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Getting Started Researching Your Family History
Researching one's ancestors -- discovering the many events in their lives and exploring who they really were through books and documents -- can be one of the most rewarding and most educational experiences of a lifetime.
Beginning one's genealogical research is as simple as starting to gather and record all the information and family data you have available to you in your home and among your various relatives. This is the best way to begin. This data can be recorded on five-generation charts available in the Historical Genealogy Department, or simply written on notebook paper. Being as thorough and complete as possible at this initial data collection stage will posture you for success as you continue your endeavors.
Once you have gathered your initial data, begin to organize it in a chronological fashion. (That's one reason why using five-generation charts is so helpful!) Now you're ready to explore the tomes of local and family history data you will find all over the world. The Historical Genealogy Department of the Allen County Public Library has a tremendous collection of materials for the genealogical researcher. Many libraries also own a number of "how-to-do-genealogy" books which you can borrow and study in the comfort of your own home. Check the nearest library's automated catalog for exact titles and availability.
Genealogical research is truly an adventure of a lifetime. Use this internet page as a spring board to other information sources on getting started and for links to other sites that are helpful for both the novice and more experienced family historian.
The Tree is in PDF
...a SUPER great page to see...
Cyndi's List. This site is the most complete and best organized collection of links for genealogists. There are more than 30,000 links organized by subject!
...a great page to see...
Treasure Maps. This is a very fine homepage -- explaining the value of family history, providing a "research room" for getting started, exploring genealogical collections, and assisting with little known & hard to find sources.
...a good site to explore what's for genealogists on the Net...
ROOTS-L Home Page. ROOTS-L is a listserv mailing list for those interested in genealogy. This homepage provides information on how to subscribe to the listserv, links to other major genealogical homepages, links to text file libraries, lists of locations of special interest to individual researchers, and much, much more.
...more neat sites...
- Ancestry's Homepage. This site provides one with access to Ancestry's free data files including the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) and the World Tree. Researchers can also access Society Hall -- a site where one can connect with other genealogical societies.
- The FamilyTreeMaker Homepage. This site provides one with access to Broderbund's free data files including a version of the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) and their FamilyFinder Index.
- Everton Publisher's Genealogy Page. This site provides the researcher with a list of genealogical archives and libraries, U. S. & international resources for genealogists, software archives, and catalogs of Everton products and services and links to those sites.
- Genealogy Home Page. This site introduces the genealogist to a variety of information sources available on the Internet and provides links to many useful sites.
- Genealogy Listservers, Newsgroups and Special Homepages. This site provides an indexed list and links of these resources for genealogists.
- Yahoo Genealogy Collection of Sites. Yahoo is one of the largest collections of Internet sites. One will find a decent list of links to major genealogical sites on this page.
For all technical questions and support contact genealogy@sevierlibrary.org