Genealogy tip 8—Use these 5 steps to discover your ancestors in ancestry research.
Being a history researcher comes with the need to learn and understand how to research records, find the key information and develop a plan that will take you to all available information. Through the years, I have had the pleasure of conducting historical and genealogy research throughout the United States and Europe. Every time I conduct research in a new location, I feel like I have to learn/relearn how to conduct historical research. Why? I need to learn where the records are kept, what is available, develop a plan of how to research this location and so much more. I have written a series Genealogy Tips to introduce you to what I consider to be the most foundational skills I use over and over. In this article, I want to share Genealogy Tip 8: Five-step Process to Discover Your Ancestors.
Genealogy Tip Series
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Genealogy Tip 8: 5 Steps to Discover Your Ancestors
As a new genealogist, it was easy to feel like a bee jumping from one flower to the next, searching for the precious nectar. Thanks to my mentor, I was introduced to a simple but essential five-step process to discover my ancestors.
Step 1. Write down what you know
What do you know about the individual or family group? Could you write it down? This step can take a few hours to several weeks, depending on how thorough you want to be. The more complete my understanding is of the person or family I am going to research, the easier and more productive my research will become.
Information can come from firsthand experience or documents you have in your possession. Look for copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates; journals; scrapbooks; old letters; family bibles; photographs; school records; military records; obituaries; deeds; and wills. Check your genealogy software program, read through your genealogy notes, and review files you have kept on the family to determine what you already know and what you still want to learn about your ancestors. Make a record of each piece of information that you learn about your ancestor. I found it valuable to learn all I could about my ancestor and the events, circumstances, relationships, and background that pertained to their lives.
If this is the first step, you have taken in learning the process, start with yourself to identify a pedigree (list of direct ancestors) and work backward in time by filling in as much information as you can, by memory, on a pedigree chart. Go back as far as you can from memory. Answer the questions from the following list that apply to your specific family members:
- What do you know about yourself?
- State your full birth name.
- When were you born? Include exact date and location.
- When were you married? Include exact date and location.
- Who were your parents?
- State the full birth name of each parent.
- When was each parent born? Include exact date and location.
- When were your parents married? Include exact date and location.
- When did your parents die? Include exact date and location.
- If needed, estimate dates and places as a starting point.
- Who were your grandparents? Start with your mother’s parents, followed by your father’s parents.
- State the full birth name of each grandparent.
- When was each grandparent born? Include exact date and location.
- When were your grandparents married? Include exact date and location.
- When did each grandparent die? Include exact date and location.
- If needed, estimate dates and places as a starting point.
This exercise will immediately expose what information is missing. Don’t worry if you cannot fill in all of the information. This information will be gathered during the research process. Evidence for a person’s life events is usually found in historical documents stored in a repository located near where a person lived sometime during that person’s life. You will want to record what you know on printed or electronic forms, such as pedigree charts and family group sheets.
Pedigree charts graphically outline relationships across generations. The chart shows the direct ancestor of each individual. Each individual on the chart is identified by full name, date and place of birth, date and place of marriage, and date and place of death. Start by completing a pedigree chart with yourself on the far left and then information about your parents and grandparents on the right, writing down as much information as you already know.
Family group records show information about a single-family. Each family group record includes information about the father, the mother, and their children. Each individual on the record is identified by name.
If the dates of birth are known, the children are listed in order of birth. If you have the names of the children’s spouses, you will also be able to list that information. There is often space on the family group sheet to record birth, marriage, and death information and additional notes about the family, as needed. This can include censuses; joining or leaving churches; christenings; confirmations; burials; acquisition or sale of land; migrations; citizenship changes; jury duty; lawsuits; wills probated; paid taxes; obituaries; being mentioned in newspaper articles; new job; draft registration; military service; serving as a witness, bondsman, or godparent; working on the county road crew; jail; and much more.
I keep notes about family history on a separate sheet of paper. These notes could be biographical information such as military service, education; social or economic status; migrations; participation in the community, social, religious, or historical events, or physical descriptions.
