Research Steps for Compiling a Family History

Use the following steps to discover your genealogy .

1.  Every section of a family’s genealogy should be as complete as possible.  Strive to compile a precise record of each family.  In the future, we will be the ancestors.  Those who follow us will appreciate having correct and detailedinformation as they compile their family tree.

2.  Do not be a copyist. Do  pull together as much documentation as possibly can for proper assessment .   Just because it is in print does not make it a correct statement.  Many early  genealogies were based on  incorrect research.

3.  A  famly history ,  to be of value should cite  the sources that were collected in the records .  Use a reference list and do your own family tree research ,  when ever possible .  Another person’s interpretation of the data may not be accurate .  duplicating another person’s error only perpetuates the mistake.

Sources of  information fall into one of two  categories, primary and secondary .  Primary sources are those statements or records , written or verbal , made at or near the time of the event .  The source will be an eyewitness or from someone closely associated with the happening . The  quest to find primary sources should be obvious . A secondary source would come from a non-witness, or  one not associated with the event .  The recollection maybe may have been made later , from memory.  Information sources will be found in many different types of documentations including vital records, census and obituaries .

4. Do not hesitate .  Relatives can give first hand eye witness accounts not be found elsewhere.   Many years may be required to discover the answers to questions  that could have been asked “today” .

5.  With records ,  there are two criteria to judge credibility.  Are the records original, or copies?  An original is the first transcription of an happening in  conformity with the prescribed law or custom.  

The event may be recorded in one or more orginal records.  The birth of a  child could appear in Vital Statistics, in the Church Registry,  and in a Family Bible.  All of these records   would be considered considered orginals because,  they are the first entry of  the birth in that  vicinity.  A copied record is one that has been  copied, transcribed and compiled from another record.  The other record may have been  a copy, or it may have been an orginal.  Each time a copy is  transcribed there is a possibility for error.  The more times that the document has been copied ,   the greater the possible number of errors .

6.  A certified copy  is considered an official copy, but it is a copy, and is subject to human error.  This  problem has been  reduced with the wide spread use of  scanning or photocopying .   A  scanned copy of an original  record can be considered  as good as the original.

7.  No genealogy can be considered  close to completion unless family tree research is done for each  member of the family.  No one should be unnoted and no one should be excluded.

8.  A name ought to be recorded as the complete name.  Avoid using ditto marks.  Always record the entire names of the children  on a family group sheet or in your computer database .  When If a person has been known by a nickname,  include it. 

9.  If you discover a  nickname has been used, such as  Betty, on some documents, and or nickname for the same individual on  other records, be sure to make note of both the names.

10.  A child born out of wedlock tends to assume the mother’s name most frequently.

Use these ten tips to increase your genealogy know how.