How to Make Your Library a Valuable Genealogy Resource
Joining the world of genealogy research can be quite exciting. Sometimes, though, it can be confusing and difficult. It can be hard to find genealogy resources relating to your family. It can also be hard to figure out who's related to whom. In the beginning your genealogy research can be feel like a difficult. With so many genealogy resources at your fingertips, where do you start? One of the best places to begin is your local library.
There are a number of different reasons to rely on your local library in the beginning. First is that they have trained personnel to help you find what you're looking for. Working on your family history involves more research than you've probably ever completed in your life. The research you'll be doing is not simple, either. It's both complex and tedious. Most librarians have degrees in library science, so they know where to find what you're looking for. More than that, librarians usually deal with hundreds of people a day so it's possible they've helped other geneologists with the same difficulties you experience. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that they've already looked through the copies of the 1890 census information ten times in the past month. As a result, they might be able to give you a leg up on where to find some of the information you want.
Another reason to work with your local library,especially in the beginning, is because over the past hundred years or so, they have been accumulating material to help you with your research. Everything from local newspapers to programs from important town events might be in your library's archives. In fact, many libraries have a special genealogy resources section to help you with your research. Most compile thousands of family histories, so you can cross reference your own work. Many have census data dating back to 1790 on federal, state, and county levels. Many also have city directories dating back to the time the city you live in was founded. Plus, if you live near a port of entry into the United States, it's likely your local library has immigrant passenger lists. Some local libraries even index military records of local veterans.
But even if your local library has little accumulated material, or if your family history doesn't begin in your current town, your local library will still have online databases to help you with your research. Most of these databases are only accessible from your library and many also have extensive instructions which a librarian can help you sort through as you begin.
For library genealogy resources rely most heavily on primary sources. A primary source is any document that contains first-hand information. For example, your great-grandfather's military record. The 1890 census listing your great-great aunt would also be considered a primary source. This will not always be possible with genealogy research.
Be prepared to evaluate secondary genealogy resources carefully. Decide how accurate the information contained within might be. If you're looking at an autobiography written by the mine owner in a small Kentucky town, you might have a very different view of the working conditions your grandfather was dealing with than if you were to read letters he wrote to your grandmother when he was working. The accuracy of any source can be questioned sometimes. Dates and places might be wrong. If you do get seriously stuck can consult a professional genealogist for help. They've likely run up against the same problems.
Shaking the Family Tree – Starting your Genealogy Search
Genealogy can be a fun and valuable hobby. You get the chance to learn where you come from, what your family history is all about, and if anyone in your family was involved in historical events. For many, The hardest part of getting into genealogy is getting started. They don’t have direction or an idea of how to get going with their search and they don't have any genealogy resources. The best way to get started is actually by getting four things set to make the process easier: 1)Make sure you have a plan; 2)Keep track of a goal; 3)Have wide goals; and 4)Develop a set of methods that suits you best.
The best first step to take in genealogy is to make sure you have an idea about where you want to go. Set a goal so no matter what you do online or in the library you're focused on an end. Constantly review your information and goals to keep yourself headed in a direction for reaching your genealogy goals. Your goal doesn’t have to be complex. Just make sure what you have in mind will help you navigate your family tree.
The next step is to be sure you have your genealogy goal in front of you all the time. Keep a hard copy of your goal or your list of goals in front of you as you do your research. Index cards, a notebook, or notes on a desk top calendar all work well for this. This step will help you stay more focused on what you want. With all of the information available on the internet it can be easy to get distracted or sidetracked and this single step can keeo you from getting derailed.
The third step in your genealogy research is to be sure you pursue your goal with a broad stroke. By this I mean you need avoid the temptation to focus on a single certain site or library. Instead go broad to allow yourself a better chance of success. the more genealogy resources you expose yourself to, the better your chance of success. Assume you want to know about a specific relative but all you have is a name and place of death. You might be tempted to just search his name or use a website for the place he died. Using a broad stroke approach you could begin your search with someone in the family you know more about. Maybe you know a lot more about his son. Begin your search with the son and his family to bring your focus you on that branch of the family. You'll be surprised at how often you'll stumble on clues to solve your original mystery by using this method.
Finally, be prepared to learn your own ways of doing things. That seems simple but not everyone'is so prepared. Put together strategies that have worked for you in your genealogy searches so far. Plan on using them for all you genealogy research ... because they work. One strategy for some genealogists is to run all the names of their family through available search engines (maybe including other relevant keywords or search terms) to find genealogy or legal record websites. Whatever your methods, just make a record of which have worked best for you and make them part of your standard process to become more efficient as you continue on your genealogy adventures.
Tracing back through your family can be a lot of fun. With the increasing popularity and broadening of the internet, more and more people are becoming interested in genealogy and looking for genealogy resources. Follow ,y guidelines and you will find the process of your research will be more enjoyable and yield much better results.
