Family Puzzler

by wendy Moyer

Where do I begin? How would I even start to build a family tree? These are questions I hear all the time from people that want to get started but have no idea how to. Our time is precious and there is no reason to waste weeks, months or even years stumbling around trying to get started on a project of this magnitude.

What Are You Sure Of?

The first thing I tell people is to make a short list of what they know for sure. Starting with the most basic information you can start building your tree. You probably know your parents birthdates and places of birth. If you know your grandparent’s information, that’s even better. If you don’t though, there’s no need to get frustrated. The information can probably be found.

If there are doubts about any of the info you have gathered, just put an asterisk by it and remember that this is only a guess. There’s nothing worse than sticking on a particular path that you were sure was correct only to find out later it was wrong.

Do Not Reinvent The Wheel

Too many of us will search and search for information that has already been gathered. I ask people if anyone in their family has ever done research into their tree before. Almost always I get a no answer. After asking a few more questions they will often change their answer and say something like…”Well I think my cousin did something like this a few years ago but it was only on my mom’s side.”

Well, there you go. If your cousin or someone did the research for you, then why are you going to spend years searching for the same information she already found? Don’t be afraid to ask your relative for the information they gathered. Most of the time you will probably find they are happy to share it with you.

Those of us who are into Genealogy, are happy to find someone who is also interested in it. It is not proprietary information. Genealogy is family research that is meant to benefit the entire family.

Distant Relatives As Help

When you think about your second great grandfather, realize that there are probably a lot of people around today related to him. People had a lot of kids back then. They in turn had a lot kids, and so on and so on.

The first place to begin is to search for your distant relatives and see what research they have done on your common ancestor. This is an ongoing process. It will never end. I am constantly finding articles, message boards and whole websites dedicated to ancestors of mine that were started by a distant relative.

You can either do a simple search on the internet for your ancestor to find this information or if you decided to join a website like ancestry.com you can find a lot there. There are family trees out there that people post online that could contain your ancestor.

Check out these trees carefully and see how their data corresponds with yours. A note of caution though would be to take the information with a grain of salt. Often times, unfortunately I find the trees to contain inaccurate information. Even though the trees were started with the best of intentions there are errors nonetheless.

Perhaps your distant relative was related to your second great uncle instead of your second great grandfather and did not care about the accuracy of your direct ancestor’s information. A lot of these trees will take facts from other trees and perpetuate bad information.

That is why you must always get a second source to back up what you have found. Do not rely entirely on other people’s family trees. I usually find that a lot of people have pieces of the puzzle but not the whole picture. Take it on yourself to be the one who puts it all together in a cohesive package.

If you find information that conflicts with another person’s research, don’t be afraid to challenge it. We all want the whole truth and nothing but the truth. A researcher would be happy to find out you discovered something they could not.

Clues Right Under Your Nose

A good tip when beginning your research is to talk to as many people in your family as possible. Everybody knows one thing that no one else knows. Ask relatives what they know about your ancestors. You may find out why your grandparents migrated to another part of the country. Whatever information you find out, I guarantee you will not regret.

Don’t spend forever trying to find something out that your own mother or aunt knows. Gather the stories together and catalog them. Ask your relatives a series of important questions that would not normally come up in regular conversation. Write the questions down and hit them with it in sort of an interview.

Good questions would be ones regarding important milestones in your families past. Such as why they moved and when they made the decision to. Make a list of the ancestors you know of so far and go down the list asking your relatives what they know about each person. Did they actually meet the ancestor or what stories were passed down?

I recently found a distant relative living in the same town as myself who actually met and knew my second great grandfather. That information is priceless when you consider an eye witness account of what happened over 80 years ago. No book is going to contain stories of what life was like for them.

Cite Your Sources

I know, you already knew that. It’s the first rule of Genealogy. It can’t be emphasized enough though. Not just the actual documenting of the sources, but the actual organization of your material is crucial. When you are on a roll it is so tempting to keep going on to the next page and finding out even more without stopping and documenting where you got the information.

I’ve done this myself. I get excited when I find something and keep going until I reach what I was looking for. Then I step back and say “Now, where did I find this information at? What website was that on?” Then the backtracking begins.

Resist the temptation to rush. Stop to write everything down. Organize the information on your computer as well as a hard copy. If you don’t, imagine the frustration of losing everything when your hard drive goes out.

If you can, get a filing cabinet and start stuffing it full. You will eventually need more than just the one but it’s a start. Be sure and find a way to organize that makes sense to you. People will tell you how to organize information but everyone has their own way of remembering where something should be.

Being careful of how you begin a project of this magnitude will benefit you for years to come. It will save a lot of time in the long run so you can have more time to do in-depth research on individuals and clear up mysteries of the past.

Next, to get the help of a professional genealogist and the genealogy services that you may need to uncover a comprehensive picture of the lives on your family tree - including pictures, original letters, stories, interviews and more - go to =>
http://myfamilyhistorydetective.com/
now.

by wendy Moyer

Few people working on their family tree take the time to familiarize themselves with historical events that were surrounding their ancestors. Most Americans have a basic knowledge of history but do not consider how those events shaped the lives of our ancestors.

The Effects Of War

The most obvious example is war. Your ancestors were undoubtedly affected by and were probably involved in the civil war. Perhaps they moved to a different state during or right after the conflict. The reconstruction went on years after the war and affected people in the south deeply. There were outbreaks of violence that continued long after the war.

In many cases an ancestor will be killed in action and the wife is left to raise the family by herself. Kids were sometimes sent to their grandparents or other relatives to be raised. Look for clues in the census regarding how the ancestor is related to the head of household. Understanding what the circumstances were is key to figuring out exactly what was going on in their lives.

