Hints on tracing your ancestry!

[sirdaniel1975]

OK folks, some of us here are a bit more experienced in genealogy than others. It seems to be the hot topic in the Heraldry & tartans thread section for nearly 3 months now.

So, I was thinking wouldn't be great if those of us with more experience in a thread could contribute some helpful hints that have helped themselves or others.. WELL, lets do it! I'll start it off with some basic things and as this thread expands I'll add more as well.

================================================== =========

1. Talk to your family and find out everything and then some.

I can't stress this enough, you need to find out as much as possible.

a) B.M.D.'s (Birth Marriage Death's), remember your mothers & wives are usually the ones who keep a records of everyones birthday. Locking down the current generation is essential. Go back one person and generation at a time. Don't forget to get those siblings B.M.D.'s as well. Your direct ancestor might not be in the census record or whatever record here or there. But maybe the siblings are. You might be able to peg that great great grandfather's name you were trying to determine.

b) Don't forget about the places associated with the B.M.D.'s either.. (I'm sure there's a lot of Robert Clark's, John Clark's, William Clark's, etc...)



2. Start researching records; census, BMD, Newspapers, SS death index, etc....

a) Find out their profession, very interesting and essential. (some of my ancestors have been inventors, potters, circus performers, etc..)

b) Parish records are so important, find out what their religious faith was. Most census records will list the parish, I suggest researching the parish as I have done. You might found out they were members of a congregation of a famous parish/minister, as I have.

c) Military service.... check draft records, enlistment records, find out their rank, etc...

================================================== =========

For some interesting hints:

From:http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/P.../patterns.html
Naming Patterns in the
18th & 19th Century



In general, families tended to name their children in a specific pattern, as follows:

Males

First-born Son - named after the father's father
Second-born Son - named after the mother's father
Third-born Son - named after the father
Fourth-born Son - named after the father's eldest brother
Fifth-born Son - named after the father's 2nd oldest brother or mother's oldest brother

Females

First-born Daughter - named after the mother's mother
Second-born Daughter - named after the father's mother
Third-born Daughter - named after the mother
Fourth-born Daughter - named after the mother's eldest sister
Fifth-born Daughter - named after the mother's 2nd oldest sister or father's oldest sister

A Listing Of Some 18th and 19th Century Nick Names