Get Organised
Organisation is key to the success of your venture:
- Arrange your findings in a systematic way - you may amass rather a lot of information before you are through. Label your sources meticulously - they may be required for later verification.
- Always record where you have searched to avoid duplication of work, even if the search yielded no results.
- Record names and dates in a uniform manner for ease of reading.
- If pursuing more than one line, always keep the material in a separate file.
- Details that perhaps may seem irrelevant should always be noted - you never know when they might become important.
- Always try to corroborate evidence. Never take anything at face value or jump to conclusions without verification.
Recording Your Findings
The way in which you choose to record findings is really entirely up to you. You may prefer to use one of the many family history software packages on the market, which have the obvious advantage of allowing information to be easily updated and printed out, but you will still need some sort of filing system for all the documents, notes and correspondence which you will inevitably accumulate. The information gleaned from relatives can be recorded on a chart for easy identification of relationships. There are several different types of chart and most good family history books will give examples of each:
Drop-line Pedigree Chart
- probably the easiest one to follow. Starts with yourself at the bottom of the page, working up through each generation to your earliest known ancestor at the top. Includes information on siblings, second marriages, and illegitimacies.
Birth Brief
- records the details of four or five generations horizontally left to right, but unlike the drop-line chart, it does not really have enough space to include siblings, and the space for detail decreases as the number of entries grows.
Indented Narrative
- found in many software packages, the narrative is indented one space for each generation, with each person given a number according to their generation. Although more information can be included, it can be very difficult to visualise the layout.
Making a chart of your information helps you to visualise your family history, and to pinpoint the gaps in your knowledge, which require further investigation. Information on each individual, for which there is no room on the chart, can be recorded separately for each person and also on a Family Group Sheet, showing the details for a single family.
Is Anyone Else Researching Your Family?
It may be worthwhile checking to see if anyone else is currently researching your family, or if work has been done in the past:
Relatives
- someone in the family, perhaps a distant relative, may have already done some family history work. Make enquiries within the family.
Ancestral File
- information taken from pedigrees and family group sheets submitted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) after 1978, is available on the Ancestral File, which can be viewed at your local LDS Family History Centre, and on-line at www.familysearch.org.
Family History Societies
- many family history societies publish lists of members' interests. See www.safhs.org.uk for details of local family history societies.
Local Libraries
- local libraries in the area where you are researching will hold copies of published and unpublished family histories pertaining to their area.
Magazines
- some of the various monthly family history magazines have features, letters pages or dedicated advertisement pages where individuals can advertise their family history interests.
It is important that you verify any information found in any of these sources.