Goto Step: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Step #1: Begin with the information you have now.

Record any information that you might have on you and your immediate family, father, mother, brothers and sisters.

(Forms are available at the library in the reference area, call #929 in the yellow folder.) Record names, dates, and places.

Add any records such as birth, marriage, death, baptism, etc., that you would like to include. These can be very useful later on.

Add pictures! With each family group add pictures of the family and be sure to date and name each person and where the picture was taken if possible.

These can be such a treasure for future generations.

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Step #2: Moving to the next generation.

Starting with the father, begin a new family group. As you did with yourself add the information of the father and his parents and siblings. Next do the same for the mother and her father, mother and siblings. Add records and documents for these persons as well as pictures. Continue to do this for each generation that you currently have information on.

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Step#3: Call Grandma, Aunt Gertie and the cousins.

A wealth of information can be found with family members. Contact your grandparents, aunts and uncles, or cousins. It can be very worthwhile. Do interviews with anyone willing to sit and share what they know or items they have like pictures, marriage licenses, death certificate, etc. Document all of this and add it to your book.

Do interviews! Get whatever you can on video or tape. Many times after an interview, notes do not have all you wanted. This can be your back up. You are really on your way.

Another helpful hint too, if there are no relatives available, try the neighbors or contact the local museums and schools. Sometimes those that know more about our families are not even in our families. Keep an open mind.

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Step #4: Public Records (Marriage licenses, death certificates, school records, etc.. )

All states and most countries have a census bureau or public records hall. Most libraries will have a booklet with the addresses you will need. If not try the internet. When writing for information be sure and be as specific as you can (dates, full names, cities, etc.) This will help the person on the other end in finding what you really want. There will usually be a charge for most documents ordered. However the price will vary greatly. It is a good idea to request a price list. You can usually request notarized documents or photocopies. If need for a notarized version is not great, photocopies are much cheaper.

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Step #5: Using the Internet

Today we have many choices when searching for our families past. The internet has a wide variety of sites that are useful. But with all genealogy be patient and be prepared for a bit of "sleuthing". As with all information gathered, verify what you are recording. Make sure you are adding to your line, the actual person you are related to . If you are looking for a David Brown and there are 60 of them, be sure to check all available information, age, date of birth or death, city or state, etc. This will save you many hours of research time.

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