Beginners Grin and Dare It: Difference between revisions

*Contact relatives for information.  Begin the writing pyramid by starting with known relatives and, after gleaning the information they know, ask them for addresses or phone numbers of other relatives who might be helpful.  If relatives say "I don't know anything", try the Rudyard Kipling approach "I keep six honest serving men (they taught me all I knew. Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who."  You might make your questions more specific such as: Who is oldest relative you can remember?  Where did your family live? What funerals do you remember going to? How do you know this information?  Do you have old letters or documents?  Why do you think your family moved? What did your family do for a living? What religion do you think they were?  Any war heroes?

2.&nbsp; '''Divide''' the&nbsp;papers into four file folders depending on the family to which it belongs. If you have a LOT of information, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span id="fck_dom_range_temp_1275677276784_387" /><span id="fck_dom_range_temp_1275677276784_713" />&nbsp;use boxes instead of file folders for gathering and dividing.<br>3.&nbsp; '''Gather'''&nbsp;<span id="fck_dom_range_temp_1275676282840_729" /><span id="fck_dom_range_temp_1275676282840_324" />information and papers&nbsp;from other relatives who have been working on genealogy.  

4.&nbsp; '''Divide''' their&nbsp;papers by either "downloading" it into your computer or into one of your file folders.  

*CENSUS:&nbsp; In the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, the census has proved to be a very&nbsp;useful tool in establishing&nbsp;a place of residence at a certain time for a family. In later&nbsp;years, the census is also &nbsp;valuable for&nbsp;locating entire families with accompanying birth years and other information.&nbsp; Generally speaking, the census began in the United States in 1790 and was taken every ten years.&nbsp; A fire destroyed most of the United States 1890 census, but the 1790 through 1930 censuses are now available for public perusal.&nbsp; In Canada the census began&nbsp;as early as&nbsp;1851 and is available through 1911.&nbsp; The differing countries in Great Britain generally have the census from 1841 through 1901.&nbsp;<br>

*VITAL&nbsp;RECORDS:&nbsp; Vital records are&nbsp;records that deal with vital statistics, as in births, deaths, marriages, divorces or adoptions, and are important in establishing specific dates. The records also often contain other important family information such as parents names. The location of these records varies depending on the type of event and the year it occurred.&nbsp; Most birth and death records in the United States begin in the early 1900's with the exception of some states such as a few New England states, large cities and even other scattered counties throughout the United States.<br>