Genealogy how to get started building your family tree lesson 1
Posted by
the philosophizer
May 22
Here is a step by step tutorial / lesson on how to start building your Family Tree; I have included my very own personal tips and tricks that will come in handy if you decide to transfer your findings into a genealogy software.
1. You will begin by documenting all the information you know off-hand; fill in the attached Pedigree form (click the word pedigree) as best you can.
2. Now you will look around your home for hidden resources: family heirlooms, documents, letters, photo albums, Bible (some contain a genealogy chart at the beginning), school records, phone books, diary, church directory, telephone directory etc.
3. At this point you will create a system for gathering and recoding your data; the basic questions you must always seek to answer for each person you add to your Tree, and how will you record it. See Basic Questions.
4. You will now go through each item (resource), extract information from it and record it. Most importantly you will document the source (where you found the info) for every piece of information that you record (diary, school record, death certificate, Bible, you etc). Do not make any corrections in your notes; record misspellings, incorrect dates etc. exactly as written. Also make note of any source (s) that confirms info already in your Tree.
5. Once you have extracted all that you can from yourself and your personal belongings, you will then branch out to other members of the family; interviews.
Basic Questions – remember to note your sources:
(1) Full name (maiden / nick name / pet name / title)
(2) Name change – state the reason (adoption, paternity, marriage etc.)
(3) Appearance – what did they look like (i.e. black, mulatto, green eyes, mole on face, hunch back, white etc.)
(4) Date and place of birth – witnesses, godparents
(5) Date and place of death – witnesses, cause, where buried
(6) Education- what schools did they attend, where and when
(7) Occupations – what jobs did they hold, where and when
(8) Marriages – to whom, when, where, how (banns, certificate), witnesses
(9) Military Service – when, where, why (enlisted, drafted, flee country etc.)
(10) Church – affiliation, when, where, role if any (deacon, minister, choir, teacher etc)
(11) Travel – when, where, why, how
(12) Affiliations – political, clubs, offices held
(13) Awards – when, where, why
(14) Addresses – when, how long, lived with whom or near whom, or near what
Example of note taking:
Jane Isabella Smith b. June 16, 1956 Big Bong Island, Naga Naga. d. Nov 20 1999, bur. Canada. Source: John Barry Smith son of Jane Isabella Smith; email.
Now one thing to remember is this, if you exchange a lot of genealogy emails with John you should mention, the subject and date of the email. Why? Let’s say three years from now, you find some errors in your Tree, you may have to re-examine your old notes, by adopting a consistent method, you will know exactly where to look and/or whom to contact for another interview.
Written by Antoinette Forsythe Copyright © All Rights Reserved, Image Credit: Caribbean Ancestry by CaribbeanAncestry.com Copyright © All Rights Reserved.
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