Mapping the Course and Equipment for the Hunt

About the Course

This self-paced, six-lesson course has been designed to demystify genealogy. The fundamentals of genealogy can be full of fun but the information you learn along the way will help you succeed in compiling a commendable family history.

FACT! Learning how to spell genealogy may be the most difficult part of this course. Genealogy is spelled with an "a" even though it is pronounced with an "o" as in gen-e-ol-gy. It's little things like spelling that make genealogy seem difficult!

By applying the proven techniques outlined in this course, you'll find that hunting for your ancestors can be exciting and rewarding.

Each lesson in this course will take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Enjoy!

Introduction

A successful hunting trip requires a sound knowledge of the terrain and having the right equipment. This lesson covers:

• Genealogy, or family history, as a pastime
• What is a family group record?
• Criteria of a good computer program for organizing family history
• Embellishments of a computer program you won't want to live without
• How do I know if someone is already looking for my family?
• How do I know if someone has already published a book on my family?

A Major Pastime

The study of genealogy, or family history as it is commonly called today, is a regular pastime of many Americans.

In the past, conducting family history research required vast amounts of time and energy. Today, with the help of computer technology, that time is dramatically reduced and the process is easier.

Organize Your Family

Don't waste your time searching for information you already have. Organize your family into family groups. A family group includes parents, children, and the spouse of each of those children. Record their dates and places of birth, marriage, and death.

The appropriate form to use to record a family group is, of course, a family group record.

Using Pedigree Charts for an Overview of Your Family

Once you have your family information recorded on family group records, you can step back and take an overall look at your ancestors using pedigree charts.

Pedigree charts only record information about your direct-line ancestors, that is, from you to your grandparents, to your great-grand parents, and so on. These charts are available usually from the same source where you'll get your family group records. They'll be available in four, five or six generation varieties.

Using A Computer Program

To make this process easier, you might select a computer program specifically designed to organize your family information now and in the future. There are many computer programs on the market today which will do this for you. The program you select should be able to do the following:

• Enter individual information easily
• Link individuals together easily
• Allow for as many notes as necessary
• Share information with others
• Download (copy) files from other people

Other Features

Computer programs are constantly being improved to include new features that will make your family history research more fun and productive. For example, most programs allow you to:

• Add photographs, video clips or pictures of family memorabilia
• Produce your own family group forms
• Search databases automatically
• Search for family in historical records
• Create family books and heirloom-quality trees
• Store names and addresses of family members and fellow researchers
• Create to-do lists

Contact Your Living Relatives

Once you have entered all the information available from your home sources, consider if anyone else in your family might have information they would be willing to share.

Telephone, write, or e-mail your requests to those individuals as your next step in the research process. Here are some tips on writing effective letters to family members:

• Begin your letter with news of family interest
• Offer to share information
• Make reasonable requests
• Proofread
• Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope
• Say "Thank You"
• Learn more

Family Trees

While waiting for the information you requested from family members, find out if others -- perhaps relatives you don't even know -- are also researching your family. A good place to start is Ancestry's record search.

For example, if the name of the person you are searching for is found on one of Ancestry's member family trees, lucky you! It means that someone else is also working on your family tree.

Additional Resources

There are several additional databases for figuring out if others are researching your family, or if a book has been written about your family. One convenient option is to subscribe to an online database such as Family and Local Histories . Other resources are part of a collection called FamilySearch, a computer program developed by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).

This collection includes:

• The Ancestral File: Ancestral File is available on CD-ROM in many Family History Centers (branches of the Family History Library located in Salt Lake City, Utah) and in public and private libraries throughout the world. If anyone else has researched the same names as you have, and they have submitted the information to Ancestral File, the names will be found in this database. The information in the file includes names, dates, and places of birth, marriage, and death. The file also contains the names and addresses of those who submitted the information.
• The International Genealogical Index: The International Genealogical Index (IGI), also part of FamilySearch, is available on CD-ROM. It contains the names of several hundred million deceased persons worldwide. Most of the names are taken from "vital records" (birth, marriage, and death records) created between 1500 and 1885. The IGI is divided into two files. The first file is the original or main file, and the second file is an addendum or update.
• The Family History Library Catalog: The surname section of the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) is another part of FamilySearch. This catalog describes the holdings of the largest genealogy library in the world. The library is located in Salt Lake City, Utah and is open to everyone. The Surname Search feature is used to locate items by a specific surname, and helps you find family histories, genealogies, and biographies. The FHLC is available on both CD-ROM and microfiche and can be found in the Family History Library or in Family History Centers located throughout the world.

