Absolute Beginner's Guide To Genealogy
Start With The People Around You
Start with yourself. Write down everything you know about your immediate family; not just names and dates but also important events (local or global) that have impacted your family's life. When you've got the gist of your immediate history, use that information to structure interviews with your family.
Hunt Out The Family Photos
Many older relatives will have old photographs stuck in the pages of books or shoved to the back of drawers. Ask if they do and, if they'll let you, have a hunt around and see what you can find.
Get Organised
When your research is underway, get yourself and your data organised. Make a plan of action for future research and start to structure your findings in a family tree.
Make A Few Decisions
At this point you need to make some decisions : What exactly do you want to learn? What are you hoping to find? Where will you need to look? How do you want to use your findings in the end? The answers to these questions will shape your research so give them careful consideration early on and you'll save yourself a lot of (potenially) pointless work later.
Look In The Right Places
When you know what you're looking for, you can work out where to look. There are so many resources -- on- and offline -- that you really need to stay focused and look in the right places...at the right times.
Getting Help And Helping Others
There are plenty of other people out there doing what you're doing so get involved with local and online genealogy groups. As well as offering your own help to others, you'll receive a lot of assistance in your own research. Plus, it's a lot of fun to share your triumphs and you'll get a lot of support through your disasters!
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