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Related Reading
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Family
Tree Maker 9.0
Family Tree Maker 9.0 is an easy and complete resource for
building a family tree. Family Tree Maker features sophisticated
research tools, a wide variety of keepsake printouts, easy-to-use
home page wizards, and one of the largest Internet genealogy
communities. Search U.S. and international indexes and records
to find family members and history. Look through census reports,
immigration records, passenger lists, birth records, military,
and more. A step-by-step guide and customized tips help users
research like a professional. Comb the Web and proprietary
data with a genealogy search engine to find information on
ancestors. Create personalized, heirloom-quality family trees,
books, maps, multimedia scrapbooks, and family home pages.
Family Tree MakerŪ For DummiesŪ
Become the family history detective and untangle the branches
of your family tree!
In this friendly guide two genealogy pros show you step-by-step
how to make the most of today's most popular genealogical
software. From building your family history database and swapping
research on the Web to finding the perfect design for your
family tree, they deliver just what you need to become your
family's official historian.
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Climbing
the Family Tree
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My great aunt loved genealogy. As a result,
I discovered I'm a descendent of an Italian aide to a German
prince, as well as famed poet William
Wordsworth and Captain Joseph Wadsworth, who hid the Connecticut
charter in the Charter
Oak to keep the Brits from seizing it prior to the American
Revolution. Even now, these stories intrigue me, but I always
wondered to what lengths my aunt had to go to obtain such
fascinating factoids.
Today, genealogy searches are aided by the Web and family
tree programs, but they still can be very involved. So where
do you begin?
• Get organized. Study books on how
to prepare your tree. Find a good program for building family
trees such as Family
Tree Maker 9.0.
• Gather information. First, write down
everything you know about your family, then go to other
family members for info such as dates of birth, marriage,
and death, as well as residences, church and fraternal affiliations,
and nationalities. Don't forget to look at family bibles,
letters, diaries, account books, samplers, old photos, obituaries,
tombstones, and other records.
• Chart your research. Create a diagram of the
data you've gathered so far to establish the relationships
between family members and any gaps in information. You
can download a free ancestral chart from Ancestry.com.
• Fill in the holes. You can begin filling in the
gaps using official records such as birth certificates,
death certificates, marriage certificates, and deeds. See
the National
Center for Health Statistics site for information on
how to get these records, which range from $2 to $40 per
request, depending on the state where the event occurred.
You may find it less costly to do online by joining Family
Search or other searchable online databases.
• Use historical resources. Vital statistics often
only go back to the early 1800s, so you may find yourself
stuck unless you learn to use historical resources as well.
Some of these records, like court documents, wills, deed,
town land records, and emancipation documents date back
to the 1600s.
• Visit libraries, historical societies, and archives.
If you're lucky, these visits will be limited mostly to
online searches, but some records, especially older ones,
have not been added to online libraries. You may find gaps
that just can't be filled in until you look at the original
documents in an archive.
Written by Iris Wolfe
Have you discovered ways to track down relatives or distant
ancestors? Is someone famous in your family tree? E-mail
us!
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On the Web
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Family
Chart
New York State Library
Great Tutorial
Genealogy.com
Family Tree Searcher
The Genealogy Home Page
World Connect Project
RootsWeb.com
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Free
Forms
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Download forms from these sites to aid you with your research.
• Family
Tree Magazine
• Ancestry.com
• Family
Search.com
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Search
Effectively
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Genealogy:
Advice for Effective Searches
Answer a series of simple questions and get free,
customized advice on the most effective next steps in your
genealogy search.
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Tree-Climbing
Tips
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• Note variations. My grandmother's name is misspelled
on her tombstone. My father's date of birth is wrong on his
death certificate. Mistakes can affect your search, so note
all inconsistencies and your quest will be more fruitful.
• Know your sources. Keep track of how you found
all information in case you need to refer to a source again
later.
• Note source details. When jotting down source
info, copy the exact title, author's name, publication date,
and page number.
• Photocopy title pages. When you find a truly
useful source, don't forget to photocopy the title page.
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