Step 2. Decide what you want to learn
Start by selecting an ancestor you would like to know more about. If you are starting, I would suggest that you choose an ancestor for which you already have some information, preferably someone before 1920. It’s been my experience that it is much easier to obtain information from family and sources such as vital, census, and land.
Step 3. Choose a record or source of information
Once you know what information you’re looking for, ask yourself where you might find it. Then choose one source or record to focus your research on. For example, if I had the objective of finding an ancestor’s birth date, I would ask these questions: “What type of records could I find a birth date in? Where are these records kept? How do you get access to the records?” And so forth. I will record all questions, thoughts, and findings in my research log.
The types of records you will search include the following:
- Compiled Records. These are records of previous research on individuals and families already done by others, such as family histories, biographies, or genealogies with pedigree charts and family group records. It is best to search compiled records first.
- Original Records. These are records created during important events in your ancestors’ lives. For example, a local church or the local government may have recorded your ancestors’ births, christenings, marriages, and burials. Other original documents include court, land, naturalization, taxation, business, medical, and school records. Be sure to check all jurisdictions (for example, town, county, state, and country) that may have kept records about your ancestor.
- Background Information. These are records dealing with geographical, historical, or cultural information, including local histories, maps, gazetteers, language dictionaries, and guidebooks. Search these records to learn more about the area where your ancestors lived and the events that may have affected their lives, and the records about them.
- Finding Aids. These help you find the location of records, name indexes, library catalogs, or websites.
Step 4. Obtain and search the record
Investigate the record or source for the information you are looking for. Once I have chosen the source, I will search; I will try to learn about the source and how to use the information I might find. For example, if I were going to be searching the 1880 United States Federal Census, I would search for a study guide to learn how to research and use the information in the record. If my source were a person, I would contact the person, make a list of questions, and conduct and record my interview. I would make sure that I record or make a copy of the information I have found. This information provides the information necessary for citing and analyzing the information.
When researching a record or source, some of the common issues you will face include:
- Name Changes. It was common for immigrants to change or shorten their names after arriving in a new country. You may need to check for various possibilities.
- Spelling Variations. Many ancestor names have variant spellings. Many recorders spelled names according to sound. A person may also be listed under a nickname or abbreviation.
- Handwriting. Most original documents you will search are handwritten. If you cannot read a letter, look at other names in the record to see how the writer made certain letters. Some handbooks illustrate the ways letters were written in earlier times.
- Dates. You may want to check a range of dates for an event, and it may be recorded on a different date than you expect.
Step 5. Use and record what you learned
Evaluate the results of your inquiry and share your information with others. This is an essential part of the process. I am asking myself the question, “What do I see?” Sometimes what I find is only a clue; other times, it’s a goldmine. I record what I learn in my research log. Based on the information I’ve gathered, I decide where I want to go and start with step one again.
As you evaluate your information, consider the following questions:
- Did I find the information I was looking for?
- Is the information complete?
- Does the information conflict with other information I have?
- Is the source of information credible?
Transfer any new information you find to your pedigree charts and group records. It’s essential to include the source of information, which is valuable in helping you resolve problems with conflicting information. For example, you may have a birth record that provides a birth date, and an obituary gives another birth date for the same person, you will want to determine which date is the most reliable by reviewing your sources; the most reliable source is usually the source made closest to the time of the event.
You will want to organize your records for easy access, and I will address this topic in more detail in a later chapter. Several computer programs can help you organize your research.
Additional Articles on BeginMyStory.com
The following are other articles you may enjoy to help you find history and genealogy records.
- QuickStart Beginners Guide to Ancestry Research
- Introduction to Ancestry Research and Historical Records
- 7,500-plus Questions About Life to Ask People When Writing Narratives
- 1950 U.S. Census Research Guide for Beginners
- 4 Easy Steps to Google American Ancestry
- Preparing to Easily Google Ancestor Records
- Complete Guide for Conducting Oral History Interviews
- How to Get Great Google Search Results in Ancestry Research
- 9 Advanced Google Search Strategies to Trace Ancestors
- What It’s Like to Start Ancestry Research
- Search sites like FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com
