Genealogy has been around for hundreds of years in Europe. Originally was a way to track noble families. At the end of the 19th Century, genealogy became a way for North Americans to document their lineage. Now genealogy is booming. With so many new tools and information sources, there has never been a better time to learn about your family’s history.
People become interested in researching their family history for many reasons. Some people are curious to find out if all those family stories they heard growing up were true, or some people adopted at birth take a DNA test to learn about who they are, while other people inherit boxes of family photos and want to be able to put names to all those faces.
In the past, the possibility of researching your family tree seemed too hard with all those hours spent in libraries and archives trying to find records that will provide more information about your ancestors. But in recent years many archival records from all over the world have been digitized and easily searchable online. This has made the idea of doing family history research much more appealing.
Interest in family history has also been piqued by the multiple shows on the topic, like my favourites Finding your Roots, Who do you Think You Are, History Detectives, and Genealogy Road Show. These shows have all made genealogy interesting and accessible by sharing family stories and explaining the basic research concepts.
You may have seen all the Ancestry.com ads, watched all the shows, and now you have developed your own interest in finding out more about your family history. But how do you actually start? Getting started can be intimidating, but I’m here to help. I’ve included a series of posts to explain some basic concepts and methods for family research so you can get started on the right foot.
–The best way to start your family tree.
-The most important genealogy records to look for
-Five things that can really trip up newbies (and tips for avoiding them)
-Dealing with brick walls in family research
-Approaching relatives for records, information, and family stories
-Research road trips, and what to bring in your portable genealogy kit
-The promise and perils of online research
-Getting started with genetic genealogy
-How to properly cite your findings
-Preserving family records and research for the next generation
