Starting Your Family Tree
By admin on Oct 24, 2009 with Comments 0
considerable particularly following the BBC programme “Who Do You Think You Are?” The American version is coming to NBC in the States in March. Lisa Kudrow and Spike Lee being just two of the celebrities featured. This can only be good for those wanting to trace their roots as more and more people get enthused, go online and share information.
Obviously your interest is fired up because you are reading this but you may be stuck as to where to begin with your family tree. Many people get started then give up because they do not know where to go next. That is a question we are always being asked at our Genie website
Welcome to number one in a series of five that I Have written. I hope that this will be of use to you in your search for your family history.
So where to start? Right at home is where I suggest you begin. First list all the relatives you know about, going back as far as you can. Dates if you know them but fill in those details as you go and as you find out more. I will cover checking these details later.
Once you have done that then ask your family. Ask the oldest members of your family what they remember. The smallest details and stories are valuable to give you further information and leads to be followed up at a later date.
My mother has been a mine of information. Taking the story back over several generations. Not only with details of the people she knew personally but also with what she was told by her parents and grandparents.
I recommend recording these conversations rather than scribbling things down. You can then go back to them at leisure and note down the important details.
Spread your inquiries further afield. even the most distant relative may have some snippet of information that will lead you on to filling in missing detail.
Surnames, maiden names, places of birth, occupations are all of interest and although they might not seem relevant are worth noting down. For example an occupation may explain why a particular person moved location at a particular time. Perhaps they fought in a war? This may open up a line of research into military records for example.
Every little detail will help bring the past back to life so that it becomes more than a dry record of dates and names but a history of real people and the times they lived in. This has made my own research and the research I have done for other people far more interesting.
I hope that this gives you a good start towards tracing your roots. So what is stopping you? Get out there and start asking questions.
Roger
By: Roger Shann
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