Where to start?

Question:

Where to start?

I want to start researching my family history and do my geneaolgy. I have three young (hyper) boys and can't get to the family history center. Can I get started at home on the web? Where do I go and where do I start? I have no idea what to do. Can anyone give me specific instructions on how to go about it? Thank you so much for any help.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hey AJ,

Sure. Start with yourself. Get all the records you have together for births, deaths, marriages, obits. Pictures, stories, wills, parent interviews, grandparent interviews. Then organize that information into some Genealogy Software. There are packages below, LDS Family Search has free software that is not very robust, but it is free. The other software is much more friendly, and does lookups on the internet at pay sites.

There are thousands of sites on the internet, but first, get organized. Once there, you can apply for BMD (birth, marriage, and Death) vital records for anyone that you cannot figure out who their parents are. Look at your own birth certificate, it lists your parents, their age when you were born, their birth locations. So, that is how you link one generation to the next. Once you have gone as far as you can with that, start examining all the other sites. There are family tree/branches you can get from other people, you can come back here and ask more questions, and you can keep experimenting. If you can read some of the Genealogy technique sites.

Here are some really great Genealogy sites for you. Use LDS Family Search for your first stop to investigate a person that you believe has deceased. There are pedigree, census and other records there. Use GENFORUM for specific surname (for example your grandmothers maiden name, etc.) to strike up internet conversations with people having mutual interest. Have fun, and remember to have respect for your ancestors.