10 Tips for Starting Your Family History Research

Ten practical tips for beginners in genealogy: where to start, what to record, which sources to trust and how to avoid the classic early mistakes.

Every family historian starts with the same question: where do I begin? The answer is always the same too: with yourself, and one step at a time. These ten tips will get you from a blank page to a solid tree.

1. Start with what you know

Write down your own birth date and place, then your parents', then your grandparents'. Do not guess. Put a question mark next to anything you are not sure about. This first chart is the foundation for everything else.

2. Talk to the oldest relatives first

Memories disappear; documents wait. Before you spend a weekend in an archive, spend an afternoon with your oldest aunt. Ask about names, places, occupations and stories. Record the conversation if she agrees. Our guide to interviewing relatives has a question list.

3. Work from the known to the unknown

Genealogy moves backwards one generation at a time. Prove each parent-child link before you look for the next one. Jumping to a famous ancestor with the same surname is the fastest way to build a tree that belongs to someone else.

4. Record where every fact came from

A date without a source is a rumour. Write down the record, the archive or the person who told you, even for facts that seem obvious. When two sources disagree later, and they will, you will be glad you can compare them.

5. Look at the whole household

Census returns, parish registers and passenger lists rarely list one person alone. Note the neighbours, witnesses and godparents. They are often relatives, and they help you tell two men with the same name apart.

6. Learn the geography

Borders moved, villages were renamed and parishes were merged. Find the place on a historical map and note which parish, district and country it belonged to at the time of the event. That decides which archive holds the record.

7. Choose one program and keep a GEDCOM backup

Whether you use an online tree or desktop software, export a GEDCOM file regularly. It is the copy of your work that no company can take away, and it is what you will upload to print charts and books.

8. Be careful with online hints

Automated hints and other people's trees are suggestions, not proof. Check the original record every time. A tree copied from a tree copied from a tree can carry a mistake for decades.

9. Keep a research log

Write down what you searched, where, and what you did not find. Negative results save you from repeating the same search next year.

10. Share early

Print a simple chart after your first month and show it to the family. Relatives correct mistakes, remember stories and produce photographs from drawers you did not know existed. A chart on the wall is the best research tool you have.

Follow these habits from the start and your tree will grow slowly, but every branch of it will be true.