Discovering Family History: Basics and Beyond
(including Exploring Internet Resources worksheets)
by William L. Smith
The following is adapted from
Chapter One, Discovering Family History (forthcoming from Vision to Action
Publishing) - complete Table of Contents follows:
Introduction: Setting Sail
My family history
It starts here...
It has been over twenty years since Alex Haley's book "Roots"
came alive to over 80 million television viewers in the ABC miniseries [ended
Feb 1, 1977]. Our perceptions of the importance of discovering our heritage,
our family tree, if you prefer, have only increased in subsequent years.
With the ever-increasing concerns of the nineties over family values, relationships,
and traditions, it is only natural that more and more people are making
the effort to discover their own heritage. Are you one of them?
Many more resources are available now than you might imagine. Resources
on the Internet alone are growing by hundreds of sites a day. The search
is a wonderful, refreshing, even exhilarating, yet often frustrating experience.
It is a great change of pace from the work-a-day life most of us live. Many
of the resources you need are as close as your computer, your public library,
and, older members of your own family. Join me for a few minutes as we begin
your search.
Answers to the simple questions below will get you started:
The search starts with you.
Write your full name: _________________________________________
Write your birth date________________
Write your place of birth: City, town, or township:__________________
County ____________________ State____________________
You have parents. Write down their full names, including your mother's maiden
name.
Mother's full given name: ______________________________________
Mother's birth date_________________
Mother's place of birth: City, town, or township:____________________
County ____________________ State____________________
Father's full given name: _______________________________________
Father's birth date__________________
Father's place of birth: City, town, or township:__________________
County ____________________ State____________________
Date of their marriage: ____________________
Place of their marriage: City, town, or township:__________________
County ____________________ State____________________
You have now begun your "surname list" (see Chapter 6, Expanding
Your Scope: Surname List).
It has at least two names on it. A surname is your family name. Mine is
SMITH (you will find that genealogists write surnames in all capital letters).
My mother's maiden name is KINNICK. Those were the first two names on my
surname list. What are yours? If you have a spouse, that is another surname.
See discussion of family records, below (and in Chapter 3, Preparing Your
Ship: Family Group Record).
Who were your parents' parents? Can you write out their full names, spelled
correctly, with maiden names? This will be easy for most of you, difficult
for some of you, and impossible for others. Those items you don't know should
form the beginning of your list of "wanted information" to seek.
Make a list (See Chapter 7, Logging Your Voyage: Notes Organization). You
might want to start at the beginning with an ABC classification for your
list. That is, there will be some items that are REALLY important that you
find out - like a grandmother's maiden name. That would go on the A list.
Right now, a date of marriage might not seem too critical so it goes on
the C list. A birth date for your grandfather might go on the B list; you
want to know what it is, but it is not an urgent need (another approach
is presented in Chapter 5, Maintaining Your Cargo: Depth of Detail). By
the way, these dates are the next set of items you want to collect and record.
With each person's full name (and relationship) you will want to record
their birth date and place, date of death (when deceased), place of death
and place of burial. These details make up the individual record (see Chapter
2, Checking Your Manifest: Individual Record). You will also want to make
notations of the source of each item, date and place (see Chapter 8, Standing
Your Watch: Source Documentation).
A family record includes marriage date and place, husband and wife, and
a list of their children. The linkage of individual records and family records
is done by means of a chart or pedigree (see Chapter 4, Mapping Your Course:
The Chart(s), Forms and Linkages). Everything you do with your family history,
or genealogy, will involve the use of these three basic records: the pedigree
chart, the family group record, and the individual record (which will include
notes and additional supporting documentation).
Take a deep breath ... and let it out, slowly. We have covered the basics,
the essentials. How you get this information, how far you go with it, how
you record it, what you do with it - these are the questions that determine
your next steps. You can stop when you wish, you can go as far as you wish
(my wife is up to fourteen generations in one of her lines, in the United
States, and just getting started!).
First, though, some notices and warnings are appropriate at this point.
Remember, you are a unique person. Your family tree, your genealogy, your
heritage, your lineage are unique and special. No other person's are exactly
the same. It is true, of course, that your brothers and sisters, that is,
your siblings, have the same background (see Chapter 10, Exploring from
the Crow's Nest: Sibling Significance). However, when you marry, and have
children, you create a new and different branching on that family tree.
Your perspective will also differ from that of your siblings because you
lived in a somewhat different historical era (see Chapter 9, Keeping Your
Journal: Social History). Consider being born before or after Pearl Harbor,
the depression, the Vietnam conflict, or Desert Storm. The world looks different
from each different perspective. How you view your family heritage will
differ also.
