Quick Tips for the New Family Researcher - From A to Z
                    
                      


A -    Attend a local class in genealogy at a historical society,
or adult education program, or a genealogical-computer User's
Group. These are found in all large metropolitan areas, and
you'll meet other newcomers as well as experienced researchers
who will be happy to help you. Acquire a few basic books for your
home library, including a basic genealogy primer such as "Shaking
Your Family Tree" by Dr. Ralph Crandall (Yankee Books, Camden
ME, 1986).

B -    Begin with what you DO know, and work backwards. Send for
birth, marriage and death certificates for your immediate family:
parents, grandparents, great- grandparents. They often contain
new information that living family members never knew or had
forgotten.

C -    Computerize your data collection as you gather
information. There are many programs available on the CompuServe
Genealogy Forum to try as shareware. Make sure that the program
has GEDCOM capabilities - a universal "language" which will allow
you to transfer information from one genealogy program to
another. Then you can exchange data with other researchers that
you meet online, and will be able to upload it for permanent
safekeeping to the Ancestral File in Salt Lake City, maintained
by the LDS (Mormon) church, where it will be available to other
researchers through CD-ROM all over the world.

      D -    Don't fall for the trap that "just because it's
printed, it's true". Document ALL sources: volume, author,
publisher, date, specific pages, location of material. Document
negative results as well, or you'll surely find yourself
returning to study books you'd examined long before, but had not
documented what you did NOT find there.

      E -    Evaluate ALL conflicting evidence from records, so
that future readers can decide for themselves.

      F -    Find others who are researching your same lines
through active involvement on the CompuServe Genealogy Forum. You
can save yourself months of work by exchanging with someone else
who has already worked in the same area.

      G -    Guard against quick conclusions. Identification of
individuals in historical records takes time. There may be
several unrelated families of the same name in the same location.
Or the same family may have its name spelled in a variety of way
in early records - don't discount spelling variations.
Methodically gather data, and periodically review it for its
relevance. It may be months or years before a certain record
"fits in" to the family history, or is proven to be otherwise.

      H -    Have a general plan: gather information, evaluate
it, document it. Some system of filing will develop, so you can
retrieve the information when you need it. Perhaps a separate
file folder for each marriage, plus folders for particular towns,
or counties, or regions. Store original certificates and
negatives of old photographs in a safe place, and keep just
copies in your working files.

      I -    Involve other family members in your project. One
friend with many small children made family picnic outings to
search out tombstones in remote rural areas, and the children
became expert detectives in the "ancestor hunt".

      J -    Just names and dates and numbers do not make a
family history. Seek out the local histories which reveal what
the lives of your ancestors were like - their struggles, their
triumphs, their everyday customs, the history and values of the
times - this is what makes family history interesting. Find all
the elderly living relatives, and try to interview them.

      K -    Keep the first interview brief, so you can both
become comfortable. Prepare the other person for the interview,
use a tape recorder and a script to "jog memories" with specific
questions. There are guidebooks for taking oral histories.  Use
the information as a guide, not as the proven truth. Perhaps
Great Grandfather was not a great military hero, as the stories
within the family go, but perhaps your research will reveal he
served his country proudly in some lesser role.

      L -    Let everyone in the family, near and far, know about
your family history project. Even those you don't personally know
can have valuable information. Assure them that you will share
your research results with them. Ask about photocopies of family
records, old Bibles, old letters, diaries, photographs.

      M -    Make letter writing work for you. Many public
agencies and private associations have been swamped by letters of
inquiry by budding new family historians. Introductory letters of
inquiry need to be brief. State simply what you know about a
certain person/family, and what additional data you are seeking.
Always include a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (often called an
SASE. Letters to foreign countries need to include IRC's -
International Reply Coupons - available at the Post Office).

      N -    New researchers should check first at the mammoth
collection maintained at the LDS-FHL (Mormon Family History
Library in Salt Lake City, accessible through your local LDS-FHC
- Family History Center. There are over 1,000 FHC's across the
US. Call the nearest LDS (Mormon) church, in the phonebook under
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and inquire. A
majority of the patrons, and many of the volunteers at each FHC
are not themselves Mormons, and the facilities are open to
everyone at no charge.

      O -    Often, even small city libraries often belong to the
nationwide Inter-Library Loan system. Many historical societies
and family associations maintain libraries which allow members to
borrow books by mail.  College and university libraries often
have special collections.  Visit your nearest library
and inquire.

      P -    Public records are stored on film at branches of the
National Archives in many US locations. They contain census
records, indexes to military records, ships passenger lists,
passport applications, immigration and naturalization, and many
other valuable resources. One may also write and request
Military, Pension, Bounty Land Warrant records from Washington.
Census records are available at many locations other than the
National Archives. There is no charge for inquiry, and you are
notified of the search result, and estimate of photocopy costs to
send you the materials. There are catalogs of National Archives
holdings available at a modest cost. Some people buy a fiche/film
reader machine and study census films in their own homes.

      Q -    Query is the term used for asking a question. You
may send queries to family associations, libraries, other
researchers. You may query others online via the CompuServe Genealogy
Forum, or through the Genealogy Echo sponsored by the National
Genealogical Society and through local bulletin boards all around
the world.

      R -    Records for research: cemetery, census, church,
land, military, probate, tax, town, vitals, wills - the list goes
on and on.

      S -    Sources for research: family records, interviews,
newspapers, primary records, public documents, published books -
the list is endless.

      T -    Think of your family history project as a 1,000
piece jigsaw puzzle. You first sort out the pieces and study them
and slowly begin to see which ones fit where, and sometimes you
work on a small section that will fit into the big picture.

      U -    Understand that genealogy can become wonderfully
addicting! A personal yet absorbing hobby which can lead to many
new friendships, discovery of relatives you never knew existed,
and a sense of real accomplishment that will in itself become a
treasure.

      V -    Value your family history project as a significant
contribution in your lifetime to future generations.

      W -    When you become discouraged at the "brick walls",
just back up and head down another path. When the immediate
family under study seems to disappear from the records, check out
the extended family, the cousins, the neighbors, and their
records. Especially during the periods of migration across
the developing United States, people moved with other family
members.

      X,Y,Z -      X-pect surprises! A "cold call" query on the
CompuServe Genealogy Forum once brought me 7 generations of my ancestry on 
one line, uploaded from Hawaii to Maryland in a few hours!
Other services such as Prodigy,  On Line America and many local BBS's  have 
genealogy services.

And, above all, enjoy !  This is a personal adventure which will
become a very unique experience of your life, and will be
appreciated in the lives of generations to come......

Good luck on your searches and most of all - have fun learing about your families.