Ancestry.com

This is Part 3 in my blogs on researching your families genealogy. For the first two blogs, click HERE for the "Genealogy: Where To Started" post and HERE for the "Family Tree Maker" post (or click on the label "genealogy" for all three posts).

OK...so you've talked to your oldest relatives and bought a software program that can store all the information you are going to be researching. Now what?

Even if you didn't buy Family Tree Maker, I suggest getting a subscription to Ancestry.com. I'm sure you've seen the "I gotta a leaf" commercials. Click HERE to watch it. Ancestry.com also partnered a show with NBC called, "Who Do You Think You Are?" Years ago, I bought Family Tree Maker Version 16 and it came with a 1-year subscription to Ancestry.com (a $100 value). From what I can tell, Family Tree Maker 2011 does not include a free subscription. I'm sure Family Tree Maker 2011 has a lot of new exciting features but just be aware that there are older versions out there, some coming with a free subscription and some without. Family Tree Maker (any version) and Ancestry.com are a nice research duo because the software has a Web Search that is integrated with Ancestry.com. In other words, the software works with the website to automatically look for information.

Ancestry.com also offers a 14-day free trial. Be careful though. All of the free subscription offers require you to enter your credit card information and if you don't cancel the free subscription, you'll be charged automatically for a renewal. Don't let this scare you off though. Even as absentminded as I am, I put a reminder on my calendar and canceled the free subscription before being charged a renewal fee.

Ancestry.com has so many features that it would probably be most beneficial to go directly to their website to review them all. Click HERE to go there now.

In case you don't want to leave this site, however, here are some of the features I found the most useful:

Census Records
Immigration & Emigration Records
Military Records
Birth, Marriage & Death Records
Family Trees
Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records

There are of course many many more and you can also simply put in a name to "Search All Records". The possibilities are virtually endless.

I'm going to try my best to post more blogs about genealogy. As I mentioned before, I'm no expert. BUT, I did research my families history for many years and would like to pass on the knowledge I gained in what was a slow learning process. I plan on posting what I know about the following topics in the future:

Free Online Websites
Library Sources
Census Records
Cemetery Records
Marriage & Death Records
Obituaries
Family Group Sheets
Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Genealogy: Where to Start

Researching your family history can be a long task that truly never has an ending place. Experts in the field tell you to start with what you know and work backwards. Then, contact your oldest relative and find out all they know about your ancestors. I can't tell you how true this is. The information that your grandparents and hopefully great grandparents have is invaluable. Many sites tell you to write down everything they say but my suggestion is to either video tape or voice record the conversation. Try to get legal names for relatives. If they mention "Aunt Flo", ask if that was her legal name. Some people don't answer to their legal name because they've developed nicknames or simply don't like it. However, legal documents, the kind you will find during your research will most likely have the legal name. Don't be afraid to ask if they have any actual documentation in their possession. You will be surprised how many people are holding on to original documents such as marriage and death certificates and in the case of my family, original discharge papers for relatives that were in the Civil War. Many people will be reluctant to give these items to you to keep but you can ask to scan or copy the documents. My great grandmother (pictured above) left a video tape describing how she met my great grandfather, how and when she settled on a new farm as a young girl. Although I received this film late into my research it validated a lot of information that I had been unsure of and helped me down a couple of new roads. Even information such as remembering half of the names of children in an extended family can be helpful later on. There is another aspect of this type of research. One that the experts don't always mention. It's a lot more interesting. Names and dates are important and absolutely necessary for your research BUT learning the stories that go along with the names and dates are what make family history the most rewarding.

Family Tree Maker

A few years ago I got the idea that I wanted an easy way to keep track of my family's information (birthdays, names, places of birth, etc.). I also wanted a place to record some interesting information that I had obtained about my grandparents. I wanted to put it somewhere so I could organize it. I ended up buying a software program called Family Tree Maker. Little did I know that it would be the start of a years-long never-ending genealogy project. If you ever thought about researching your ancestors or just want a place to organize all the information you have, Family Tree Maker is a great place to start. It's easy to use and has places to save pictures, documents, site sources, etc. Complicated relations such as divorces, unwed parents and stepchildren can also be organized in the program. After your information is gathered you can print out family trees, charts, reports and more. The Family Tree Maker edition that I purchased came with a free 1-year subscription to Ancestry.com. I hope to explain more about Ancestry.com and genealogy in general in future posts.