How to Begin a Search for Your Ancestor: Difference between revisions

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<br>See also [[United States, How to Find Genealogy Records]]<br>
To begin a search for your family, follow the steps below:


To begin searching for your ancestors, follow the steps below:
# Write down what you already know about your family. Talk to relatives and family friends, and look for memorabilia, such as letters or certificates, to learn the dates and places where your family lived.
# Decide what missing information you want to learn about your family. You may want to know the date of your grandfather’s death or the names of his parents.<br>
# Find out what research has already been done. Search family sources, Internet information, and published books.<br>
# Search other records to find missing information. Search vital, church, and census records.<br>
# Evaluate and share your information. Did you find what you were looking for? Was the information complete?


#Write down what you already know about your family. Talk to relatives and family friends. Look for documents and artifacts in your home, such as letters and certificates, to learn the dates and places where your family lived and events that happened within their lives.
A detailed guide about this process can be found on the FamilySearch™ Web site.
#Decide what information is missing and what you want to learn about your ancestors. For example, do you want to know the date of your grandfather’s death or the names of his parents?
#Find out what research has already been done. Check with living relatives to see if someone in the family has already done research on the family line. You can also check Internet family history sites and published books.
#Search vital records such as birth, marriage and death records to find information about the births, marriages and deaths of family members. Church and census records might also have additional information about your family.
#As you evaluate the information you found ask yourself, "Did you find what you were looking for? Was the information complete? Are there glaring inconsistencies? Are there clues that might help you find other useful information?" 


As you have success in finding new information, preserve what you’ve found by sharing it with others. The easiest way to do this is by using FamilySearch™ and similar family history Internet sites as a place to store what you've gathered. Millions of people search these sites every year. Perhaps others will see what you’ve found and can provide you with additional information.  
Go to [http://www.familysearch.org/ www.familysearch.org].


[[How to Start Your Family History|How Do I Start My Family History]] is a free, easy to use step-by-step guide on how to begin your search.
# Click the '''Search''' tab.
# Click '''Research Helps'''.
# Click '''Sorted by Title'''.
# Click the letter '''H''' in the alphabetical list near the top of the screen.
# Scroll down and click '''How Do I Start'''.


For more a more detailed guide on beginning your research,  see [[A Guide to Research|A Guide to Research]].
== '''Related Content''' ==


== Related Content  ==
[[How to Guess Where to Start]]


*[[How to Guess Where to Start|How to Guess Where to Start]]
[[Category:Beginners]]
*[[Principles of Family History Research]]
*[[Family Trees: An Online Research Tool|Family Trees: An Online Research Tool]]
*Toms, Gary R. [http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/fhd/Community/Mid_Continent_Library/Tips_and_Tactics/Player.html ''Tips and Tactics from 50 Years of Research''] (35 minute online video) [https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/learning-center FamilySearch Research Classes Online], 2010.
*Miller, Ellen. [http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/fhd/Community/Mid_Continent_Library/Beginning_Genealogy/Player.html ''Beginning Genealogy''] (29 minute online video) [https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/learning-center FamilySearch Research Classes Online], 2010.
 
[[Category:Beginners]] [[Category:FamilySearch_Research_Classes_Online]]

Revision as of 22:09, 24 January 2008

To begin a search for your family, follow the steps below:

  1. Write down what you already know about your family. Talk to relatives and family friends, and look for memorabilia, such as letters or certificates, to learn the dates and places where your family lived.
  2. Decide what missing information you want to learn about your family. You may want to know the date of your grandfather’s death or the names of his parents.
  3. Find out what research has already been done. Search family sources, Internet information, and published books.
  4. Search other records to find missing information. Search vital, church, and census records.
  5. Evaluate and share your information. Did you find what you were looking for? Was the information complete?

A detailed guide about this process can be found on the FamilySearch™ Web site.

Go to www.familysearch.org.

  1. Click the Search tab.
  2. Click Research Helps.
  3. Click Sorted by Title.
  4. Click the letter H in the alphabetical list near the top of the screen.
  5. Scroll down and click How Do I Start.

Related Content[edit | edit source]

How to Guess Where to Start

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