The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress, another excellent source, is located in Washington D.C., and is the largest library in the world. The Local History and Genealogy Reading Room is the place to begin when using this library. Its holdings include biographies, family histories, local and county histories, along with maps, federal and state records, and numerous other sources. The catalog for the Library of Congress is available online .

Now That You Have...

1. Organized family sources
2. Gathered information from relatives
3. Discovered if others are researching your lines
4. Located books published on your surnames
5. And ferreted-out previously researched individuals from large databases of information

...it is time to begin the actual research process.

Filling in the Gaps

You are now ready to fill in some of the blanks on your pedigree charts and family group records. These voids will become your quest.

You can possibly estimate some information on your charts. For example, if you don't know a marriage date for a couple, ask yourself when the first child was born. Then subtract two years from that year of birth for an estimated marriage date. Try to guess within a ten-year range.

For example, from a first child's birth date and place, you may be able to estimate the father's marriage date and place.

Organizing Family Materials

The following topics or questions will be discussed in this part of the lesson:

1. What are your goals?
2. What do you already know?
3. What is it you really want?
4. Are your goals realistic and attainable?
5. Are you setting sail in a "leaky boat?"

What are Your Goals?

It's important to set goals when doing family history. The overall goal may be to prove a family tradition that your great-grandfather was born in a particular country in the late 19th-century. But, a series of short-term and long-term goals are needed to accomplish this.

A good example of a long-term goal might be to determine when a certain family immigrated from their ancestral country to the United States. Whereas, a short-term goal might be to locate the family in a federal census to determine the year of immigration.

What Do You Already Know?

Do you know the surnames you are searching? Don't leave out the maternal (mother's) lines. Starting with yourself, you will have at least four different surnames when you research your grandparents.

Do You Know the Localities?

Your ancestors probably moved around from generation to generation. For instance, they could have moved from Scotland to North Carolina to Mississippi to Arkansas to Texas to Oklahoma -- all in the space of 100 years. Genealogically speaking, that's not long!

Do You Know With Whom They Traveled?

The families your ancestors intermarried and traveled with are called collateral families. Tracking these families can help you locate your own direct line.

If you answered "no" to knowing all the surnames, localities, and traveling companions, don't be disheartened. Most people don't learn about this until they have started their research.

Your time is valuable. Learn the technique of recording all maiden names, localities, and collateral families and you'll be ahead of those who don't.

What is it You Really Want?

A family history is more than just names, dates, and locations. It provides insight as to why our ancestors did the things they did. It might even give us an insight into why we have certain traits. This kind of research goes beyond vital records to a collection of pictures, oral histories, and a study of history and folklore.

Even if you think you are only interested in the dates, places, and names of your ancestors, experience has proven that the historical background of your ancestors will be necessary to find what you want.

Are Your Goals Realistic and Attainable?

You are now ready to fill in some of the blanks on your pedigree charts and family group records. These voids will become your quest.

Consider the following:

• Do records exist in the time-frame and location where your ancestors lived? One of the easiest ways to find genealogy resources is using a major genealogy library.
• Are records available that I can access?
• Records can be found on microfilm, microfiche, compact disc, and in published books and periodicals, as well as original copies. Literally hundreds of thousands of records are available in all kinds of media, including online. As this course continues, you will be given the major sources available in significant U.S. repositories.
• Will help be needed to translate the records? When cataloging a record, most record repositories will identify the language (other than English) a record is written in. You don't need to be a linguist to do research in a foreign country. Word lists and abundant how-to guides are available to help you. Or if you do not want to take the time and effort necessary to translate the records, you may hire a professional researcher.

