Template:General Research Tips

General Research Tips Success with birth, marriage and death records depends on a few key points.

• If your ancestor has a common name, extra reference points in the search query improve search options and success.
• Find your ancestor in each available census.
• Use indexes, but if the image is available, always look at the image to verify accuracy and see information not indexed.
• Where a person lived can be a great help to group individuals into their correct families.
• Dates in a person's life will point to various options for learning more about them. Even approximate dates for birth, marriage and death can help.
• Find at least two documents from independent sources to verify what you learn.
• Use maps - doing genealogy without a map is like painting with your eyes shut.