Next, you will find some people, even people close to you, who wonder why
you are spending your time thinking about these things (see Chapter 11,
Weathering the Storm: Barriers to Proceeding). Some readers may have even
left us after the first or second paragraph of this introduction. While
asking relatives is one of the best sources of information, recognize you
may even meet some resistance here. How, and why, you ask? There is usually
at least one person in each family, self-appointed, who has been saving
clippings and family records for years. If you are lucky, that person will
be pleased you show interest, and, welcome you to share all they have collected
(see Chapter 12, Sharing Your Wealth: Publication and Dissemination). Sometimes,
however, that person will resent your intrusion into "their business"
and act as a barrier to you obtaining even simple information. Be prepared.
There are always other sources, often better, for obtaining the same information.
Here are some of them:
Do your own library research, census, county histories, etc.
Participate in local genealogical society activities
Attend family reunions.
Listen to aunts and uncles and cousins.
Ask them to recall holidays, celebrations, events in the past.
Listen carefully to better understand relationships and pick up details
of the past in your family. Ask if you can talk to them more, later, about
some particular event of interest to you. Generally, they will be flattered
and look forward to sharing their memories with you. At that later time
is a good time to ask a few specifics from your "wanted information"
list. They will often have an obituary, a wedding announcement, even a copy
of a will that is filled with useful and interesting family information.
Try to arrange to get a copy for your own file. When visiting a relative,
check beforehand where the nearest copy center is and what their hours are,
just in case.
Visit your local public (and/or genealogy) library (and/or historical society).
They will usually have a genealogy section and/or a local history section.
Ask for assistance, be patient, and be sure to show appreciation for the
assistance received. Take your "wanted information" list, so you
can focus your search. The library is usually a rich source of information
for you. The same will be true for other cities and towns where relatives
have lived in the past. Often this will be in another state, usually east
or south, as our national growth took place to the west and often north.
You may even want to plan a vacation or business trip to an area where you
can do some investigation. It does become addictive, for many of us, at
least, so be prepared.
Vital records (births, deaths, marriages, etc.) offices in county seats,
state capitals, and regional and national archives quickly become another
essential set of resources with which you will want to become familiar.
Census records, in books and on microfilm, are also critical information
sources. There are also many books to assist you in your search for your
roots. Numerous computer programs are available to help you organize your
information. The Internet, specifically the World Wide Web, is a growing
source of information you will want to check (See Exploring Internet Resources
Worksheets in each chapter for more suggestions).
We have just barely scratched the surface. Forms are provided throughout
that you can use to help you get started. Feel free to photocopy them for
your personal use. Start today. Give it a try.
You, of course, are creating your own additional family history every day
of your life. Gather and create your own historical record by telling the
story of you and your family, now, for yourself and for future generations.
With our mobile society, you are in the best position to record and collect
the information on your own activities. If you are 35 to 55 years old, or
older, for instance, do your children know what you did, and where you lived,
in your younger years? Ask them. You might be surprised at the answers you
get. Have you saved copies of your resumes through the years, for instance?
Do you save copies of annual Christmas letters? Do you keep a diary? You
probably have a family photo album, do you have a family video? Each of
us has a distinctive perspective that is valuable to our family. Your descendants
would like to know about you! Help them along. Start today. Give it a try.
One more issue to consider. Every day we are finding more evidence of genetic
variables in our life. As you accumulate information about your family,
I strongly encourage you to gather medical and health-related information
about your family. You can start by keeping a record of "cause of death"
from death certificates of your ancestors. Also, when talking to relatives,
ask about serious illness, including aunts and uncles, etc. Many people
are reluctant to talk of illness, others are anxious to share. Medical history
can assist us all in better understanding who we are and where we go from
here. It is just one factor, of course, but an important one. Find out what
you can. Set your sail.
Begin your voyage of discovery.
Start today. Give it a try.
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1.....Setting Sail: Introduction
Chapter 2.....Checking Your Manifest: The Individual Record
Chapter 3.....Preparing Your Ship: The Family Group Record
Chapter 4.....Mapping Your Course: Chart(s), Forms and Linkages
Chapter 5.....Maintaining Your Cargo: Depth of Detail
Chapter 6.....Expanding Your Scope: Surname List
Chapter 7.....Logging Your Voyage: Notes Organization
Chapter 8.....Standing Your Watch: Source Documentation
Chapter 9.....Keeping Your Journal: Social History
Chapter 10.....Exploring from the Crow's Nest: Sibling Significance
Chapter 11.....Weathering the Storm: Barriers to Proceeding
Chapter 12.....Sharing Your Wealth: Publication and Dissemination
Chapter 13.....Navigating the Reefs: Final Comments
Address comments to William L.
Smith. Last updated August 2, 1998.