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Getting Started

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Posted by Your Guide on July 6, 2006 9:44 PM

Start with what you know and work toward what you don't. This is the most basic guideline in all genealogical research. Start with your own name if that's all you have. List your parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandparents if you know anything at all about them. Fill in blanks like middle names, birth dates and wedding anniversaries by calling or writing letters asking those involved to help with the details. These first two or three generations are the foundation for all the research you will conduct.

One thing many researches put off for another day is obtaining a computer program to organize all their research. Paper is good, but it will only take a few days of research to figure out that the information you can fit into a spiral or loose leaf notebook is only the beginning. There are several computer programs available, and some of them are free to download. With a minimum of searching you will be able to find a program that will allow you to enter family information into a program and you will be organized from the beginning.

Lack of organization is the death knell of many genealogy researchers, so make time now to create a file drawer or box just for genealogy research. Invest in a few file folders and make a folder for each surname you will be researching. If you just start with your parents you will have at least two folders. If you know your grandparents' names, you may start with four surnames. If yours is a blended family, you may have more than that to give a complete picture of your family. Each name needs a folder now, but know that these folders will become more as time and research move forward.

Know what to keep and what to throw away. As you enter information into your files and computer program, it is ok to throw the piece of paper away. Efficient organization begins now so that you don't get bogged down in a paper backlog. If the document is an official record or copy of a census page, keep it. If it's some handwritten notes from Grandma, keep that too. Otherwise, throw it out. Knowing what to save and what not to save is difficult, but if you keep track of information in only one place (your genealogy computer program) you will always know where to find that bit of information when you need it.



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