Genealogy tip 1— Focus on one ancestor at a timei
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 1: Focus on One Ancestor at A Time.
Genealogy Tip Series
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Genealogy Tip 1: Focus on One Ancestor at A Time
When doing family history work, it’s important to focus on one ancestor, one question, and one record at a time. I refer to this as the “Power of One.”
Conducting genealogy research means finding answers to questions. When I first started researching my ancestral lines I found myself overwhelmed with questions I wanted to answer for each ancestor, such as the following:
- What was his name?
- When and where was he born?
- When and where did he marry?
- Whom did he marry?
- How many children did he have?
- What were the names of the children?
- Where did he live?
- What type of work did he do?
- To what religion did he belong?
- Was he in the military?
- Did he belong to any other organizations?
- What did he look like?
- When and where did he die?
- What was the cause of death?
- here was he buried?
How can you simplify when overwhelmed by all these questions? Here’s where the Power of One is so helpful. Start by realizing that genealogy research is a project, and a genealogy project is completed one individual, one question and one task at a time. Below, I have outlined the steps I took as I worked on my first family history research project, which is the basis of the process I follow today:
Choose one individual, family or generation to focus my research on. Use pedigree charts and family group sheets to help identify problems to resolve, such as:
- Missing information: names, dates or places.
- Incomplete information: part of a name, date or place is missing.
- Unverified information: information cannot be traced to a credible source (that is, someone who would have known the information firsthand).
- Conflicting information: facts from two sources do not agree.
Then, develop a list of questions and tasks associated with the project, review the list and pick the most important item to complete.
As I begin, I then outline the task in detail by asking myself questions such as the following:
- What is my goal for the task?
- What information do I have already?
- What resources will provide the answers I am looking for?
- Do I have the desired information in my records already?
- Do I have the knowledge to complete the task? If not, what do I need to learn about? Where can I find the answers?
- Do I need help from others? If so, who?
- Do I need to conduct Internet research?
- Do I need to go to the library?
- Do I need to contact another family member or genealogist?
I will then work on the task until it’s complete.
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