An Introduction to Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of one’s own family or their roots. It is sometimes not enough for some people to only know about themselves from the limited world they see.
The possibility that your ancestor might be a knight from the Middle Ages or someone who was a hero fighting in some revolution is an exciting adventure and can sometimes change the way you percieve yourself. Yet beyond what you can get from your older relatives and what they can dig up in the attic, most people do not know how to research their family history.
The most obvious place to find information today is the internet.
Luckily there is no shortage of information here. You can find just about anything on the internet – you just have to know how to do it.
The most obvious sources on the internet to research genealogy are sites that are specifically set up for this kind of research like Ancestry.com, Rootsweb, or MyHerigate.com. All are great websites that offer several different sources of information.
On these sites you can look up marriage licenses, birth or death certificates, military records, census records, wills, or even old tax information.
The only tricky thing with trying to research your family history through these types of sites is filtering out which ones really are your relatives.
It’s hard to imagine how many different people may have the same names or very similar names of your past relatives. But by knowing bits and pieces of your past history, you are able to fill in the gaps.
The more information you put into a search engine on these sites, the easier it will be to find you relatives. What’s great about the internet is that these sites have uploaded a lot of recoded from places that the average person who not have easy access to, like Elise Island.
You can sometimes find records of your ancestor’s trip into America. The important thing to remember about these records is that they were handwritten at the time. It is possible for the names to be spelled incorrectly.
You can also research your family history by getting records from the local court house.
Like the genealogy websites, you can find marriage licenses, birth or death certificates, or divorce records.
You may also find these records through your state department. Often times these types of documents contains links to other information or will fill in the holes that you might need to complete a more accurate search on the internet.
Another less obvious place to search would be places like funeral homes in the towns that your ancestors lived in and cemeteries. In addition to death records, funeral homes may provide clues like the names of spouses, children, or parents.
Unlike some other hobbies, genealogy is rewarding for not only the person who is doing the work but to other family members and generations to come. If someone is to keep up with or complete the information you have started, it is important that you are providing them with the most accurate information as possible.
Researching Your Family Tree
Finding out where you come from, who your ancestors were or what they did starts from a very familiar place; yourself.
Researching your family tree is not as hard as you think. It just takes some time and energy.
In order to get the history of your family correct to create a family tree, you need to learn a little bit about your family.
Finding out history about your family on this very basic level is fairly easy.
You will want to talk to as many of your older relatives as you can!
Get the full names of your grandparents, your great grandparents, your great, great grandparents and so on. There will come to a point when someone does not remember the name of their grandparents.
Also important with this information is maiden names and the names of their children. You want to construct a family tree as far back as you can.
The names of their children can be important because you will sometimes find documents from something like a census and this will include the names of any children living within their households.
By learning the names of your ancestor’s children, you will be able to verify if the person you are looking up is the right person within your family.
Try to also get as many dates or places where they may have lived as you can.
Along with information that is spread by word of mouth, look for written documents or old pictures.
Documents like birth or death certificates can be very helpful in researching your family history.
Pictures are also helpful in a less obvious way. Sometimes pictures will have a date on the back of them or a town or place.
There may also be clues in the pictures themselves. If you find a picture of your ancestor on a trip to see the Statue of Liberty with a date on the back that says 1935, you then have a point of reference to go back to when trying to figure out what year they entered the United States.
Once you have done your best at researching your family history through word of mouth, you will then have to move on to other sources of information.
Thanks to the internet there are a lot of different and easy ways to search for your family history.
Some people sign up for websites. Some are free but, the easier ones to use cost a small fee.
With these sites you gain access to a lot of other important papers that are very hard to get otherwise.
Genealogy sites offer censuses from past years, death, birth and marriage certificates, plus other public records like military records or even criminal records.
There are also several free sites you are able to use to find your family history. But since they are free, these sites can get kind of simple, or not have the features you might be looking for.
If you really want to get accurate information and build an extensive family tree, it is best to go with a site that will cost a small amount now but, the results you receive will last through the lifetimes of your children’s children.
Genealogy Supplies
The type of supplies that you would need for genealogy are very different from the types of supplies that you would need with the average hobby.
Basically, genealogy supplies consist of the information itself and the means to get the information.
Genealogy starts with word of mouth. By talking to you relatives, you can gather a lot of information.
The average person would not think that they would need supplies when they talk to someone about their ancestors but, having certain supplies on hand can be helpful.
During this step you will need to keep accurate notes of what you learn. So a very basic supply is a good notebook.
You could even use a notebook that has sections in it, to separate the book into families or generations.
Another part of speaking to family members is collecting information like old pictures or documents.
You can use a folder to keep these things in. Or invest in a portable expanding file, which will enable you to keep all of your documents separate and organized.
Remember that you need to keep track of the people in the photos or which documents belong to whom, so make sure you always have scrap paper and paperclips on hand.
By using paperclips you can write the information about the document or photo and keep them together.
You may need to make copies of the information you collect.
In this case, a scanner for the computer is a most valuable resource.
With a scanner you can permanently keep the document on your computer and you can also print the document.