Start with the Facts

Unsuspecting family historians often start from a family legend or tradition rather than a known fact. Remember, the first information you start with is what you are going to build upon — it is the foundation of your family history. Known facts are the infrastructure of your research. Your family history will stand the test of time if it is always based upon known or proven facts and evidence. Starting from a legend will ensure setting sail in a "leaky boat."

Legends and traditions are information gathered orally from family members who have passed them down through the family without documentation of the facts. Although the legend or tradition may prove to be true, the majority of the time it is either totally false or false in part.

For example, family legend had it that the man in the center of the photo above, Francois Durier, worked as a spy with Mata Hari during World War I. In truth, Francois was not an aerial spy during World War I but a balloonist for the French Army.

Don't Skip Generations

If your ancestor's naming pattern has several generations with the same names (John, the son of Samuel, who had a son John, who had a son Samuel), it becomes difficult to keep generations straight. You may accidentally skip a generation.

Remember the following:

• Always go from a known ancestor to an unknown ancestor.
• Associate dates and places with ancestors of common names (that is, Samuel of Virginia as opposed to Samuel of Texas).

Be Thorough

All available sources in a given location should be examined before moving on to the next location (even if you don't find anything in the first few sources searched). For example, let's say that you found your ancestor's death record in Warren County, Ohio and it stated he was born in Pennsylvania. Don't go directly to Pennsylvania until you have searched all the possible sources in Warren County.

Also, it is a good idea to record all individuals with the same surname, in the same locality and of the same ethnic background because they probably will be directly or indirectly related. (For example, collect information on all of the Smiths living in the same neighborhood or at least on the same street where your ancestor may have lived.)

As you research, keep in mind places, dates, and family ties. If you're in doubt, it's faster and easier to learn that someone is not part of your family than to go back and reconstruct your research realizing you had information on them previously.

Find the Correct Jurisdiction

When we talk about a person's place of birth, marriage or death, we may use the terms, "locality" or "jurisdiction." A person may live in one locality, but another locality may have the legal authority or jurisdiction for keeping the records of that place.

Also, there are very few places in the United States that have remained under the same jurisdiction throughout their existence. While a person may be living in a county we know today, that location may have been in a different county when our ancestors lived there.

For example:

• As late as 1911, New Mexico records will be found in federal records since New Mexico did not become a state until 1912.
• In Kentucky, some records prior to 1790 will be found as part of Virginia's records.

Localities and Research

It will really help to know the history of the area you are planning to search. Using maps and understanding the physical, as well as the governmental boundaries, will expedite your research and understanding of the locality you are interested in.

Locality affects genealogy research in so many ways. Consider the following process:

• Compare the event date with the jurisdiction in authority.
• Study the history of the area during the years your ancestor lived there.
• Locate and study maps of your ancestor's area during the time periods he lived there.
• Repeat this process with every locality as your research expands.

Keep Track of Both Positive and Negative Searches

Keep a written record of all the sources you have searched, including both positive and negative results. Sources are any records you are using to search for information about your family. A map, gazetteer, or county history is just as much a source as a census record, birth certificate, or death record.

Keeping a photocopy of a record can save you valuable time if you need to go back to it. Much of the time when we research a source we do not find anything helpful -- a "negative" find. To avoid repeating a negative find, record the outcome.

Use a Research Planner

A useful tool that diagrams our ability to follow the guidelines presented thus far is called a research planner. Many genealogy software programs come with research planners built in. A research planner can help you stay organize as it records:

• Things to be searched in the future
• What was found, and what was not found
• When the record was searched
• Who or what was being sought after in the search
• Whether the record was indexed
• What condition the record was in
• The place the record was found, and its call number
• Where copies you made of the record were filed

An Example Research Planner

Missing information on our pedigree charts becomes a "goal" to be searched. Goals are broken down into smaller objectives. It is these smaller objectives that are put into the space marked "Information sought" or "Object."

