Advice from Genealogists / Historians

[KFCarter]

By all means pursue the info your father has. If you can find primary data like family bibles and records kept by earlier generations in your family, it can give you a huge leg up in doing online searches.

Also, if the LDS church has a genealogical library within driving distance of you, it will be worth the trip. They have exhaustive records gleaned from primary sources all over the country. They often participate in "loose records" projects, scanning and recording old paper records in churches, courthouses, etc. Just tons and tons of genealogical info in microfilm... and, if there's something in their index that isn't physically in their local library they will often send to Salt Lake to have a dupe made and sent at no charge... a way to build up each local library.

Happy hunting!

[davidlpope]

My best advice is to be very methodical, work back generation by generation, and focus on compiling documents which verify your genealogy.

Start with yourself, spouse, and any children you have- get birth, christening, marriage documents, etc. Then move back to your parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents. It is tempting to just focus on "how far back" you can go, without doing the hard work of compiling the actual records, but many of the clues you will need about your own history are dependant on info about those collateral relatives. I'd encourage you to start with one specific line, perhaps your surname line, and systematically work it back as far as you can go.

I find that Ancestry.com is a great resource to get digital images of original documents (census, birth certificates, etc.), but be wary of their member-contributed family trees.

Best of luck!

Cordially,

David

[macwilkin]

By all means pursue the info your father has. If you can find primary data like family bibles and records kept by earlier generations in your family, it can give you a huge leg up in doing online searches.

Also, if the LDS church has a genealogical library within driving distance of you, it will be worth the trip. They have exhaustive records gleaned from primary sources all over the country. They often participate in "loose records" projects, scanning and recording old paper records in churches, courthouses, etc. Just tons and tons of genealogical info in microfilm... and, if there's something in their index that isn't physically in their local library they will often send to Salt Lake to have a dupe made and sent at no charge... a way to build up each local library.

Happy hunting!

I would echo this, and also suggest you contact your local public library. Most libraries maintain some sort of genealogical department, and many offer free classes and seminars on all sorts of topics, including genealogy for beginners. You might also see if a local historical society maintains a library as well.

I worked for two years as a genealogical librarian with our local library; here is the basic genealogy handout we gave beginners. Hopefully it will help:

http://thelibrary.org/research/res_g...aid=676&lid=50

Just remember, work your way back from yourself, and document, document, document.

T.

[starrelectrician]

By all means pursue the info your father has. If you can find primary data like family bibles and records kept by earlier generations in your family, it can give you a huge leg up in doing online searches.

Also, if the LDS church has a genealogical library within driving distance of you, it will be worth the trip. They have exhaustive records gleaned from primary sources all over the country. They often participate in "loose records" projects, scanning and recording old paper records in churches, courthouses, etc. Just tons and tons of genealogical info in microfilm... and, if there's something in their index that isn't physically in their local library they will often send to Salt Lake to have a dupe made and sent at no charge... a way to build up each local library.

Happy hunting!

i also agree with this. as i was raised in the LDS church my family has always been very big on geneolagy. i have many aunts and uncles, along with my parents who have traced some of my family lines back to the 1600's. Ancestry.com is a very good site to use, and LDS.org has family history information. if you find you need some help try contacting the local LDS church and ask them to put you in touch with their geneolagy person. they usually have someone that is proficiant in doing searches and family tree's and can usually help you. as i said my family has gone back real far and it is loads of fun to find out who you are related to. good luck

[JSFMACLJR]

Is this sort of query appropriate in a Heraldry Forum?

[longhuntr74]

Is this sort of query appropriate in a Heraldry Forum?

I meant to put a note to moderators to move it if they felt it fit better somewhere else...