Dear ladygolfer-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.
I am so pleased to see that you are interested in starting a genealogy
project. I too share your interest in the ancestral past and have
continued the work my cousin started by hand some 40 years ago. With
the advent of the Internet and computer software, the job has become
much easier than it was in my cousin’s day, as his research rested
almost exclusively upon information found in his actual travels to our
ancestral homes. This, of course, proved costly and quite time
consuming. In the 10 years that I have been working on our “family
tree” I have completed almost double the work of my predecessor
without leaving home even one time.
Before you run out and buy software for your family tree project, you
must first know what you are researching. Do yourself a HUGE favor and
set aside some time to speak with the oldest relatives you can find of
the people you are researching. You can compile a large portion of the
information your need about the living generation by simply asking
them for the data. This will save you from having to go through the
trouble of putting together information about those whose statistics
are readily available. Next, meet with the elders who know dates of
birth, marriage dates, and military service of their brothers and
sisters who may have already died. Some of them may even have an old
family bible or something that has information about “their” parents
or grandparents. Conceivably, you can save yourself years of work by
simply talking to those who know. If you get lucky, you may even find
someone who has already started such a project and the two of you can
collaborate and fill in the gaps where they occur. Don’t discount
someone who may not be related to you as a source of information.
Neighbors, old bosses, friends or in-laws of your relatives may in
fact have a treasure chest of information ripe for the picking.
Now, shop around for some software or forms upon which you will record
your data. Organization cannot be stressed enough. Since you so not
actually know the people you are researching, in time you will find
that you are mixing up names and spouses inadvertently (this happens
to the best of us). Only you can prevent this from happening because
only you have control over the data. If you make an error, it may go
undiscovered for decades and you might even end up on the wrong track
altogether, rendering years of your hard work and effort worthless. In
order to organize my work, I use Family Tree Maker genealogy software.
There are many great ones out there but I’m sure you will find one
that works best for you and is in the price range you can afford. Many
of these software packages come with several CD’s containing literally
millions of names from old land records, social security death index
records etc., and I have actually found useful data on many of my
ancestors in them.
Once you get set with your software and know how to use it, start
looking at Internet sites that deal with genealogy. The best place to
start is Genforum.com. You can get an idea of what people are doing by
searching for your own family name and proceeding from there. You can
post notices to others who are researching the same surname as you and
I would bet, that in time, you will even find, and talk to, a cousin
you didn’t know you had (I did, and so does most everyone else
eventually). After you find a few people you are looking for you will
begin to build confidence and see your work begin to expand. It’s now
time to familiarize yourself with advanced genealogy resources. The
best place to start is “Cyndi’s List” which contains hundreds If not
thousands of links to resources all over the world, including records
from Ellis Island, ship passenger lists (manifests), links to vital
records and so on.
I wish you much luck in your searches. I am certain you will find it
both enjoyable and rewarding. I hope you find that that my research
exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions about my research
please post a clarification request prior to rating the answer. I
welcome your rating and your final comments and I look forward to
working with you again in the near future. Thank you for using Google
Answers.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
HOW TO…
Cyndi’s List for Beginners”
http://www.cyndislist.com/beginner.htm
“How to…”
(Step by step lesson for beginning a genealogy project)
http://www.ukans.edu/heritage/research/dbd/
INFORMATION SOURCES
“GenForum”
http://genforum.genealogy.com/
“Cyndi’s List”
http://www.cyndislist.com/
“The USGenWEB”
http://www.usgenweb.org/
“Public Records for US”
http://www.daddezio.com/records/room/index.html
“Source List for Genealogy Research”
(Enormously valuable list of resources)
http://www.ku.edu/heritage/research/dbd.html
MULTIMEDIA, PROGRAMS & TOOLS
“Family Tree Maker
(The one I use myself)
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/?Welcome=1040155313
“Legacy Family Tree Genealogy Software”
http:// www.legacyfamilytree.com/
“Family Origins Genealogy Software”
http://www.formalsoft.com/
“Cyndi’s List”
(Giant list of excellent software)
http://www.cyndislist.com/software.htm#Software
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
Genealogy for beginners
Genealogy getting started
Genealogy basics
Genealogy software
Genealogy resources |
