Genealogy Tips

A genealogist documents family relationships. He records family histories. A genealogist starts with what he knows. Then he finds the best references to support the information he records. A genealogist looks for and references documentation closest to the time of the events he researches - i.e. birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, land records, family Bibles, Church records, immigration records, census records, newspaper articles, war records, tombstones, family pictures, etc. In theory, documentation closest to the time of an event has the most accurate information.

A genealogist sees misspelled names on government documents like census reports where all the names for an area are hand-written by one person. On other records, he finds mistyped names. Families change the spelling or pronunciation of their surname. Women are difficult to trace when maiden names are not used.

A genealogist often decides to use his talents professionally. Then his referenced documentation should be the best. He needs to maintain actual copies or pictures of documentation that he needs to prove his references. If he does the when he starts researching, he will not regret it later.

Pedigree Chart or Ancestral Chart

The pedigree chart starts with one person then expands by showing the father and mother of that person and every person after that. A genealogist should base a pedigree on verifiable references to credible documentation. Uncle David saying, "I heard that Great Grand maw Nelly said that Great Great Great Grandpa George came to America on a small boat from Ireland," does not usually qualify as a verifiable citation of a credible source. However, it is a starting place. If Uncle David says, "I was born in my Mom and Dad's home in Tate County, Mississippi on January 24, 1932," document that statement. The next step would be to check the 1930 and the 1940 census records for Tate County, Mississippi.

Family Group Record

A genealogist uses the family group record to show information about a mother, father and their children. He may find much of this information on census records, which will list everyone in one household. However, different relatives helped raise children. Widows and widowers remarried. Therefore, finding a family on a census report does not mean that a genealogist has located all the members of that immediate family. A genealogist should not be surprised to find a man in the nineteenth century with 14 or more children. This would depend on how many times he remarried and how old he lived to be. A genealogist needs some understanding of the era and the culture of the location in order to interpret original documents. He should make no assumptions when doing his research.

Descendancy Chart

A genealogist that has gathered information on siblings, their children, and their children's children will eventually want to develop a descendancy chart. This chart starts with one ancestor. It works forward in time to the present. The descendancy chart will continue to expand until one of three things happens:
1. A descendant's line ends (no children are born).
2. The genealogist fails to find or stops tracing any more descendants.
3. The descendents have not yet had children.

Computer Programs (Software)

Many programs make it easier to store and retrieve genealogical information. The program should allow the genealogist to enter information once. From that information, he should be able to view or print all of the above charts along with the references he has made to support his findings.

A genealogist should remember the basics with these programs. If he put a lot of work into his genealogical research, he should back up the data and program as often as necessary. Better yet, the genealogist may want to keep an extra copy of the work at another location. Occasionally, he should print hard copies of the data. A genealogist should think of the amount of time spent on the genealogical research and use that to gage how he wants to protect and preserve his work.