Field Research

5 tips to optimize your ancestry, genealogy, and history field research trips.

Each day of your trip is full of research, excursions, meeting new people, taking pictures, reflecting upon your family, and unexpected happenings. Take time at the end or beginning of each day to write in your travel journal. Upon your return home, you will find that your journal will be one of the most important assets you have in furthering research and documenting the value of your trip. One day blends into the next after just a week on the road.

I tend to write events in my travel journal chronologically (what happened first, second, third). For example, after I enter a library, I will write details about the following aspects of my experience there:

  • Who I spoke with and their role in the library, address, email, phone number, etc.
  • All discussions (no matter whom it was with) and information were exchanged.
  • The records I looked at and why.
  • What I found and decisions I made during my search.
  • All new information, carefully documenting all associated information.
  • Thoughts and questions cross my mind during the research.

I make comments about the places I visited and why they were of interest to me. I discuss what I learned. I also include brochures I may have picked up and any other information that will help me tell the story.

I find myself reviewing what I wrote several times during the trip as I ponder options, decide what direction to take the research, and plan my free time. The parts of my journal that are most interesting are how often I happen to meet the right person who can open doors to help me find the place I am searching for, or the person who knows about my family name and history and will take me to the gravesite of an ancestor, or the person who knows the person who now lives in the ancestor’s home or is the person who knows where to find the record I seek.

Learn about local history

Learn about local history. One of the most enjoyable aspects of taking a genealogy trip is learning about the local area’s history. Don’t become so focused on finding that long-lost record that you forget that your ancestors were people with dreams, opportunities, successes, frustrations, disappointments, bills, sicknesses, and death. They may have moved more than once or cleared the land to make a new home, and they lived there, so why not spend time getting to know the area’s history?

Learn about the history of the area

Learn about the history of the area where your ancestors are from. What did they eat? Where would they have gone to church? Where is the mill they took their crops to? What sort of natural features did they encounter when farming the land? What is the city most famous for? The more you know, the more you can appreciate what your ancestors’ lives were like when you were there. If you learn that lamb and potatoes were the primary staples or that blueberries have been grown in the area since the 1600s, perhaps you will take the time to order the “local” dishes when you are in town. Who knows, you might even ask for the recipe.

Searching ancestors’ original places of residence

Searching for your ancestors’ original places of residence. Like many of our ancestors, your forefathers came from tiny villages that few people have ever heard of. They may have simply said they were from the largest nearby town or city when they immigrated. If you are looking for the experience to stand precisely where Great- Great-Great-Grandpa lived or have your picture taken in front of his home, make sure you know exactly what town they came from.

Records such as birth and land records can help locate where your family lived by giving you a street address or the land’s name. With such information in hand, I have been able to ask for directions from locals and gain excellent directions to find what I was looking for. Don’t be surprised if the information on the records gives you a different village.

Proper village and go to the church

You might have the proper village and go to the church. However, the church may no longer have the records, and they may have been moved to the genealogical society in a larger, nearby city. In most countries, older records are being consolidated in central repositories. Always ascertain in advance where the actual records are kept.

Searching libraries and archives in the country

Searching libraries and archives in the country. As I have conducted research in various countries, I have learned to expect to find the unexpected. Some of my experiences were as follows:

  1. Record offices will have government hours (perhaps closing for lunch).
  2. You may need reservations.
  3. You may need to look up your resources in a catalog and write them on a request form, which you submit to the reference librarian.
  4. Your request may take more than a half-hour to arrive.
  5. You may only be allowed to view one request at a time.
  6. You may or may not be allowed to take photographs of the documents. If you are not allowed to take photographs, then you may need to fill out a request form and submit it. It may take just a few minutes to a few hours before your request is ready.
  7. Sometimes you are limited to the number of copies you can make in a day.
  8. Remember that the person behind the desk is in charge.
  9. The staff may bring the requested artifacts to you and pick them up from you while seated.
  10. You may be required to stow your backpack in a locker.
  11. Security may ask to see the contents of your pockets or purse.
  12. Some record facilities are very strict about each researcher having a table or seat.
  13. Research under these conditions gives you the thrill of handling papers that may be over two hundred years old.

Additional Google Articles on BeginMyStory.com

The following are other articles you may enjoy to help you Google your ancestry.