So you’ve decided you want to start mapping your family history! Yay! Welcome to the club!

Maybe you have information about your Grandparents or even your Great-Grandparents but you don’t really know where to go from there. Well, below are a few steps to take to get ready to start your journey.

1. Know your time limit

              I’m going to start with this one because it’s something that we don’t always think about that then before you know it, it’s 2 a.m. and you’re elbow deep in marriage and land records thinking about what you’re going to tell your boss in the morning. Or, you’re at the grocery store and a German Chocolate Cake triggers a thought and you NEED to find out if your 3rd great-grandmother had a younger brother NOW!

Ancestry is addictive, it’s time consuming and as I’m figuring out everyday…. it’s never ending. So, it’s important to think about how much time you want to set aside to devote to it. If you’re like me squeeze it in whenever possible then that’s great, but if you have more of a strict schedule, you’ll want to remember that this journey takes time….. lots of time.

2. What is your goal?

It’s ok if you don’t have one. I didn’t when I first started, but it’s helpful if you think about what it is that you’re looking for. Do you want to know who your 5th great-grandparents were or are you wanting to find out where your Grandfather was born, or what year did they immigrate to the U.S. Maybe you’re more interested in if they had any brothers or sisters or finding photos of them or collecting information so you can submit an application for the DAR or SAR.

There is a lot of information out there, and if you think about it, you’re researching a whole life!… and not just one…. thousands! So, narrowing down what interests you the most will make your search a little easier.

    3.  To “Ancestry” or not to “Ancestry”…. what’s in your budget?

I’m going to start off my saying that I use Ancesty.com ALOT! It’s an amazing resource to find a lot of information in one place, and keep it all organized, and it’s incredibility easy to access and understand.  Especially for someone who’s just starting out and doesn’t have a lot of information, it can be an incredibly helpful tool. I highly recommend it, at least for a couple months until you can get most of the information that you are looking for. They offer smart phone apps, so you can access your records anywhere.

Right now, they have different subscriptions in a range of prices so you can find one that fits into your budget. If you’re looking to just try it out, you can do one month for $19.99. (another reason to set your goals… so you don’t waste time on things that you don’t really need) But if that’s still not in your budget, most local libraries have the service for free, but they usually require you to go to library to access it.

With all that being said, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get a subscription. There are plenty of other resources that you can use, some free, some not, but going back to knowing what you are looking for, you can usually find it if you know where to look. Right now, I use ancestry mainly for sorting and organizing my information, but most of my new discoveries come from other sources.

4. Start with what you know

 When researching family history, you must be good at logic. I always think about those logic puzzles that we’d get in school, where they’d tell you 5 facts and you had and you had to figure out the rest by process of elimination. ….. well it’s exactly like that! Family history is a giant logic puzzle and the most amazing part is when you figure out where the piece fits! #bestfeeling

You want to start with what you already know and work your way out. ALWAYS go back to what you know. Once you start gathering information then you keep going from there. Let’s repeat…… “ALWAYS START WITH WHAT YOU KNOW!”

 

5. Your family is your greatest resource

**** Lots of stars in front of this one because it’s so true! You might be the oldest living person in your family, in that case this doesn’t really apply to you, but if you have living relatives that can give you any information…. take it! They were there, include them! Most of the time they can give you a foundation to start, they have the most knowledge…. and they’re free!

 

Happy Hunting!!!!!