Doing family history research

Doing your research: Step 2 of 3

Congratulations for making it to step 2.  By taking the initiative to get this far, you have already greatly increased your chances of producing meaningful family history research.  By reading this far you are clearly determined enough to get there.  After you have created the foundation by producing your questions and outlining a game plan in step 1 you should now have a good list of leads and thoughts to help with you while doing your research.  Here is where you have to go from now.

You can now begin to think of your family history as a case.  You are attempting to solve questions and to get answers for the things that you desire.  To begin this process, you need to know that you will basically be performing 3 different types of research.

1. Type 1: Investigative – This type of research will make you to be like a detective.   You need to get on every search engine and type names, dates, events, and anything else that you have come up with.  (Save what you find, twice.
2. Type 2: Talking – You will follow your leads and talk to family members.  This may include following up with family friends and distant relatives. Anyone who will know information on your ‘case’.    Keep in mind that people’s perspectives will change depending on the time period that they grew up in and different life experiences that they may have had.  Therefore at times, it may help you to construct a big picture and not a specified story in the beginning.
3. Type 3: Historical – This type of research will require you to study historical events that may be able to explain your family’s immigration.  Think famine in Ireland, or earthquake in Italy, even labor demands worldwide.  

Now that you are ready, let’s begin the process.

1. Talk to your family members, friends, and other necessary contacts.  Meet with all of your family members that you can.  If the distances are too great consider writing them or calling them.
   1. Keep in mind that you should build credibility with people who you do not know well.  Some distant family members that have no knowledge of you might consider it strange if you begin asking all sorts of questions.  Walk them through the process with you.  Explain to them your intentions and let them know why you want to learn about your family.
   2. During this part of your research, you may be exposed to new people who you need to talk to and future contacts.  Start to look into contacting these people, or who they are.
2. Hit the internet and the libraries.  Now is the time that gets tedious.  Talking to family members can be time-consuming, but it is usually interesting because you are getting a personal touch to the information that you are getting.  The internet is full of dead ends and false leads.  You are going to have to sift through pages of non-related content before finding your prize.
   1. Helpful links for you are websites like Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org.
      1. Family search is free.  It is through the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church).  Mormons believe that genealogy is a very important aspect of life, and thus they have created one of the largest databases of family history records worldwide.
      2. Ancestry.com is not free, unless you know how to use it.  If you search online and find information, you are not going to be able to find out more.  However, very few people know that many public libraries have contractual agreements with Ancestry.com.  In many libraries, if you go to the library and have your card, you can actually access the database of Ancestry.com for free.
   2. Search engines.  As you compile information from family members and helpful websites, type these things into the internet.  Be sure to research holistically.  Do not just have one search and done.  Try different word combinations, languages, etc.
   3. Check libraries for records – Some libraries actually have records of local family histories for generations back.  This is dependent upon how localized your family has been for a few generations, but if your family has not been to mobile you may be in luck.
   4. Order films from Family History Centers.  The Mormon church has a database of microfilm along with its online database.  You have to find the film number that you need (i.e. specific dates or files that you need), then order the films that you need.  In a week or so when the film arrives, you can use the projectors at the center to do your research and print relevant documents.  The films are inexpensive.
      1. Do not worry about being evangelized while doing your family research.  The centers that I have been to have all been connected to churches.  The people have been extremely friendly, but have never asked me to join anything.  If you ask them, certainly they will share, but if you are not interested they will not likely prod you.  Find a family history center near you here.
   5. Study mass emigrations.  If you are looking for explanations, emigration waves can sometimes explain reasoning for why a particular family moved a great distance.  Look at things like emigration waves, famines, wars, genocides, and any other large-scale events.
3. Re-group, re-question, and re-define.  By this point, regardless of how long it takes you to get here you will at some point need to stop and re-group.  By the time you compile a large amount of information and names, spend some time putting everything together.
   1. Once you have done that, ask yourself: what is missing?  Are there any large gaps? Names that you are unsure about? Missing people?
   2. Go back to #1 and #2.  After you realize what is missing, go back to the basics.  Interrogate, research, read, discover.
4. Repeat as necessary.  As you continue the process, there will likely be several cycles of question and answering, then re-grouping.  Over time, you may hit great breakthroughs and periods where you find nothing at all.  The key factor here is that you keep doing it.

Tips for researching genealogy

• Do not overly focus on organization in the beginning. This will be something that you need to do in step 3, but at the beginning you do not need to over focus on it. I know that in step 1 you were instructed to get organized, but what I was referring to was more in line with keeping everything together and not structured.
• Name changes – Remember that names can change so be open to that.  People change names for a variety of reasons, but you cannot change what is done.  For example, a Smith could have been a Schmidt.  Therefore, you would not get past 1-2 generations if you continued looking up Smith because they were formerly German.
• Follow all leads – Even if you believe that something will come up unfruitful then look it up.  You do not know, and it will not hurt to have a look.
• Start small and work backwards.  It is all too tempting to jump to your great-grandfathers and great great great ancestors, but it is just not that easy.  Start as simple as: this is me, these are my parents, these are my parent’s parents.  Then work your way to the past.
• Don’t hesitate to use social media.  Search for people with your last name and check cities and locations for potential cousins.  I have actually been contacted by multiple cousins via Facebook and other sources.

You have just read step 2 of 3 for researching genealogy.  If you would like to be directed to step 1, please click here.  If you would like to go on to step 3 please click here.

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