Feeling a little overwhelmed
about how to get started tracing your roots? Spend an evening visiting
the following sites and you should find answers to most of your questions.
Many of the genealogy software programs include charts that you can print
out to take with you when you go to courthouses, libraries, cemeteries,
etc... to do research, as well as help you keep your data organized.
The following sites will help orient you to what types of records are available
and how to begin collecting them. Scroll on down and you will find
several links to excellent general genealogy sites to help you locate
information on the Internet.
Getting Started In Genealogy:
Helpful Hints For Succesful Searching
General Genealogy Sites:
Cyndi's List - The Mother Of All Genealogy Link Pages!
Ancestry - Subscription service; some free searchable databases.
Family Tree Maker - Lots of stuff for sale but also some good research tips and articles.
GenForum - Tons of surname message boards! Great way to find cousins!
"Random
Acts Of Genealogical Kindness" - This is a great idea! The volunteers
of this movement are agreeing once per month to either videotape cemeteries
(homeplaces, etc.) or do lookups of information in the county or area of
the country (if other than the USA) they live whether or not they have
ancestral ties to that area. This is bound to be helpful to a lot of people,
so check it out!
Melissa's Tip of the Month:
"Learn to write down the source information for every piece of information that you receive! If you are just beginning your search you may not have that much data and you may be tempted to think that you will remember where you got the date for Great Aunt Mary's marriage. As you collect more and more information there is no way that you will remember every source. Keeping track as you go will end up saving you a lot of time later when you have to go back and retrace your steps to figure out where you got everything."
The following sites give excellent instruction about how to cite sources and why you need to:
Board for Certification of Genealogists - Skill Building
Why
Bother? The Value of Documentation in Family History Research by Kory
Meyerink, MLS, AG