For example, let's say that your pedigree chart looked like the one below. As you can see there's an empty space for information on Isaac Britain's father. You know that he was born about 1835 in Guilford County, North Carolina but you're looking for some additional information.

Your research planner might note the following objectives:

• Find Isaac on a will as a son
• Find Isaac on a census with father
• Research the Britain family of North Carolina
• Research the Britain family of Guilford County, North Carolina between 1838 and 1900
• Research North Carolina in general between 1800 and 1835

More About Research Planners

A typical research planner records the following information:

• Location of source
• Date source searched
• Library or repository and call number
• Description of source: State, county, time period of record, type of record
• Objective: Person's name or what information is sought
• Time: Person's age or date of event
• Comment or ID number of family
• Index/File

While research planners are helpful in organizing the information that you find, they are also important is organizing what you don't find. You'll want to note if you don't find anything by marking "nil" or "0" or "X" in the "File" column.

As you do your research, be sure to keep faithful with your research planner. Enter source information and results as you do the research. Don't wait until later to enter the information; you may forget important details. The more you use a research planner, the more comfortable you'll become with it and the more you'll depend on it.

Summary

1. Focus on the overall goal of your research.
2. Establish a long-term goal to achieve the above overall goal.
3. You can use a research planner to create a page of short-term goals to accomplish the long-term goal.
4. Don't skip ahead through generation
5. Collect information on all family members you encounter (within reason)
6. Find the correct jurisdiction for the records you seek
7. Keep track of both positive and negative searches
8. Use a research planner

Conclusion

Getting off on the right foot and forming good research habits are the most important principles for your success as a beginning researcher. It is also important to remember that whatever genealogy computer program, filing method, or research planner you choose; the most important thing is to stick with it. The principles discussed in this course generally apply no matter what recording methods you use.

Review

1. What are at least two important functions of a genealogy computer program that helps you organize your information?
2. Where would you locate previous research on a family?
3. Should you automatically accept a family pedigree from the World Family Tree as a proven source?
4. Should you accept a published family history as a proven source?
5. How should you record your research results?
6. Why is it important to record sources that have negative results?
7. What is the purpose of the research planner?

Answers

1. The five most important computer software functions are:
   • Enter individuals easily
   • Link individuals together easily
   • Allow for as many notes as necessary
   • Share information with others
   • Download (copy) files from others
2. Ancestry's records search (historical data online), Family Search (Ancestral File, International Genealogical Index, and the Surname section of the Family History Library Catalog), and the Library of Congress (published family histories).
3. No. You should contact the contributor and ask for a copy of their sources. Then check the sources of the information for yourself before accepting it.
4. No. Again, just as with the information from World Family Tree, you should check the sources before accepting them.
5. Using a computer program such as Family Tree Maker is the easiest way, but it can be done on paper. Whichever way you record the results, they should refer to photocopies or sources you have used, and where they might be found.
6. A research planner records all the essential information in a particular source. This includes what information you were searching for and all the particulars surrounding it.
7. A research planner records all the essential information in a particular source. This includes what information you were searching for and all the particulars surrounding it.

About Genealogy Research Associates

Karen Clifford is the Founder and President of Genealogy Research Associates. She is an Accredited Genealogist, an instructor in an Associates Degree program in Library Science-Genealogy and Computers at Hartnell College (Salinas, California) and Monterey Peninsula College (Monterey, California). She has authored several family histories and textbooks including Genealogy & Computers for the Complete Beginner; Genealogy & Computers for the Determined Researcher; Genealogy & Computers for the Advanced Researcher, and Becoming an Accredited Genealogist.

Karen currently serves as Vice-president of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and Vice-president of the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA). She is a member of the California State Genealogy Alliance, the Association of Professional Genealogists, the National Genealogical Society, and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. In 1998 and 1999, Karen served as Director of UGA's Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy.

She has received several awards for her volunteer work in the genealogy community including the FGS Award of Merit and the FGS Outstanding Delegate Award.