amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

ZandLsMom · 12-09-2003, 09:17 PM

Ok, NO ONE in either family has really done anything with this. I'd LOVE to pass on our family's tree to my child(ren) someday. I'd like to have a pretty comprehensive database for them, but I want to start small.

Can you tell me where to start? What do I NEED? A book? Just paper? A Database?

HELP! Please!

Katie

Nutmeg · 12-20-2003, 01:35 PM

This is a comprehensive list of almost every resource 'out there':

http://www.cyndislist.com/

And she has a nice beginner's guide here:
http://www.cyndislist.com/beginner.htm#Guides

Here you can print some free charts etc:
http://www.pbs.org/kbyu/ancestors/charts/

Once I had a few family members to plug into the list, you can get a program on the computer like Family Tree Maker or something. These can be pretty cheap for beginners and easy to use~~good luck, here are some more ideas;

Where to start?
Start with yourself, add your family, your parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc., in fact, any relatives you can remember. Question older relatives who can be invaluable in providing knowledge of ancestors you may not know of or have forgotten. They may be reticent to go on tape or film but I have a video of my granmother talking about her life and now that she's gone it is such a TREASURE!

Step 1 -- The first rule of genealogy is to start with yourself and work back! Talk to parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or anyone else in the family who is older than you are. Ask questions like:
What's your full name?

When and where were you born?

Where did you grow up?

When and where were you married?

Whom did you marry? What is his/her full name?

How many children did you have? What are their full names?

What were your parents' full names?

When and where were your parents born?

Where did your parents grow up?

When and where did your parents marry?

What do you know about your grandparents?

Do you have any family Bibles, papers, or photographs?

It may be helpful to tape record the people you talk to in addition to writing down their answers. Keep the tapes for future reference. Be sure to ask perrmission before taping someone.

Step 2 -- Begin a genealogy chart like the one on the back of this sheet. Fill in as many blanks as possible. If you do not have exact dates, pencil in approximate dates. Use pencils for preliminary work. Always use letters to indicate months. Write surnames in all capital letters. Use the maiden names of your female ancestors.

Step 3 -- Read a book about doing genealogy. "How-to" books will tell you about many sources of information for your research. The library does have copies of some of these books that you may borrow.

Step 4 -- Begin collecting copies of death and birth certificates, and marriage licenses. This step will involve money because all States charge for their copies. You will need to know the approximate date and the proper State and County. These records may give you information about the person and often about their parents. You can also find some of this information in newspaper obituaries.

Here are some books I like:
Genealogy 101: How to Trace Your Family's History and Heritage
To Our Children's Children Book by Bob Greene

And I have some resources here:
http://www.cookiepants.com/scrapbook.htm

Nutmeg · 12-20-2003, 01:36 PM

oh and go through any family photographs grandparents might have, make sure names and dates are on the back! Once they are gone you'll never know who they are. I scan a ton of pics into the computer too

lamade · 12-20-2003, 01:57 PM

I don't have personal experience with genealogy, but my MIL does. She has been encouraging me to get started and she gets alot of info from www.familysearch.org which is a LDS site, I think. I don't know anything about it, but thought I would mention it, too.

norasmama · 01-02-2004, 11:33 PM

my dad uses a program called family tree maker. And then he started talking to his parents about their families. He and my mom now go on genealogy "vacations" where they look at headstones and public records. It can be very addictive.

zaasia777 · 12-16-2004, 01:34 AM

subscribing

Claire Berry · 12-30-2004, 02:05 AM

also, databases at the library are helpful once you know what you're looking for. you can get marriage licenses, death/birth cert.s - that sort of thing.

Good luck. My dad did the geneology in our family, and he found out just two months after my son was born that his great grandather 11 generations back is the same person on both sides of his family tree. In other words, my SO and I are distantly related!

So, I'm all for geneology, you never know what you may find!