Printed documents are an alternative to use in family tree scrapbooks so that the original document does not get ruined.
The supplies needed for the first part of your research are easy things to come by.
After exhausting the option of gaining information by talking to family members, you will need to pursue other sources of information.
Most people turn to the internet and websites for this next step.
You may not think of a website as a supply, but with genealogy it is.
Most of the sites that are easy to use require a small fee. Investing into these sites can make your job that much easier.
You can also look into investing into genealogy software to help you with your work. With genealogy software you can now house and organize all of the pictures and documents that you may have scanned onto your computer.
Other genealogy supplies that are helpful would be templates of family trees.
Sometimes trying to create a family tree yourself is tricky.
You might want to hand out these documents to family and friends. But it gets hard trying to fit all of the names and information of your relatives.
It also gets tricky trying to figure out who you should include. Your great grandfather may have had five brothers and each of his brothers had five children. Should all of this information be included?
Templates, forms or charts that you can print out from the internet will solve a lot of these problems for you.
Although genealogy does not require a lot of different supplies, it is the supplies that make your hunt for your family history easy and fun that are well worth investigating.
Family Tree Scrapbooking
When you put time and effort into doing something like researching your family tree and collecting important documents, you want a way to show it off.
Most people turn to scrapbooking.
By putting those important pieces of history into a scrapbook you are giving all of those who are interested in flipping through and seeing your research a safe way to do it. All of you hard work will be protected from being ruined or lost.
Starting a scrapbook of your family tree is not unlike starting a scrapbook on anything else.
Pick a book that is going to be sturdy and large enough to contain the amount of information that you plan to put into it.
You are able to add pages to some types of scrapbooks. This is a nice feature with a family tree scrapbook because your ancestors can add to the book you start.
Plus, if you ever find any other information that dates back further than the information you have previously collected, with easily removable pages, you can add the information to your scrapbook.
Just like with photo albums or other scrapbooks, you need to start with the pictures or documents that come first and therefore are the oldest.
Before you get out your scissors and glue stick you need to figure out the layout of the pages.
Organize the documents, pictures, mementos, awards, and anything else you are planning to include in your scrapbook.
The first page can be the oldest documents you have that contain the information of the oldest generation.
If you are going to start with your great grandparents, create a layout that contains any pictures, birth or death certificates, military records, etc.
Make sure that you label each piece of information.
You will need to include full names, dates, and places they may have lived.
What is nice about researching your family tree is getting a chance to talk to some of your relatives and finding out interesting facts or stories about your ancestors.
You can find out a lot of information by just word of mouth!
Even though there are no documents as evidence it doesn’t mean that you can’t put these memories into your scrapbook. Write or print out the story of what you have heard to add to you layout.
The orders of the pages after this are up to you and depend on the family you are researching.
If you start with your great grandparents on your mother’s side, you might want to continue with that side of the family; their children and so on down to your mother. You can then start your father’s side with the documents that go back the furthest.
On the other hand, you might want to create a layout that is chronologically accurate and contains both families at once.
There are a few important tips you should follow when creating a family tree scrapbook.
Devote each page of the scrapbook to either a couple or to each person.
Make sure that the names and dates are clearly visible.
Above all, take time and patience to complete this project. It is a keepsake that will last for generations.
What Everyone Should Know About Filling in a Family Tree Template
A family tree chart can clearly show your lineage extending to your grandparents and beyond and be a lot of fun to make.
Starting with a three-generation family tree keeps tracing your lineage simple.
The great thing about a three-generation family tree is that it fits comfortably on a sheet of computer printer paper, and it can be easily transported to show to friends and relatives.
The three-generation family tree template can also be used as a base to extend your family history further at a later date.
Assign a Number to Your Ancestors
The three-generation family tree will show the connection between you, your parents and your grandparents.
Start by writing out the names of the family members you’re going to insert into the chart and give them each a number.
Starting with you as number one:
1. Your name
2. Your Dad’s Name
3. Your Mom’s Name
4. Your Dad’s Father’s Name
5. Your Dad’s Mother’s Name
6. Your Mom’s Father’s Name
7. Your Mom’s Mother’s Name
Number the Spaces on the Family Tree Chart
Now using a bow tie chart as an example, designate the center circle number 1.
Number the space to the left 2, the one to the right 3.
Now, to the left of space number 2, designate the upper area the number 5, the lower number 6.
On the right and to the right of space 3, designate the upper area number 6, the lower number 7.
You are now ready to begin entering the data for your 3-generation family tree.
Many family tree charts are already numbered; if that’s the case, move on to the next step.
Enter the Names Beside the Corresponding Number
Focusing back on the list you have written out, all you have to do is simply put each numbered name into the space of the corresponding number.
You should be number one on the list, enter your name in space number 1 on the chart.
Your father should be number 2, enter him in space number 2 and do so for each of the remaining names.
This same numbering system can be used with any 3-generation family tree templates.
Always remember that you will be the first person entered and will consequently be number one.
If you number the rest of your relatives as I have instructed you can’t go wrong.
