Genealogy: Discover Your Family History

If you are new to genealogy and wish to explore your family roots and build a family tree I would be glad to share the knowledge and resources I have discovered over the past few years. Genealogy is fascinating, time consuming, and easily becomes addictive. The time and effort spent is definitely rewarding. I plan to write several articles on genealogy. Finding and recording your family history is important for the present as well as for future generations. In this article I will list some online resources as well as list several software programs that will get you off to a good start. You may choose to purchase a software program, an online membership to a genealogy site, or may choose to explore and join an online genealogy site that has no charge. The choice is yours.

When I began to research my family history I had a small paper I had written in high school which contained a genealogy chart I created by gathering information from my parents and grandparents. The information I had was very useful in helping me to begin my search.

Ancestry.com

I chose to purchase an online membership to Ancestry.com. By entering the small amount of family history from my parents and grandparents I was soon able to find multiple generations of genealogy information online including census records, military records, birth records, death records, church records, newspaper articles, photographs, and more. The software allowed me to view and print the records as well as create a family tree and family record file. There are several plans that you may choose from depending if you wish to explore records mainly from the United Stares or if you wish to explore records from other countries. There are also several options for membership depending on the length of time you would like to research.

Family Tree Maker

I purchased the Family Tree Maker software from ancestry publishing. This software allows me to create and store my genealogy files and records on my computer. This software also allows me to print genealogy charts, create genealogy reports, and even maps. The software does allow the integration of the information from Ancestry.com. I find this very helpful. I am also able to create GEDCOM file, or Genealogical Date COMmunications file, which allows me to share my files with other family members. The software automatically enters the information from my genealogy file to the family chart or report that I chose to create. There are many styles and forms of charts and reports to choose from as well as background designs and multiple fonts.

Networking Sites

There are multiple networking sites to explore. Some you may wish to visit are: www.myspace.com , www.facebook.com , www.familyhistorylink.com , or www.familybuilder.comn . Most of these sites allow you to store, share of even build your family tree.

Libraries

Most libraries have a genealogy section. Of course you will find local information and records and may even find a computer to use for further research. Many libraries offer workshops or classes in genealogy and research. If you have a library card you may be able to do quite a bit of research from your home computer accessing library databases.

Genealogy.com

Here you can find free, self-paced courses in The Learning Center. If you are starting from scratch the menu of courses will help you gain the confidence to begin. Besides offering information this site will give you some great resources and links to help.

Brigham Young University

You may find some great information at http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/courses/freecourses.cfm which offers self-paced online tutorials to help you begin your family research.

Genealogical and Historical Societies

Local genealogy societies and historical societies are wonderful resources. Most charge a membership fee but offer much in the way of research materials and resources. Many of these organizations also offer workshops and lectures.

Free Resources

Some of the no cost, online resources I would recommend are:

WeRelate www.werelate.org

FamilySearch www.familysearch.org

Geni www.geni.com

WorldGenWeb www.worldgenweb.org

Cyndi's List www.cyndislist.com

DeadFred www.deadfred.com (for photos)

There are many, many sources and resources to help you begin your family history search. Do some research and decide how much time, money, and effort you plan to invest before you sign up for a membership or purchase software. You may want to do some word of mouth research within your family to begin. Once you have gathered as much family information as you can you may want to use one of the free online sources or visit your local library next. The internet is a great research tool to expand the information that you find. I am extremely happy with the genealogy research membership and software that I purchased. It has saved my many steps and helped me discover much information that I would not have discovered on my own. You will discover many more resources than I have listed here. I do hope that this article will help you begin your journey to discover your family history. Once you begin to build your family tree and record file you will know that your next step is to document the history by creating a notebook, family history book and/or photograph album of the facts you discover. You will also discover that you need a way to store and display the historical records and documents. Like I said in the beginning, this becomes very time consuming and almost addictive. Enjoy exploring your families history.