where to start?

Question

I want to start researching my family history and do my geneaolgy. I have three young (hyper) boys and can't get to the family history center. Can I get started at home on the web? Where do I go and where do I start? I have no idea what to do. Can anyone give me specific instructions on how to go about it? Thank you so much for any help.

Answer 1

Hey AJ,

Sure. Start with yourself. Get all the records you have together for births, deaths, marriages, obits. Pictures, stories, wills, parent interviews, grandparent interviews. Then organize that information into some Genealogy Software. There are packages below, LDS Family Search has free software that is not very robust, but it is free. The other software is much more friendly, and does lookups on the internet at pay sites.

There are thousands of sites on the internet, but first, get organized. Once there, you can apply for BMD (birth, marriage, and Death) vital records for anyone that you cannot figure out who their parents are. Look at your own birth certificate, it lists your parents, their age when you were born, their birth locations. So, that is how you link one generation to the next. Once you have gone as far as you can with that, start examining all the other sites. There are family tree/branches you can get from other people, you can come back here and ask more questions, and you can keep experimenting. If you can read some of the Genealogy technique sites.

Here are some really great Genealogy sites for you. Use LDS Family Search for your first stop to investigate a person that you believe has deceased. There are pedigree, census and other records there. Use GENFORUM for specific surname (for example your grandmothers maiden name, etc.) to strike up internet conversations with people having mutual interest. Have fun, and remember to have respect for your ancestors.

Answer 2

RustSkipper's answer is the best. If you get 30 minutes to yourself at a stretch, live in the USA and want a much more detailed look at just a few of the sites Rust Skipper listed, I have two pages with links and exercises designed to give people a taste of six major large, free genealogy web sites. I'm going to use the pages for a 90 minute introductory course at my county library.

If you'd like to work through it, you'd need a list of your grandparents; great-grandparents would be even better. For each person you'd need as many of the seven basic facts as possible; birth date & place, marriage date & place, death date & place, spouse's name (maiden name for women).

It starts at
http://www.tedpack.org/genclass1.html
if you are interested.

If it helps (or hinders), I would appreciate knowing about it. Please write to me via the e-mail link at the bottom of either page; what was clear, what wasn't; what worked for you, what didn't.

Thanks!

Answer 3

There are many family tree and geneology websites out there. www.familytree.com is one of the best resources. Otherwise, just do a Google for the rest of the best. Good luck!

Answer 4

Find the Mormons' website. Fabulous resource.

Answer 5

I WOULD START WITH ASKING THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY FOR NAMES AND BIRTH, MARRIAGE & DATES OF DEATH .

THIS WAY YOU WILL BE ABLE TO LOG FACTS OF YOUR FAMILY LINEAGE FROM FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE BEFORE MORE TIME PASSES AND POSSIBLY LOOSING A GREAT SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE.