Genealogy For Beginners - How To Get Started

HOW TO GET STARTED 



How To Get Started

The most asked question I'm asked by many people is 'How do I get started'. My response is always, 'Start with yourself'. You need to begin with the information that you know and documentation that you have.

Gather all the documents that you have and record the information. This can be done in a word document, a spreadsheet, or a special software program just for family history. 

Documents that you might use - includes the following:

Birth Certificate
Baptism Certificate
School Reports, Photos, Artworks (Check if there are any 'special' items stored in a memory box)
Old Photographs
Letters
Newspaper Articles
Diaries/Journals
Military Service
Occupation/s

Decide which part of the family you are going to research to begin with.

People tend to rush in and start gathering all the information that they can find, but fail to record their own information.  Don't do everyone else's information and forget to write your own story!



You can also use various online web pages to record your information on.  But I suggest that you keep your information private to begin with.  Once you have it collated, you may decide to put it online, especially useful if you are looking for other people who may be related. Remembering that all information about living people should be made private before you go posting it online.

You can find lots of forms for genealogy here on my membership site, to get you started and connected with like-minded individuals. 

If you have already started and left it because you just didn't know what to do with the information and want to get back into it...welcome back!  This is the opportunity to review what information you have and ensure that you haven't missed any information.




    


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