheets and ancestry charts.
Family group sheets
To organize what is known about an immediate family (a couple and their children), researchers use family group sheets, which include spaces for names, dates, events, sources, and other information to help identify members of a particular family. The sources of the information (photocopies and other backup info) should be included with the group sheet for a complete and accurate record.
Ancestral charts
An ancestral chart looks at the bigger picture. It resembles the family tree you may have seen before, and it records the ancestors from whom you directly descend and for whom you'll compile a complete and correct family unit. It shows at a glance what remains to be completed.
You can find free ancestral charts and family group sheets (along with tips and instructions for using them) in the organizational tools of the Charts and Forms section of Ancestry.com, or on other large sites like Lineages.com and Geneology.com.
Using software
Software programs are a wonderful way to save and organize your family history. They also make the editing of charts and reports much easier, no more recopying that family group sheet by hand. Plus they offer instant access to the best databases available. Do you have to use software to do research? Of course not. But it will make things easier and probably more fun. A variety of programs are available, from inexpensive, bare-bones versions to those of more complexity.
Accessing records, let the research begin!
Finally, it's time to start filling those voids on your family tree. In our last article, we introduced you to some of the best research sites around, sites that allow you to freely access birth, death, immigration, census, military, and marriage records. This time we'll take a closer look at the kind of public records you can uncover. Then we'll pass along some advice from the pros about the steps you should follow when searching records.
Oh, and don't give up the hunt after just one search. We all know that records can be fallible and search engines incomplete. Try and try again. Your persistence will pay off.
Spotlight on census records
Census records in particular can form a basic foundation for your initial research. They are commonly used, easy to read, and contain more information than most other records. And they each have something unique to offer researchers. For example, parents of foreign birth were listed on the 1870 U.S. census, making it useful for tracing roots back to the homeland. Microfilm copies are available at the National Archives, as well as on many of the genealogy sites listed below.
Places to begin
The Family History Library (www.familysearch.org) is the largest collection of family histories in the world. We mentioned it in Article 1 and it's important enough to mention again. Via this online database, you can view at thousands of records and databases, including the International Genealogical Index, the Ancestral File, the Family History Library Catalog, and genealogy-related websites from around the world. The library also has a research staff devoted to helping family researchers over the phone or online.
Genealogy.com provides the Family Finder, which searches continually on the Internet for information across a wide variety of data, including genealogy web pages, libraries, and message boards, as well as military archives, the Social Security Death Index, and other sources. This site also provides access to the 1920 census, which has been indexed nationwide and is the latest census open to the public. And you can search and share information via their free family homepage, where members post trees, photos, and information about their research and more. A great way to connect with others researching the same family!
Lineages.com is a major genealogy reference library and resource center, built and maintained by professional genealogists. Check out their Genealogy for Beginners guide, complete with forms and checklists. And there is a particularly strong military database. Among the records you can access are Korean War Casualties, 1950-1957; Pearl Harbor Casualties, December 7, 1941; War of 1861-1865; the Social Security Death Index; and the Vietnam Casualties Database.
Ancestry.com allows you to search thousands of online records, including immigration, church, military, land, and census archives and an impressive array of periodicals. You can search for resources by state. This site also provides access to the Ancestry World Tree composed of pedigree files submitted by visitors, which at 83,818,711 names, is the largest collection of its kind on the Internet.
Step by step
Lineages.com provides a useful explanation of the steps you should follow when searching for ancestors in the US.
But first, it's important to be aware of spelling variations. Always search for other spellings of your ancestor's name. Other people may have misspelled it along the way, either in the record or in the index, particularly in the case of data that has been verbally passed along.
Choose an ancestor and an event in his or her life. Select someone for whom you know an approximate date of birth, marriage, or death, and a place where he or she lived. Then decide whether to search for a birth, marriage, or death record. If you do not know much about an ancestor, you may need to do additional research on his or her children first. Searching for the children's birth, marriage, and death records is one of the best ways to find new information about the parents.
Choose a type of record to search. Compare what you know about your ancestor with the records on the list for birth, marriage, or death. Choose a type of record to search. If you are looking for a birth record and you know the date of death, search the death records of the place where your ancestor died. They often reveal birth information too.
Ask the following questions:
Where and when did your ancestor live?
When and where was he or she born or married?
When did he or she die?
When and where were children born?
What were your ancestor's relationships to other people?
Are there previous places of residence?
Copy the information from the record. Make a photocopy of the pages containing the information about your ancestor. If you don't have access to a photocopier, copy the information by hand. Document where the information came from by writing the title, film, or book (and page) number on the photocopy.
What's next
You know that your great, great Aunt Violet exists because you have photographic evidence. So why can't you find any information on her? If you've searched fruitlessly for that elusive relative, you'll want to join us next month as we dive into the heavy-duty databases. There are no friendly research assistants online to help you and usually no pointers or tips along the way. But there is information to be found, a veritable treasure trove if you know where to look. From the basement of the National Archives to the depths of the Library of Congress, we'll show you how to access genealogy info from mega-sized archives, and we'll point you toward some lesser-known resources. See you next time!
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