New to genealogy. Help please!?

Question:Hello!

My Grandma has recently passed away, and one thing she always wanted was a family tree she could look back on.

I always said I'd do it, but for one reason or another, I never had time to.
Now I am going to make time to do it for her, I know she will never see it, but I am also interested in it myself.

So, do you have any tips for a beginner who doesn't have a clue where to start?
And, what do all the words mean?

Thanks!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hello!

My Grandma has recently passed away, and one thing she always wanted was a family tree she could look back on.

I always said I'd do it, but for one reason or another, I never had time to.
Now I am going to make time to do it for her, I know she will never see it, but I am also interested in it myself.

So, do you have any tips for a beginner who doesn't have a clue where to start?
And, what do all the words mean?

Thanks!

Start with what you know, and good genealogy software.
MyHeritage.com has free software, and a compatible online tree.
http://www.myheritage.com/

Cyndi's List is the best list of Genealogy resources:
http://www.cyndislist.com/

I must say that Ancestry.com is the best if you are willing to pay. I can't begin to imagine how much time and energy I have saved compared to the quantity and quality of documents I have found there.

Vital records and census records are your best starting points. Birth certificates will have parents names, sending you back one more generation. Death records have birth dates, which leads you back to the birth certificate. Marriage certificates have birth dates & parents' names. Census records will list spouses, children living with parents, and ages of all. Of course this is just the basics of what each of these documents contains! Always take note of your sources.

Some terms you may come across:
http://www.genealogy.com/Glossary/glossa...
And some translations for common terms:
http://www.awesomegenealogy.com/freetran...

Check here for my suggestions on organizing your information, ORGANIZATION is key:
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Beware the One World Tree, and similar shared trees. Not all of the information is guaranteed to be verified, but they can give you clues as to where to look next when you're stuck.

It is very time intensive. I'm sure most people have spent years on their research.

Good luck and have fun!

If your family went through ellis island, try ellisisland.org, it's free to join and they don't send you and junk email. The mormons are very interested in family history and they have excellent resources. Try ancestry.com. good luck

welcome, Shelley.
I see the last person offered cyndislist already... this is my favorite. All the others should show up there.. she is an encyclopedia of sources for research. She has a great beginner section.. but also.. just browse the site, please ! It gives you some ideas of the types of info out there. There also is a section for nothing but myths and hoaxes in genealogy.. that is very important.
If you remember one word at all, the word is DOCUMENTATION. What you find is as good as the source record for the info. Original sources are things that were recorded at the time of the event, or close to it. Many of the "trees" online are good, as long as they understand this. DOWNLOADING a file that is someone else's is widely done and accepted.. the issue is that you still should know the process, so you can evaluate for yourself if the facts are solid or not.
Not to mention... this area has a wide number of experienced persons who can help along the way. See.. you have already started.
and just my personal thought... of course, she will be fully aware of what you are doing.

Hi: Go to the website listed as a source below, and put your last name in the search box. It will take you to a message board where you can start asking questions. You will meet other people who have your last name, and hopefully you will find some relatives if you can tell the people what states your family lived in, and when they came to the US.

Good luck

Norm

Hi Shelley,

People ask that question 3 - 14 times a day here. We top 8 have standard answers we paste. Here is mine.

This is a text file I paste to questions like yours. You get a long, detailed answer, I don't get finger cramps. It is long because there are over 400,000 free genealogy sites.

It is also long because researching your family tree is as hard as writing a term paper in a History class. You don't have to be a rocket scientist, but you won't do it with five clicks. I could tell you everything I know in 30 minutes, but not 3. The fact you have to do research stops nine out of ten teens and many adults.

If you didn't mention a country, we can't tell if you are in the USA, UK, Canada or Australia. I'm in the USA and my links are for it. If you are not, please edit your question to add a country. Or, better yet, delete it and ask again, this time putting inthe country. Genealogists from the UK answer posts here too. They are more experienced and more intelligent than I am. I'm better looking and my jokes are better.

The really good stuff is in your parents' and grandparents' memories. No web site is going to tell you how your great grandparents decorated the Christmas tree with ornaments cut from tin foil during the depression, how Great Uncle Elmer wooed his wife with a banjo, or how Uncle John paid his way through college in the 1960's by smuggling herbs. Talk to your living relatives before it is too late.

You won't find living people on genealogy sites. Don't look for yourself or your parents.

So much for the warnings. Here are some links. These are large and free. Many of them have subtle ads for Ancestry.com in them - ads that ask for a name, then offer a trial subscription. Watch out for those advertisements.

If you try the links and don't find anyone, go to

http://www.tedpack.org/yagenlinks.html

It repeats each link, but it has a whole paragraph of tips and instructions for each one.

http://www.cyndislist.com
Cyndi's List has over 250,000 sites.

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/f...
The Mormon's mega-site.

http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.c...
RootsWeb World Connect. The links at the top are advertisements. They mislead beginners. Ignore them and scroll down.

http://www.rootsweb.com/
RootsWeb Home.
This is the biggest free (genealogy) site in the world.

http://www.ancestry.com
Ancestry has some free data and some you have to pay for.

http://www.usgenweb.net
US Gen Web. Click on a state. Find a link that says "County".

http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/defa...
Surname meanings and origins, one of Ancestry's free pages.

http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-b...
Social Security Death Index. Click on "Advanced". Women are under their married names. They are under their maiden names in most other sites.

http://find.person.superpages.com/
USA Phone book, for looking up distant cousins.

http://vitals.rootsweb.com/ca/death/sear...
California Death Index, 1940 - 1997.

http://www.genforum.com
GenForum has surname, state and county boards.

http://boards.ancestry.com/
Ancestry has surname, state and county boards too. They are free.

Read
http://www.tedpack.org/goodpost.html
before you post on either one.

Read the paragraphs about query boards on
http://www.tedpack.org/yagenlinks.html
before you search them.

http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/lis...
Roots Web Mailing List Archives.

Read
http://www.tedpack.org/maillist.html
if genealogy mailing lists are new to you.

Off the Internet, some public libraries have census image subscriptions. Many Family History Centers do too. FHC's are small rooms in Mormon churches. They welcome anyone interested in genealogy, not just fellow Mormons. They have resources on CD's and volunteers who are friendly. They don't try to convert you; in fact, they don't mention their religion unless you ask a question about it.