Consequently your family tree will be filled out in the standard method used by genealogists today known as the Ahnentafel system.
Add in Vital Records Information
Once you have filled in all of the names in the proper order, you can enter the related info such as birth and death dates and locations.
Make sure you use full names (First, Middle and LAST) when completing any three-generation family tree templates.
This will ensure you will have no confusion if you discover ancestors of the same or similar names when you extend your search to further generations.
ObituariesHelp.org has the largest collection of free family tree templates available for download. Visit their free printable blank family tree pages to decide which family tree suits your needs the best. More at http://www.obituarieshelp.org/free_printable_blank_family_tree.html
Family Tree Maker Software
When creating your family tree, it can sometimes be difficult to keep all of the information you find neat and organized.
Often you are flooded with information from several different sources and after all of the work you are putting into it, you want to make sure that everything stays together and accurate.
Some people turn to the help of a computer software that they can load onto their computer for assistance.
When considering purchasing software to create your family tree, you want to invest in the product that is going to give you the most for your money.
Probably the most popular software on the market for creating your family tree is the Family Tree Maker from Ancestory.com.
It is one of the best, and you can find it at www.familytreemaker.com .
This software allows you to upload your own videos, audio clips and pictures.
You can also create a timeline, reports, charts and, of course, family trees to keep your information organized.
Plus, you can easily add information that you find from other sites into this program that is able to store it for you.
Also, since it is from Ancestory.com, you can easily use the two together.
You can easily search the internet and connect to other genealogy sites like Rootsweb in order to collect and save vital information.
Another great feature with the Family Tree Maker software is that you are able to print out keepsakes by using the Ancestory.com’s online printing service.
You are able to print out family history books or posters of the family tree you create.
With this software you can also add specific information for one person at a time. You can then build on the person’s history by added their parents, their siblings, their spouse, and/or their children.
You can also add important dates to the person’s profile, such as when they where born and what year they died.
Or you can add information like where they lived. Once this data is entered Family Tree Maker software will show you on a map where that place is.
Another great option is that this software allows you to publish your family tree online for other members of you family to view.
Being able to share what you have put together is one of the most rewarding parts of creating a family tree.
Of course with all of these wonderful features comes a price. The software is not too expensive, but you might be interested in finding a free software that does almost the same things.
My Heritage.com is such a site, and offers a free download of a family tree software called Family Tree Builder.
It is available at this website: www.myheritage.com/family-tree-builder .
Of course, you are not going to get all of the extended options like you would on purchased software, but the features it does offer is very generous for something that is free.
It allows you to do the basics like upload pictures and documents, just like with Family Tree Maker.
And with Family Tree Builder you can publish your family tree on the internet for your friends and family members to view.
But with the Family Tree Builder software you can tag the people you recognize in a photograph and makes that information readily available.
Family Tree Examples & Software
Maybe your heart is into creating a family tree, yet the task might seem overwhelming for you.
Maybe the only family trees you have seen look so complicated that they are hard to understand, and the thought of creating one yourself seems impossible.
But building a family tree is easy if you are able to follow a format.
After you have collected all of the names and important dates of your relatives, you may not know how to place them neatly in a family tree so that it is organized and easy to read.
The best thing to do is to use an example of a family tree to copy.
Some internet sites give examples of family trees, with formats and layouts that you can adapt.
This will give you an idea of where to put each person’s name and how to descend the line of your ancestors back as far as you can go.
You also have the choice of paying for a family tree to be professionally done.
Several sites are available where you can give them your photos or the names of the people you would like on your family tree and they will charge a fee to create it for you.
This is a nice idea for a gift for someone for if you would like to display your family tree in your home.
But, having someone else create this masterpiece for you may take the fun out of it.
Part of the fun is filling out the names and dates yourself or with your family.
There are also sites on the internet where you can find family tree templates that you can fill out.
It is very easy to fill out one of these charts with all of your personal information.
http://obituarieshelp.org/genealogy_forms_downloads.html
This site has several different free downloadable forms, including a printable free family tree chart. This chart allows spaces for family member’s names, the date they were born, who they were married to and the date that they died. It is very easy to use, keeps information organized, and allows the user a straightforward way of filling in the information.
www.thetreemaker.com/samples/family-tree-example.html
This site offers family trees that you can buy and fill out on you own. They are a little bit fancier in style. There are several to choose from and several different options to personalize, them if you wish.
http://genealogy.about.com/od/free_charts/ig/genealogy_charts/family_tree.htm
This is another great site to find the charts you need to fill out your family tree. It is at About.com: Genealogy. They offer three different designs for you to choose from. These charts are a wonderful alternative for people who don’t have the best handwriting; from this site you are able to download the chart and fill it out on you computer. From there all you have to do is print it out. Plus, this site is free of charge.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/freeforms
Here is a site that also offers a wide variety of charts for you to record your family tree and any other important work sheets that you might need to research your family tree. It is a family tee magazine where you can find a lot of different information that pertains to researching your family tree.
So gather your family together to create a family tree together – you now have no excuse not to!