How to Start a Genealogy Project

Somehow, you've been bitten by the genealogy bug. Maybe a relative has recently died, and you're left with mountains of unlabeled photos. (This is what happened to me)

Maybe you've been interested in your family history for years, and never knew how to start. Or, possibly, the task seems so monumental, you despair of ever being able to do more than scratch the surface.

Genealogy may well be the kind of project that never ends, and the research can take a great deal of time and effort. However, it is also very rewarding work. Picture yourself as the family historian, preserving and recording your family's heritage not only for yourself, but for future generations.

The best place to start is with yourself. Write down what you know. Information such as your parent's names, birth dates, birthplaces, and your mother's maiden name are important first steps. Write down the vital statistics of your parent's brothers and sisters. Where did (do) they live? What are their kids' names?

Once your own memory is wrung dry, start talking to your family members, and find out what they can remember. Start with the eldest members of your clan, as they'll be able to tell you about your grandparents, and maybe even about your great-grandparents.

You might find bringing a tape recorder will help you capture this information, and, one day, could be a cherished memory not only for you, but for family members of the future, who might want to know what "Uncle Jim's" voice sounded like.

Some of the questions you'll want to ask each member of the family:

• Where were they born?
• What is their middle name?
• Is there anyone else in the family working on genealogy? You might find an ally and be able to share information.
• Do they know of a family tree (i.e. a visual representation of your genealogy?)
• Where did their family live? Did they live in more than one place?
• Ask them to tell you stories about what they remember from their childhood, you might discover things about your family that you never knew!
• When were they married? Where were they married?
• Ask if they have any old clippings or mementos of family activities. These are not only good for scrapbooks, but sometimes they have valuable clues for research.
• Look for family records (sometimes, families recorded genealogies in the family bible, or possibly some relative started researching the family, and left records of their hunt.)
• Verify the spelling(s) of names with each family member, especially family surnames. But, don't assume your great-grandfather "Phillip" spelled his name with two "ls."
• Ask where their parents or grandparents were buried (cemetery name, city and state). They may even know of a family cemetery.

You should now have a basic list of names, dates and locations. This list is a basic genealogy!

If you're afraid you'll forget to ask an important question, you may want to use a standardized form. There are many out there, I made my own, which is based on a commonly used genealogy form. You can download it for your own use. (Special note: It's in PDF (143 KB), so you can print it, or you can type directly into the form.)

A quick word about the form above. You will need one for *each* family, and, for each marriage. There are other tips about completing your Family Group Record here.

You should now have a basic list of names, dates and locations.

Review your list. Does it include family members that you've not interviewed? Make a list of these people, and arrange to talk with them soon! If they live far away, just mail them a copy of the Family Group Form, and have them return it to you.

Note: If your family is like mine, you'll likely find that there can be a great deal of confusion over exact dates. If they've mentioned a cemetery, and it's close, you may want to make a quick trip.

When you visit a cemetery, bring a notebook or camera to record the information. More about cemetery visits can be found here.

When you make your visits to family members, tape recorder (remember to bring lots of tapes!), bring a camera. If you have one, bring a scanner and laptop computer to scan pictures, records (marriage licenses, birth certificates, etc) or newspaper clippings (obituaries, family success stories, etc). Your relative may not want to part with their original copies, but, you can make good use of a digital copy.

If you bring along your laptop, and are using the interview form, you can add the information directly into the form and save it. Remember to give it a name that will be easy to understand later.

It's also a good idea to being along a notebook for taking notes. You never know when the tape record fails to capture an important date, fact, or recollection.

Since you've brought your camera, at the very least, take a photo of your relative, and any members of their family that happen to be there (Ask first, if anyone is uncomfortable with their picture being taken).

Note: You'll notice I slipped in a reference to a scanner and a laptop. If you don't have either of these, don't worry. I would recommend making transcriptions of the articles. If your relative won't part with an important family photo, take a photo of it.

While recording an interview with a family member, make sure that the recorder is close enough to the speaker to capture everything. If the microphone is too far away, the sound quality may be too poor to understand.

You may also want to transcribe the audio from the tapes. This will mean you can more easily locate a particular fact more efficiently than having to listen to the tape again.

Make sure you date your notes, and your source. If something's unclear months or even years later, you can go back to that person for clarification.

You should make careful documentation of each source you receive. When you start to look for other genealogical information, this list of sources might lead to other sources. If the source is a relative, you may want to make a notation to verify it at a later date, after all, nobody's memory is perfect.

Documenting your sources is also key for any researcher that comes after you.

Documentation also keeps you honest. After all, the family story about great-grandmother Alice being the first woman graduate of a famous medical school might well turn out to be, well, less than true.

By now, you're swimming in piles of notes in notebooks, loose sheets of information, and pictures. It probably doesn't look like much; it probably doesn't even look like a genealogy. What to do with it?

As soon as you've gotten all of your interviews done, and exhausted the memories of every member of your family, it's time to organize this data, and figure out your next steps.

It is very important at this stage to take the time to organize your research. Before you start looking into external sources, you'll want to have a system for storing your genealogical information, and use your existing research as the foundation.

Remember, a genealogy is more than a collection of names and dates. It's a living history of your family. It should include the stories, personalities and accomplishments of your family members.

Congratulations! You've started on the road to creating a genealogy. You've got a great start, and now are ready for your next steps. Ready to branch out to intermediate genealogy? If not, you might be looking for some tips on organizing your research.