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GETTING STARTED ON

Welcome to the very addictive world
It is time consuming



YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

genealogy and family of history research.
 but very rewarding.

The First Rule

The first rule of genealogy is to start with yourself. Look at your birth and marriage certificates, and from them gather the details of your parents and spouse’s parents.
Next, obtain your parents’ birth, death and marriage certificates and gather details of your grandparents. Work backwards with details from these entries.

Look-Ups

Request look-ups of bmd by people such as myself or local family history groups.
Go to your local library to see if they have a Genealogy/History Resource Center.
If they do, you can look up bdm, passenger lists etc directly from micro fiche.
Some may allow access to CD roms for this information.
Check out the links on this site for some of the many such groups.

Join your local Family History Group.
They often have CD roms or fiche to enable you to do bdm, passenger lists etc directly.

Contact researchers with your request but be aware that most of these individuals and organizations require the payment of a fee.

Your Own Memories

Record your own memories and interview older relatives and friends of the family.
This will help you begin your journey into the lives of your ancestors.
Oral family history can later be verified as other documents come to hand.

Photographs

Although it does not fit into the strict sense of genealogy, collect as many quality copies of photographs of your family, immediate relations (aunts, uncles cousins etc.) and ancestors as possible before they are lost.
Make sure where possible to write on the back of these photographs the names, ages, relationship (to you) and date of photo.
These will be invaluable to your overall family history document when you complete it.
You may then create a rogues gallery on a wall in your house.
Set out in the form of your family tree.
Some of the better genealogy software allows the insertion of photos.
This produces a more visually effective screen display or report.

Certificates

For accuracy (which is very important), you will need to obtain birth, death and marriage certificates.
This is a very expensive exercise when first starting out, but it is necessary to verify information you have gleaned from a variety of sources such as family oral history or hearsay or people like myself who have access to bdm indexes.
It is often possible to get photocopies of these certificates or extracts directly from your family and relatives. This will save a considerable expense initially.
When applying for certificates, it is advantageous to have the Certificate Registration Number as this will speed up the search and hence delivery process.
This number is often included in information you have obtained from researchers to whom you sent a request.
ALWAYS VERIFY ANY INFOMATION FOUND ON THE INTERNET WITH ORIGINAL DOCUMENTATION.  NEVER ACCEPT  WHAT YOU FIND AS FACT, ALWAYS VERIFY IT.

The Internet

The internet is a good source of genealogical information.
There are hundreds of thousand site of which this is one.
Check the links page on this site for some of the more useful sites.
Australian Genealogical Web Sites and Family History

Information You Need

Information you need to find for each individual includes:
(It may not be possible to find all of this information)

Family Name
 First Name/s
 When and where born
 Parents names
 When and where died
 When and where married
 Spouse's name
 Children's Names
 Additional information
 ships they immigrated on
 occupations
 where they lived
 how they lived

Journal or Diary

It is very handy to have a diary in an exercise book (not loose leaf) where you
write down what information you have just found, the source and any reference notes.
This can then be referred to at a latter time when your memory has failed you and
you need to find where you found that vital bit of information.

Genealogy Software

You then need to organize your information into an easily accessible easy to read format.
This is best done by using a suitable computer genealogy software program.
There are many such programs available, mostly commercial (cost) but some are free.
The two that I use are LEGACY (a commercial program)
and PERSONAL ANCESTRAL FILE 5
(can be downloaded free from the Latter Day Saints web site
http://familysearch.org ).

Of the other genealogy software programs, some are good and others are difficult to use.

Well worth looking at.
NEW:  
May '24
****************************************************
From Sarah M
Massive free database of last names of people in the US.
 ****************************************************
From Sarah M
A guide to help people interview their elderly family members for genealogical research, and how to get the best experience and understanding from those interviews.
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From Katie
Although not directly about Genealogy, this resource is excellent in finding information about a given time in history (what it was like when our ancestors were living.
**************************************************** From Amanda - Rutland County, Vermont
Excellent resource for Researching your Family's History from Ships Pasenger Lists (US based).
Very good tips and resourses list.

 ****************************************************
From Sarah J
The Life-Changing Guide to Genealogy for Beginners in '22 [An Essential Guide]

(Excellent, well researched blog on this topic. BobC)
Click here

**************************************************** From Charles G at BeenVerified
  1. Steps to Creating Your Genealogy
  2. Find my relative
  3. Finding and Connecting with Distant Relatives That Might Have Your Variant
  4. Am I Related to Anyone Famous? A Quick Way to Research
Click on each link
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From Maria J
The 25 Best Genealogy Sites - Definitive Guide.

iReviews - comparisons, and news of unique products or services in technology.

The Irish link is quite good.

 Click here
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From Lily, an alternate guide on getting started with your family history research.

Click here
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From Andras G - A research into DNA and DNA tests.
Click here
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From Maria J at DNA TESTING GUIDES.
The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Genealogy Click here

How DNA Testing Has Helped Family Tree Accuracy.
Click here
**************************************************** From Colleen from Corrine Hayes' girl scout troop, a link to immigration into New York's
Ellis Island. As well as history and things to do it contains a link to images of passenger lists and many other useful links.
Click Here
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From Allison from the Ms LouAnne Taylor's Junior Genealogy Club, an excellent resource for shipping and passengers to America as well as other information.       Click Here

**************************************************** From Olivia G
To make it easier for people to get started, use this helpful guide that maps out the pros and cons of various ancestry DNA services as well as the specific types of information you can get from each of them.      click here

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From Julia and kids from her after school club.

6-steps-to-your-family-history
 (click this link)
**************************************************** From Tim (and his Aunty)
A Guide to Genealogy. click here
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Suggestion from the children at
the Genealogy Club in Seattle
"Genealogy Resources by VeritasPrep"
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Start your family tree for free at Ancestry.
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How To Gather Family Information. Look here
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Giving Credit to Your Past: A Guide to Genealogy for the Entire Family.  Look here
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Top 100 Genealogy Sites
Resources for Military Families
How to Travel to Find Your Roots
Genealogy and the Law
Billion Graves
Military Indexes

Remember that
Genealogy
without
Documentation
is
Mythology.
© Robert Cutter   2008-2024
Last Update:  27th May, 2024
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