Genealogy should always be Free
Genealogy files are in pdf format. Feel free to use what you need, but please do not change sources or documentation. I have been doing genealogy for 20+ years and here are my top 10 things that may make your search for your ancestors more pleasant and easier.
1) Start with a good, dedicated genealogy software program. It should have, at the very least, picture storage capability, file conversion capabilitiies to at least gedcom and pdf and of course family tree construction in various styles. It should also have an intuitive interface and be something you are comfortable with. I use FamilyTreeMaker version 16. That is what works for me. There are other programs out there - seek out what works for you. If you and other family members are doing genealogy - you should all use the same software and same version. It makes it much simpler to share files.
2) Always, Always do your sourcing as you enter data, Believe me, a week later you will not remember where you got that piece of information. Also, use a consistent format for your sources. I didn't start sourcing until I had been doing genealogy for 2 years so a lot of what I found in the beginning is without sources.
3) Start with yourself and your spouse, including all siblings. Then to your parents and their siblings, then to your grandparents and their siblings, then to their parents and their siblings and so on. Fill in every branch of every direct ancestor and their siblings. Trust me, in a year or two you will find that fourth cousin twice removed that will have that piece of information that will get you over the roadblock.
4) The Internet is a great source for information but there are other places that hold a wealth of information. The National Archives, The Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, IN, church records, the Mormon church in Salt Lake City, Ellis Island and a lot more. One of the best sources of information is your local or county historical society.
5) If you have a local genealogy society, join it and become active in it. Your family may be from the East coast and you are living in the Midwest, but those members are a weatlth of information on how to find things. They can also help you with the selection of the software that will work best for you.
6) THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ANY GENEALOGICAL SEARCH: Sit down and spend as much time with your parents, grandparents and if they are still alive, your great grandparents as you can. Make time for this, plan trips to get this done - whatever it takes. Sit down and go through family bibles, photo albums (a great time to start writing on the back of the pictures who this person is and who that person was) Your great grandfather may not have had a birth certificate issued but his daughter, your grandmother knows that he was born in Ottumwa, Ia and that the family moved to Los Angeles when he was a week old. Or better yet, that he was adopted. This will save you years of blind research and get you past those roadblocks because you are looking for the wrong information.
7) When some one passes away, things have a way of getting lost. Like family photo albums and birth certificates. However you can; take possesion of these items. They will mean more to the whole family than to one individual. And, when you are labeling pictures, don't say Aunt Louise but rather Louise Smith - 1839 - 1894. I have many ancestors that have the exact same name -the birth and death dates distinguish them from each other.
8) One of the best tools you can own besides your software is a multi function printer. Mine is a copier, fax, scanner and printer. Right at my desk, I can scan pictures and documents into my genealogy software and then fax those pictures to my sister in California and E-mail them to my other sisters in California and Kentucky.
9) Join genealogy message boards (most are free) on the Internet - Rootsweb, GenWeb, GenForum, etc. You will actually find "cousins" you never knew you had and you will actually get good valuable information and genealogy that has already been done for you. That reminds me - please freely share your information with others, it will come back to you may times over.
10) For most this is a hobby, for others like me it is almost an addiction. Control it or it will control you but most importantly - HAVE FUN WITH IT!
1) Start with a good, dedicated genealogy software program. It should have, at the very least, picture storage capability, file conversion capabilitiies to at least gedcom and pdf and of course family tree construction in various styles. It should also have an intuitive interface and be something you are comfortable with. I use FamilyTreeMaker version 16. That is what works for me. There are other programs out there - seek out what works for you. If you and other family members are doing genealogy - you should all use the same software and same version. It makes it much simpler to share files.
2) Always, Always do your sourcing as you enter data, Believe me, a week later you will not remember where you got that piece of information. Also, use a consistent format for your sources. I didn't start sourcing until I had been doing genealogy for 2 years so a lot of what I found in the beginning is without sources.
3) Start with yourself and your spouse, including all siblings. Then to your parents and their siblings, then to your grandparents and their siblings, then to their parents and their siblings and so on. Fill in every branch of every direct ancestor and their siblings. Trust me, in a year or two you will find that fourth cousin twice removed that will have that piece of information that will get you over the roadblock.
4) The Internet is a great source for information but there are other places that hold a wealth of information. The National Archives, The Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, IN, church records, the Mormon church in Salt Lake City, Ellis Island and a lot more. One of the best sources of information is your local or county historical society.
5) If you have a local genealogy society, join it and become active in it. Your family may be from the East coast and you are living in the Midwest, but those members are a weatlth of information on how to find things. They can also help you with the selection of the software that will work best for you.
6) THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ANY GENEALOGICAL SEARCH: Sit down and spend as much time with your parents, grandparents and if they are still alive, your great grandparents as you can. Make time for this, plan trips to get this done - whatever it takes. Sit down and go through family bibles, photo albums (a great time to start writing on the back of the pictures who this person is and who that person was) Your great grandfather may not have had a birth certificate issued but his daughter, your grandmother knows that he was born in Ottumwa, Ia and that the family moved to Los Angeles when he was a week old. Or better yet, that he was adopted. This will save you years of blind research and get you past those roadblocks because you are looking for the wrong information.
7) When some one passes away, things have a way of getting lost. Like family photo albums and birth certificates. However you can; take possesion of these items. They will mean more to the whole family than to one individual. And, when you are labeling pictures, don't say Aunt Louise but rather Louise Smith - 1839 - 1894. I have many ancestors that have the exact same name -the birth and death dates distinguish them from each other.
8) One of the best tools you can own besides your software is a multi function printer. Mine is a copier, fax, scanner and printer. Right at my desk, I can scan pictures and documents into my genealogy software and then fax those pictures to my sister in California and E-mail them to my other sisters in California and Kentucky.
9) Join genealogy message boards (most are free) on the Internet - Rootsweb, GenWeb, GenForum, etc. You will actually find "cousins" you never knew you had and you will actually get good valuable information and genealogy that has already been done for you. That reminds me - please freely share your information with others, it will come back to you may times over.
10) For most this is a hobby, for others like me it is almost an addiction. Control it or it will control you but most importantly - HAVE FUN WITH IT!
