How to Research Your Family Tree
Suppose you are interested in finding information about your great-grandmother. Here are some steps that you can take to form a research plan:
1. Write down as much as you know about the person or persons you want to learn more about. Include as much detail as possible like spouse’s and children’s names, place of birth, and the approximate dates of birth, marriage, and death.
2. Write down your goals when it comes to researching the person. Getting sidetracked when researching family history is easy. With the excitement of uncovering new family facts, you may lose sight of why you decided to trace your family history in the first place. This is the reason it’s important to determine your goals and write them into your research plan before getting started. For instance, your goal might be to uncover the truth about a story that’s been passed from generation to another about your ancestors or to learn more about one side of your family.
3. Use a genealogical search engine to get a general idea of what’s available. Using a site like Ancestry.com can help you find information about your ancestors. Enter the name and place the person lived in order to narrow the search results. The data that you obtain will give you an indication of the range of resources available.
4. Prioritize the resources that you want to use. The results that are delivered on these genealogical search engines could turn up different resources like mailing lists, newsgroups, and one-name study sites. I’d recommend that you prioritize the resources that you plan to use first. A great starting point is to visit a website that provides access to civil registration documents such as Ancestry.com so you can start trying to verify dates of birth, marriage and death.
5. Once you’ve identified the resources you want to use, schedule time to use them. Researching family history is a lifelong venture. It’s impossible to download all the information and documentation you want in one sitting. Researching your family’s history requires a great deal of effort and time so it’s best to schedule times that you will work on specific parts of your plan. Genealogy is addictive; breaking it down into scheduled research time enables you to get the best out of your research plan without getting bogged down with information.
Don’t forget that there are plenty of websites that allow you to create your family tree online for free. I have checked out many of these sites and recommend Mundia.com. As you are doing your research on your family history, keep detailed notes and share your findings with your family members.
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