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Tips for the Beginning Amateur Genealogist - Part 1

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How Can I Get Started As A Beginning Amateur Genealogist?

Beginners in any subject need guidelines. and I believe these tips will help beginning genealogists to get started quicker and more efficiently.

The 34 tips I have compiled here have been helpful to me over my years of genealogical research and were originally published for the International Association of Amateur Genealogists.

[This Lens Is The First Part of a Two Part Series and contains Tips 1-17. Click Here To Go To The Second Part]

This list of "Tips" is in no way a comprehensive list but is unique in its emphasis on the beginner. Others have provided lists of tips, many with an emphasis on a particular area of genealogical research.

But, this is a list of basic steps which if taken, will advance you faster than you might expect if you are just getting started. Read all the tips once, making a note of particular ones you wish to know more about.

Then, read them again. Then follow up by checking out the suggestions, references, and resources which are provided specifically for some of these tips.

After this lens is published, I will be coming back on a regular basis to supplement it with additional references.

Tip # 1 - Have Fun!

The word amateur means someone who loves whatever it is they do.

Tip # 2 - Start Today.

Many relatives with information of the past die before we get the information that they know. We often regret not having asked the "important" questions of our elders before they die.

Tip # 3 - Start At Home.

You are the beginning of your genealogy ancestry. Write down you name, your siblings names, and your mother's and your father's names. You will build on this.

Start With YOU!

"Free Interactive Family Tree Chart"

One of the best ways to start is to give a visual appeal to what you are doing as you go along. The picture of the form in this module is of a Free PDF form provided by About.Com which you can use to start your family tree. It is an "interactive" form and can be filled out right on your computer.

"This free family tree chart includes room for 4 generations in the familiar standard format. Each box includes enough room for the name, date, and birth place, but the format is free, so you can choose the info you want to include. Prints at 8.5" x 11"."

To get a copy of this form, click on this link. When you reach the page click on the Download Tree Now link near the bottom of the page. You can then save the PDF file to your computer or fill it out immediately and print it.

Tip # 4 - Keep Information On Pedigree And Family Group Charts.

You will never be able to organize your information without a systematic method. Pedigree charts provide a direct line ancestry leading from you to your parents to your grandparents to your great grandparents, ect. Family group sheets provide basic information on an individual family. This includes information on the parents, and all the children of that family. If there is more than one spouse, use a separate family group sheet for each family.

Tip # 5 - Write Down What You Already Know.

You already know the basic information on your parents (or you can get it from them) and probably know at least the names of your grandparents. Put down all the information you know. You will fill in the missing information as you continue your search.

Tip # 6 - Ask Relatives For Information.

Much of the missing information can be gathered by interviewing your living ancestors. They can provide their vital information and much of the information about their other family members.

Tip # 7 - Interview Collateral Relatives.

These are the relatives not in your direct line of descent. This includes uncles, aunts, granduncles, grandaunts, and their spouses. Each one may remember something that the others may not. Remember, each person has had their own distinct experience in this family "relationship".

Tip # 8 - Put Down The Vital Information For Everyone In Your Family As You Go.

This includes full name; day, month, year, and place of birth; day, month, year, and place of marriage; full information on spouse (when & where they were married); day, month, year and place of death, and information on every child of all marriages.

Other Squidoo Sources On Genealogy

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Tip # 9 - Start To Collect Vital Records From Day One.

Get copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates. This will help you to document the connections between each generation. The birth certificate usually has the parent's names. Likewise, the death certificates usually have the name of the parents.

Tip # 10 - Do Not Be In A Hurry.

Remember to have fun while you build your documentation. The only time one should hurry is to get information from relatives who may not be around much longer.

Tip # 11 - Keep A Personal Diary.

Even if you only summarize once a week the most important things happening in your life, this will provide an insight to you and to future generation of what daily life has been like for you.

Tip # 12 - Keep A Research Diary

You need to keep up with what you have done, when you did it, and what you learned from the activity. This is particularly important when researching written documents. Over time you will forget what sources you consulted when and what you learned if you don't keep a research diary. This also keeps you from repeating research on previously researched documents.

Tip # 13 - Create A File And Note Taking System.

As you continue building your ancestry and getting more and more information, you will soon find that you cannot remember what information you have on certain individuals and where it is at. A system for filing notes will prevent this.

Tip # 14 - Use A Genealogy Software Program If You Have A Computer

These are generally very reasonably priced, and can provide of the most economical and thorough methods of organizing you data.

Tip # 15 - Always Research From Present To Past.

Do not try to start by finding a person with your surname several generations back and attempting to link this person to you and your family. This is a common mistake, particularly when the person you are attempting to relate to is a famous person. Do your parents first, their parents next, etc. This is the only way to be sure of the relationship.

Tip # 16 - Use The Internet.

In recent years, an enormous amount of genealogical data has been placed on the internet and is increasing very rapidly. Many library sources are now searchable by every word in the documents.

Tip # 17 - Do Not Believe Everything You See On The Internet.

There are many errors that can creep into your research by using other's data, but this can be overcome by your own careful documentation of facts. Sometimes you are able to expand your family by many generations by finding research done by a distant cousin who may be related to you through a common ancestor five or more generations back.

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Comments From The Genealogical Community?

  • NancyOram Feb 14, 2011 @ 5:06 pm | delete
    Great tips. I especially like "Always search from present to past." It's tempting to do the opposite and gets you nowhere fast! Angel blessed. Hope to find more genealogy lenses from you.
  • Merlyn63 Apr 9, 2009 @ 5:44 am | delete
    Nice lens and really useful tips, will certainly recommend this one.
  • MrMarmalade Dec 21, 2008 @ 2:31 pm | delete
    I have started the climb.
    My Father's father died at a young age. His mother remarried. I find that I have seven uncles, Aunts and cousins Plus, that we did not know anything about.
    life is amazing.
    Have rated you top Five Stars ***** and Fav u
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anthropos

Hello, My name is Lamar (better known as "anthropos" on Squidoo).
I am a published genealogical author and spend as much time as possible pursuing... more »

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