Genealogy: A Library of Memories: Genealogy: How to Start

“Walking, I am listening in a deeper way. Suddenly, all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands.” – Linda Hogan

Augustine and Ida Sarah Paul
My Great-Great Grandparents

Have you ever wondered how tall your great-grandfather was? Or which sports he played in high school? Have you ever wondered which ship your great-great grandmother traveled on before she entered America?

Believe it or not, all of these questions have the ability to be answered. With a little persistence and a lot of research, you too can begin to unravel the lives of your ancestors, both through understanding their trials as well as their celebrations.

Tracing your roots can be an eye-opening experience. Understanding your family and where they came from can help you, in some sense, to understand yourself. Genealogy can help to validate whether old family tales that you heard as a child are true and it can even allow you to see if certain medical conditions are genetic. Genealogy research can also aid you in reconnecting with living family members and allow you to preserve your family history for generations to come, among many other advantages.

While digging up your family history is very exciting, it can also be daunting. It’s hard to know where to start, which websites to use, and trying to sort through endless pages of records can be overwhelming.

Let’s break it down…

Steps to follow when beginning genealogy research:

1. Decide how you want to record your findings.

There are many avenues to go about chronicling your research. The first is through websites such as Ancestry, Family Search, and MyHeritage, which allow you to build a tree as well as offer numerous records for you to search through and then save to your family tree. There are pros and cons to each one.

Ruth Schmid Van Hook
Great-Grandmother

FamilySearch.org is a completely free website run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is easy to search their database and restrict results of your searches so that you receive results that are more likely to pertain to your ancestors. However, if you are interested in DNA testing and genetic genealogy, FamilySearch does not have a DNA test available. The family tree software on FamilySearch is not the most user friendly. I would recommend this website as a great tool for adding on to your research, but I would not recommend to use this as the primary website to use to build your family tree.

The next website is MyHeritage. This website is a great resource when it comes to genetic genealogy. Through MyHeritage, you can order a DNA kit for $79 or a DNA Health and Ancestry kit for $149. Also, if you have taken a DNA test with another company, such as 23 and Me or Ancestry, you are able to upload your DNA file to MyHeritage for free and have access to DNA matches on the site. The family tree builder on this website is more user-friendly than FamilySearch and it is easy to records information and records for each ancestor. However, it is more difficult to use this website to research, because you are not able to restrict the results of your searches as easily as you are with FamilySearch. Also, MyHeritage requires a paying membership to be able to view records. While there are several choices of memberships, they are all billed annually, which is not convenient for those who would like to pay month-to-month. Overall, MyHeritage is a good site to use to start a family tree, especially if you are interested in exploring the DNA side of genealogy.

Lawrence (Larry) Paul
Great-Grandfather

The last website that I will discuss is the most popular, Ancestry.com. Ancestry has the most user-friendly website of the three. It is easy to restrict search results when you are searching for a specific record and building a family tree on the site is easy, as Ancestry will give you “hints” about records that may pertain to your ancestor, after you have started to input information about them. Ancestry is free to start a family tree; however, you must be a paying member to view records. For new members, a 14-day free trial is offered. Ancestry also has a wide variety of membership options, which include monthly and annual payment options. If you are not interested in purchasing a membership, many libraries offer free access to Ancestry. However, the downside of this is that you are no able to save your research on your own Ancestry account. Ancestry also offers a DNA test and has the largest database of any DNA testing company. I would highly recommend using Ancestry when starting to build your tree.

There are other options. One is the FamilyTreeMaker software that is downloadable from MacKiev.com for $79. This software used to be owned and produced by Ancestry, but was sold to MacKiev in 2016.

Pen and paper is another option to record your family history the old fashioned way. Free pedigree charts are available on the internet to print and records may also be kept this way.

2. Gather what you know.

Once you have decided how you will record your findings, it is time to gather what you know.

Starting with yourself, record the family history that you know for your immediate family – your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. This includes recording their names, birth dates, places lived, death dates, children, and siblings. However, it is important at this time to record only information that is known as fact. Other information can be researched later.

3. Time to start researching.

Once you have the very beginnings of your family tree, it is time to start researching. I recommend selecting a person with which to start. If you have had a grandmother that you have always wondered about, start there. Or, if you have a great-grandfather that you are interested in learning more about, start with him. It is important to select one person, or one side of the family to start with. Trying to research paternal and maternal sides of the family at the same time can be confusing and overwhelming. J