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Out of curiosity, do most people begin with 1 side of the family & exhaust all possibilities, then move to the other side? Or, do many research both sides at the same time.
Out of curiosity, do most people begin with 1 side of the family & exhaust all possibilities, then move to the other side? Or, do many research both sides at the same time.
When you start out, doing one line at a time may be easier. Now I just look at whoever hits my fancy on a particular day. I have been looking at DNA matches recently so I have been looking at lines where I have matches.
You will get to a certain point where you are not finding much new on people you have already researched, but you will want to go back and look again every once in a while. Unfortunately, what is new is sometimes an obituary for nearer generations.
I just skip the paper charts altogether. I do not add someone to my tree unless I am pretty sure the info is correct. The data just goes directly into the software program. It's easy to change or even delete it.
This is going to be generic and obvious but my best suggestions are to be patient and thorough.
Beyond that I'd say start by getting all the family info you can dig out. There might be some distant cousin some closer cousin might know of that's the keeper of family lore. Get everything you can from that person. Keep in mind family lore or family genealogy isn't always correct, but it's invaluable for leads and when comparing to records.
Towards that goal, this might sound a bit sobering, get written (by them or you, even better audio recorded if you can and then transcribe) accounts of family history, genealogy, lore, etc from the oldest relatives you know. People die and though it's sad in it's own right it's also sad that the puzzle pieces they have in their minds of family history is lost with them. Along that goal I would say you should get those oldest relatives DNA tested if you can, especially your oldest living ancestor. That DNA can be beneficial when you get to more advanced genealogy and there's no feasible way for most people to get DNA tested of a deceased relative.
I have been looking at DNA matches recently so I have been looking at lines where I have matches.
Thank you for your reply, Suzy. Interesting point, DNA, because I often wonder why people want anyone in their chart who isn't a blood relative. I'm not saying dismiss children in real life, or anything of the sort... just talking documented bloodlines on paper. When people begin adding in entire family lines of relatives who've been married & divorced 5 times, yet their blood relative never had children with 4 of the spouses, hence there's no blood relation, how can all those people & their entire lines possibly be included in our tree?
It's like those articles every once in awhile that show virtually every president is related & a descendant of Charlemagne... Madonna is related to Hilary Clinton & Obama & Lady Gaga & the Queen of England. Of course they are & probably so are a vast % of Americans, if we're using those criteria.
It almost seems we need 2 chart categories... one of our actual bloodlines & another of those "related" through marriage, if someone is so curious.
I also admire the patience of anyone who can research charts. It's like those who can spend years learning astrology & putting together complicated charts. I've no idea where you all find the patience.
I've always been interested in Genealogy. I'll take any suggestions on how and where to begin. I'd prefer info with no cost but that isn't a deal breaker.
You've gotten a lot of great advice. I also suggest you check out my blog post Family tree and DNA general instructions I talk about how I started on My Heritage, Ancestry and Family Search plus mistakes I made, what sites charge and the free info, also how to work around the sites that charge. I have not given Ancestry a credit card because I have not used my 2 week free trial even though my main tree is there. I love how public or private I can make my tree there
I'm focused on the more recent generations and recording their stories because the census records and newspaper stories will hopefully still be out their later. I started doing this when I was 16 or 17 because of a high school project assigned by a history teacher. My grandparents were still alive and I had about ten or so years where I got to ask them questions before I lost them. There is never enough time for any of us. I've found that I know the answers to so many things that others are beginning to ask and I've got a story or two that others didn't know. I have a few pictures because my grandma made sure I got copies of a few.
Starting out. I would probably get copies of my birth certificate, parent's birth certificates, marriage license and grandparent's birth certificates and marriage license and any death certificates. This will give you basic information, but it's also a chance to start asking questions. My grandparents had delayed birth certificates from the 1950's. They had been born 30+ years later. They got them then because they were moving out of state and needed them for jobs and I guess social security. These jobs were the first formal jobs they had worked for a permanent employer. My great grandmother's had signed the birth certificates and that was the only example of their handwriting I have. That brought about the story that my grandmother had taught her mother in law to write her name. My grandmother had taught her two younger sister in laws to read and write. That is why my dad's cousin is named after my grandmother. The death certificates are interesting too. I found out a couple of colorful stories from that when I showed what I found to my grandparents and dad.
RootsMagic has a free version too (RootsMagic Essentials) - I think the features are limited but it's a good starting point if one isn't sure about pouring money into it just yet. Additionally, if the OP does wind up subscribing to Ancestry.com, RootsMagic will upload/sync your tree (and it's so much easier to attach records from Ancestry if you have a tree there).
So, if you don't want to spend money yet, I would start with RootsMagic Essentials for your tree, and FamilySearch.org for your research. If you then want to buy RootsMagic and/or subscribe Ancestry.com, you already have the tree software that will link to an Ancestry.com tree. Note that I don't think the free version of RootsMagic has the tree syncing option, but as mentioned RootsMagic is very affordable anyway.
I've never used a family tree program like Roots Magic. Does it offer any hints like Ancestry, My Heritage or Family search? I've gotten pretty far with hints even though I haven't paid on ancestry
Thank you for your reply, Suzy. Interesting point, DNA, because I often wonder why people want anyone in their chart who isn't a blood relative. I'm not saying dismiss children in real life, or anything of the sort... just talking documented bloodlines on paper. When people begin adding in entire family lines of relatives who've been married & divorced 5 times, yet their blood relative never had children with 4 of the spouses, hence there's no blood relation, how can all those people & their entire lines possibly be included in our tree?
It's like those articles every once in awhile that show virtually every president is related & a descendant of Charlemagne... Madonna is related to Hilary Clinton & Obama & Lady Gaga & the Queen of England. Of course they are & probably so are a vast % of Americans, if we're using those criteria.
It almost seems we need 2 chart categories... one of our actual bloodlines & another of those "related" through marriage, if someone is so curious.
I also admire the patience of anyone who can research charts. It's like those who can spend years learning astrology & putting together complicated charts. I've no idea where you all find the patience.
They are part of the family story even if not related by blood, and their descendants may have information on your blood relative.
Keep in mind that the further you go back, the more ancestors you have. You reach a point eventually when the world population was much smaller and therefore the number of potential ancestors was, too. Then you must have ancestors who appear multiple times in your tree, and you share those ancestors with many people living now.
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