The Homestead Act

If your family members were farmers which a lot of people were, you may have noticed that a lot of them owned 160 acres of land. Was this just a coincidence? Was that just an acceptable number that most people chose? The answer is that Abraham Lincoln as part of the Homestead Act gave anywhere from 160 to 640 acres of land to each willing individual with the stipulation that the person would agree to stay on and improve the land. Then they were required to file for a deed in the end.

Arriving In The British Colonies

When did your ancestors arrive in the colonies? Check and see what the population of the colonies were at the time of their arrival. It will probably surprise you. If they came early enough, they may have been part of the first 100,000 people here or perhaps even less.

Check to see what was going on in the country they just came from. Were their reasons for leaving because of conditions in their native lands? Was it due to religious reasons? Many saw the colonies as a religious refuge because they were being persecuted in Europe. There was hope for a new start in a new land.

If you want to know more about your own family than look to see what was going on around them. It will answer questions as to why they moved around when they did and made the decisions they made.

Creating A Rich And Fascinating Family History

When you take the information you have gathered on your family tree, try to include as much about what was going on around your ancestors. Doing this will add a human element to the tree instead of having only a list of names and dates representing your history.

Imagine how fascinating it would be to read a story about your family’s history when you include these facts. You will begin to imagine your family members as they struggled through hard times. Look up what company or what division your ancestor served in during war time. In many cases you can find out exactly what that unit was doing, what battles they were involved in and you may find photos people have uploaded onto the internet that you did not already have.

Brush Up On Your History

It wouldn’t hurt to brush up on your history. You don’t have to go all out and head back to school. There are a lot of resources out there. If you’re working on a particular relative, start by looking up the events during his or her lifetime. You can find timelines on the internet that will illustrate what was happening in politics, science, art, etc…

When I tell people the date of my first ancestors arriving here they look at me shocked and ask what was going on that early in this country. It’s nice to write down some references so people can get a better visual of the subject’s life.

Connecting With A Historical Society

The role of a historical society is to provide information about a particular region or city rather than of individual people. They gather information in the form of maps, records, stories, etc… The society will take this information and sometimes publish their findings in periodicals or online.

Connecting with these societies and using the information they have gathered can be a great resource for use on your own family tree. The information can be used to coincide and enhance your own research.

I found a relative that was working alongside her entire family in a cotton mill. After doing some research about the area and that mill, I discovered there was a fire that totally destroyed the structure during that same time period.

Knowing this information allowed me to figure out why these people moved from the area and migrated to different parts of the country. The information gathered about the town was key to figuring this out.

Everyone is connected to historical events. Finding out how is the fun part.

Next, to get the help of a professional genealogist and the genealogy service that you may need to uncover a comprehensive picture of the lives on your family tree - including pictures, original letters, stories, interviews and more - go to => http://myfamilyhistorydetective.com/ now.

wendy Moyer may be contacted at

by Dale Garden

Here are a few of the many reasons to recruit relatives — and often family friends — to help you with your family history:

- Their contributions will make your family history much richer and more interesting to readers - The individual personalities of your ancestors will come through in the stories and remembrances of contributors - Family members have treasures, photos of deceased family members and old documents, and especially photos of family heirlooms and hand-me-downs — some you may not even know exist - Contributors will add comments to what you produce — again adding interest and richness to your family history - When a person contributes, it will encourage others to contribute - They will catch mistakes!

Of course, some relatives will be more interested and helpful than others — and some simply may be too busy. Therefore, don’t be discouraged if at first, you do not get help from some people. But keep in contact with them and keep them informed because they may become interested at a later time.

It is likely that older relatives may be forthcoming — treat them well!

A good way to get a relative involved is to ask them about their memories of an individual — biographical material should be a central component to any family history. Experience shows that biographical material is usually the most viewed material in a family history. Some people are likely to tell you memories faster than you can record them! Encourage them to write memories in their own words; some will, some won’t, so be flexible — you may be able to encourage them if you say you will edit anything they write.

Example: I asked my sister to tell the story about when our mother attempted to teach her how to kill a chicken on the farm (preparatory to fried or roast chicken eating) — an excerpt:

“When I was thirteen or fourteen, Mom decided that I should learn how to kill chickens (a necessity of life according to her or maybe a passage into womanhood) . . . She got the chicken out of the coop, laid it on its side, put her right foot of the feet of the chicken, stretched out the neck, and in a very matter of fact way cut off its head. The body of the chicken would flop all over the place.”

Now that adds interesting color to a family history!

When a person gives you a contribution, not only should say, “Thanks”, but you should also tell all possible contributors about it — knowing about specific contributions will encourage more contributions.

Give relatives a document outlining possible contributions. This serves a double purpose because it will also be a checklist for material that you will include in your family history. Here is a starter list:

- Remembrances and “stories” about an ancestor — idiosyncrasies, uniqueness - Old photos — ancestors, family reunions, pets, homes, etc. - Digital photos of hand-me-downs, artifacts, documents, etc. - Private correspondence, e.g., old letters for a digital scan image - Wedding licenses and old legal documents - Military documents and photos - Obituaries, newspaper articles, other published material - Memories of what was different “back then” © Copyright January, 2010 by Dale Garden

I am Dale Garden. I help people learn to write their own online family histories. Provide learning resources for people to learn to do family trees, to edit and manage photos and to learn blogging as the best way to write and publish online family histories. And when justified, offer personal one-on-one assistance.

Dale Garden may be contacted at http://dgaweb.com