Getting Started

The first step in genealogy is to start with yourself. Use a Pedigree Chart to fill in all the information that you know off the top of your head. Talk to your parents and grandparents, if you still have them. They can help you fill in even more information. Now start looking all over your house. Open up all the boxes and look inside all the envelopes. Begin to gather anything and everything that might give you more clues and help you fill in even more information on your pedigree chart. Don't overlook anything. Things to keep an eye out for include obituaries, and other newspaper clippings. Announcements! Birth, marriage, graduation etc. Anything and everything. Letters, post cards, journals, diaries, they all contain information you need. If you have photographs, you'll want to gather those too. They might have information written on the back and you are a lucky person if you find a scrapbook. Just gather whatever you find. Then start picking through it. Leave no page unturned. Read it all with a new eye for details. Make notes as you go. Write down what you learned and where you learned it. This is the beginning of citing your sources. You want to get in the habit of that right from the start. Always cite your sources.