It is important to break big questions down into separate, distinct
research "problems" and to work on one or two questions at a time. Every
research question leads to another, and every solution leads to another
ancestor! Any project could easily become the subject of a book. Our
mutual goal is to focus this project on what is most important to you, now.
Always begin with what you know about yourself, and work backward in time, thinking carefully about what you know for sure and where you have information gaps. If you skip generations, you stand an excellent chance of tracing the wrong person.
As you write your initial client request, put down as much info as you can about the question that interests you most...and the places where that ancestor lived. Why? The vast majority of original
source documents are found in local repositories, and PLACE is the essential clue that lets us find the information needed. Don't skimp here! [Try to figure out a place for each birth, marriage and death you know about, for your direct ancestor and for close relatives; this residence
info may identify the family migration route, and will be packed with clues.] Mail your form to me, or email it to me at: dcjoyce@findmyfamilyplease.com
It is also important to think about the TIME when your ancestor lived. Often, we don't know an exact date, but we can estimate a range of
dates based on what we do know. For example, if Gramma had her first
child in 1900 and her sixth child in 1916, the chances are good that she
was born about 1880. And if Great-Great Grampa was a young man in 1862,
and already lived in this country, you can be pretty sure that he served
in the Civil War.
One of the first steps in genealogy is to "chart" current family
information on a standard form called a "family group sheet" this is a
standard chart showing important information on one couple, and their
children. "Charting" is an essential step in genealogy. You can download
a free, blank Family Group Sheet [as well as other useful forms] by going
to this Internet site:
Don't put off interviewing living relatives who can help you fill in
missing information on your family group sheets. One of the most common
laments is "If only I had asked..." It would be foolish to pay a
professional to search for information that is already readily available
to you. Further, the better your "starting info" is, the more likely it
is that you will be satisfied with the results of the research project.
A word about surnames: Almost every surname has been spelled a
variety of ways in public records; you must expect to find spelling
variations. It is also quite common to find multiple people of the same
exact name [even an unusual one] who were contemporaries and neighbors, but
unrelated. Great care is needed in using family information available on
the Internet; too many people have simply matched up names and posted a
family tree, and each error is quickly duplicated as others pick up and
spread the information. This presents us all with a double bind: It is
important to find and use all of these clues, but it is dangerous to
accept information from someone else's family tree, without substantiating
evidence.
If your surname is a common one, you must expand your research to
consider the extended family and neighbors. These people may allow you to
find the correct person.