Vital Statistics Records as a Genealogy Resource
Birth, marriage, and death are three of the most important events you'll experience in your life. These events are all recorded in government records and can be very useful as one of your genealogy resource for research. In fact, without these records, genealogical research would be nearly impossible.
Here’s an example of how vital statistics can be used: In tracing your own family tree you can go back to your great grandparents on both sides but you know nothing about their parents and hit a wall. If you visit the court house and check vital statistics you can find the birth, marriage, and death records of your grandparents. With this information in hand, you can find information on their brothers and sisters. Also the names of your great, great grandparens and where they were born. you'll be able to trace the movements as they moved. YOu will be able to check death records and lists of survivors to find brothers, sisters, and children and expanding your family tree again.
One man was using vital statistical recourse as a genealogy resource and found that his grandfather'd had two brothers. His grandfather moved to Illinois while his brothers went first to Canada then to California. The brothers married and raised families in Canada. Some of the children married and stayed behind, some went to California. Now he had three more branches on his family tree: Illinois, California, and Canada. Vital statistics records provided the trail. The records also showed one member of the family was a veteran of World War Iand had been buried without a tombstone. The family used vital statistics to prove his service record and requested, and was granted, a tombstone from the Veterans Administration.
This same man found birth records in California of long lost cousins. He used waht he found to contact other family members also interested in genealogy. They combined their research which led led to another branch of the family tree in New Zealand, one in Indiana, and a second one in Illinois.
From a practical standpoint vital statistics as a genealogy resource are often the easiest records to find and are usually the most reliable. Many people say they have no relatives, or have no living relatives. This is never true. If you're alive you're related to someone. People just don’t know who their relatives are .. it's simply a question of who, and how close or distant the relatives happen to be.
Vital statistics can also let you check on marriages. In past people had more than one marriage since mortality was so common. If a spouse died, the survivor usually remarried. Sometimes there would be children from the other marriage as well, leading to a larger family, with more records of birth, death, and marriages which again lead to more children and more records of birth, marriage, and death. Each level adds more names to your family tree creates a more complete picture.
These vital statistics aren't a secret nor are they difficult to access. They are government records kept on file in court houses across the country. In some areas the records are gradually being converted to digital form and may eventually be available online. Most, however, still use the old method of microfilm storage which requires a person to physically go to a location and look up the information themselves.
Birth, marriage, and death records are an important genealogy reosource for your researcher and one you can use to great benefit. Next time you're looking for information about an ancestor, checking the vital statistics and give yourself a head start.
Recording Genealogy Resources and Historical Information for Future Family Genealogists
One of the most important parts of finding your family genealogy is making sure it's recorded for future family members who want to find specific information about their family. It will also help you to know exactly where you left off with recording your history when you have to set the research aside for some period of time. Recording the historical information you find will let others know the facts that you find about family instead of living off myths been passed down between generations.
One of the main reasons behind recording your historical information is to be able to provide others with accurate information. By beginning a search on your genealogy, others in the family will be able to help with your mission of finding lineages. Others can review the information you find and compare it with new resources they might find. This allows your genealogical information to be added to and makes sharing of primary documentation with other family members easier.
Once you have recorded information, future family genealogists can check the validity of information you've found. Many times, someone else in the family will be able to fill in gaps or holes of information that you were not able to find. This will provide recording of more accurate and complete historical information in relation to your family lineage. The record can also continuously added onto.
If the others in your family are beginning to take an interest in the genealogy and history of their family, providing them with the sources you have found will help give them a jump-off point for their own searches. This way they won’t have to waste time and energy energy searching for information that's already been found - they will know exactly where to begin their searches. By simply recording where you find your information, you are allowing others in the family to move further forward when they searche instead of having to retrace your steps.
Even if you're not concerned about future family genealogists, you should still record your references and genealogy resources for any future research you might want to do. This is especially important if you fihd something later that's different from the assumptions you've already made. You'll be able to go back to your original source to make corrections as well as having a new source for additional information. If you find you have missing information, or need a starting point to find new information, having recorded where and what you've found will make it easier to move forward. Record not only sources for valid information you're using for your genealogy research, as well as resources and web sites that proved to be erroneous and of no value to you.
When you document a source, you can use certain basic principles to make sure you have enough information for someone else to be able to trace your research. For books include: 1)title, 2)author, 3)publisher, 4)date published, and 5)page number. For a census include: 1)roll number, 2)state, 3)county, 4)city, 5)page number, and 6)family number. There are several sources available online that will help you to keep an organized and detailed account of the information and resources you're using.
Tracing your family genealogy usually requires a large amount of time to find accurate resources and information about your lineage. Giving others information on the resources you find will make the recording of the lineage more of a group process and make it easier for you you and, ultimately, more complete and accurate over time. It will also give others their starting point for finding out about their family.