Genealogy Basics to Uncover an Accurate Family History
The search for family roots can take you on an exciting journey of interesting discoveries. But as with any journey, a few precautions could ultimately determine if it s a success or a failure.
Inevitably, your search for family information will lead you to search documents at the courthouse, cemetery, or some other place with tombs of old records. Make sure you re searching in the right place though, finding out which government most likely had jurisdiction when your family lived in the area. Keep in mind boundaries may have changed between then and now. Sometimes older records may have been transferred to state archives, local historical societies, or some other repository.
Do a little extra homework before you
...when new databases become available. It s also great to hear motivational and inspiring success stories of others, or share one of your own. 8. Create a hard copy of the Genealogy Information In today s world of technology, we ...
Keep in mind too that old records are likely to have at least a minor error or two. In some cases there may be so many errors you won t be able to sort the wheat from the chaff. Books containing transcriptions (cemetery, census, etc.) could be missing vital information, be full of transcription errors (or subtle errors you may not recognize until you ve chased a wild bunny trail), or they may have made assumptions leading to incorrect information.
Speaking of
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Invest in a good quality magnifying glass while you re at it. This will save the strain on your eyes when you re searching a poorly lit archive and reading handwritten records from ages past.
To keep organized and avoid feeling overwhelmed, it is a good idea to limit your searches to a single surname, individual or family when
...and the Chinese usually have three names, a family name, a generation name and an individual name. English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish last names are typically grouped into one of four categories: occupations, localities, nicknames or first names. Many people ...
Don t forget family members. They can be a genealogist s best friend, and may be the only source for stories and anecdotes which bring family history to life. Clues to family history could also be located on the backs of old photographs, postcards, letters and of course the good old family Bible.
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...are kept by a variety of sources. Some European countries began keeping them at the national level during the nineteenth century. In the United States and Canada, record keeping is left to the individual state and/or city. New Orleans has ...