To begin your genealogy project contact the oldest living person in your family. Let them know what you have set out to do. Most will be glad to help. Compile your questions in advance if possible. The following list is by far not an et all but will help you to start.
What are the maiden names of your mother grandmother/ great-grandmother?
Where were your parents, grand parents, great-grandparents born? Live? Marry?
When and how did they meet their spouses?
What were their occupations?
Where did they go to school? What subjects were taught? Did they have a cafeteria or did the person have to provide their own food? If so how was that done and what was the most common food that they took? Were they able to complete their education?
Was the town a small one or a metropolis? How did this effect their lives? Were some items not available in the area? Did they shop from catalogs and order from the general store?
What wars do they remember? How did this effect their lives and the lives of those around them?
Did they have any family traditions that were observed? Are they still observed? Why not?
Which new inventions impacted their lives? How?
Are there any family stories that can be handed down?
Organizing your system
I have tried various systems for filing my records. The one I find the most effective and easy access is a three-ring notebook system. I now have three that sit on a shelf making access to them easy and finding what I am looking for faster. The first is arranged by surname. All surnames that I am researching are located in that notebook with dividers. Yes, the same kind that you used when you went to school. I find it easier to break the records down then into given names. That way if I have an inquiry about John Smith I can go to my notebook and access it readily without thumbing through piles of paper to get to the 15 different John Smith's along with William and James.
The most used notebook that I work from is one that is divided into States. Each John Smith is then filed away into the state, township that he lived in. That book may include census records, wills and land transactions along with other records found for John Smith in Alabama as apposed to John Smith from Arkansas.
Now let me explain how the two work together. John Smith was born in Alabama to his parents James and Elinor. The Surname book will show John with his parents. This will include all information that I have on the family of James, Elinor his wife and their family. John will also be included in that file along with all of his siblings and any information on them. This is usually done in Family Group Sheet format. Each of those children will then have their own information filed along with that in their respective families. Those records will reflect that they lived in Alabama during the 1850 census. The 1850 census information will be transcribed with that information included on the family group sheet. Let us say for instance that John moved to Arkansas while his brother George moved to Oklahoma. This notation will be made on their family group sheet in Alabama. I know then to go to the next respective state while working on their files for more information.
You may then go to the State book. Look in Alabama and see that James, John and all of his siblings have family group sheets listed there. There will be a copy of the census page along with those family group sheets. A copy of the will and land records along with any other records pertaining to this family. The State book then becomes the source file for the surname book.
Included in the State book may be any information that I have come across for the history of the state/township. This could be civil war area specific research. A big industry that was prominent in the area. Anything that could have impacted the lives of the ancestors who lived there. Also included will be any other families that are from that area that I have not yet tied into the family.
Last but not least and probably the most looked at is the notebook that is compiled with all the information on my ancestors specific. This will include photos, family stories, favorite holidays, and family traditions. In it you will find anything that I think that may be of interest to the family. Many times while looking through this book at family gatherings it with spark the memory of someone there. I have inserted each page into an archival quality sheet protector. It cuts down on the wear and tear of handling and protects those precious reproduction family photos. I never use the original in this book. Left conviently open on a coffee table during a family gathering will spark more responses than on a shelf. Have a tape recorder handy. Tape any conversations that you can. Ask permission first.
Genealogy Programs/Software
There are many good genealogy software programs available. Some like Legacy can be found on the web with a free download version. Though not as good as the full version (you can always upgrade) it will give you a program to start with when you begin. I personally use Sierra Generations software. It is easily manipulated and adding new updated information is a breeze. When you purchase genealogy software the most important feature to look for is gedcom capability. Early on not all programs were supported by this file format. A gedcom file is a compressed version off the information in your file. It is the format used between most all genealogy software versions (regardless of the brand) to upload and download files to your program. They are usually supported by all genealogy software today.
Posting Inquiries:
One of the most important tools you will find on the www will be message boards and mailing lists. There people post the information that they are willing to share or looking for. You'll see good ones and bad ones. To assist you in learning from the experience of all these are a few key tips in posting to those formats.
Put a specific name, spouse and date in the heading. Give as many of the basic seven facts (birth date and place, marriage date and place, death date and place, spouse's name) as you can for each individual.
Name the county and state or province for each place name. Name the country if it will help.
Many people consider using all capital letters to be SHOUTING, and genealogy query boards to be a libraries. Use regular upper and lower case. Most people will skim through the postings and consider whether to look at it or not in a matter of seconds. It makes it much easier for them and yourself if surnames are written in capital letters. This helps you and them in time management. Sometimes place names are done in capital letters.
Don't post information of living people. Put a blank line between paragraphs.
Visit the geneaolgy and copyright website. There is very usefull information there about this very sensitive topic
Use your back button to return to this site
Beginning basics; This site is essential to those that need more basics explaination
Heritage Quest; This site offers more beginning tips
Roots Web;Also offers message baoards, mailing list and many other genealogical information
Ancestry : Family group sheets, Census trasnscription, Ancestral Chart