How to begin

posted by Scott Andrew Bird

I have been asked a number of times 'where do i start' with regard to tracing a family tree. It's not as difficult as you might imagine.

Start with what you know

The best way to begin tracing your family tree is to start with what you know and work backwards. Write down the names of all family members you can think of, their relationships to each other, and any other information on them that comes to mind. Information such as where they live, where they were born or when they were married.

The next step is to talk to other people in your family, family friends and neighbours. Anyone who might know something about someone in your family. Take notes, ask for copies of photographs and anything else you come across that may be useful. This includes items such as birth, marriage or death certificates; newspaper articles and letters from past employers.

Using certificates

Once you've worked out as much of the family tree as possible using information from living family members, you'll want to begin heading further back into your family's past. Generally the best way to do this is to look at birth, death or marriage certificates for the person the furthest back in your tree so far. Each of these certificates contains different information, but they will all give you key information such as the names of that person's parents. Once you know this you are able to track down their certificates and repeat the process.

How do I obtain the certificates?

Some of the certificates you may need could already be held by living family members. Once you have exhausted these and want to delve a little deeper, you will need to purchase a copy of a certificate or find someone else who already has a copy.

Birth certificates are held wherever the registration of birth originally took place. If the person was born overseas you'll need to look there. Fortunately finding and contacting overseas registries is often quite straightforward as many are now contactable online.

Similarly marriage certificates are held wherever the registration of marriage took place, and death certificates held wherever death was recorded.

Before rushing out and buying certificates it's worth looking around to see who else may already have a copy. There may be other genealogists who are researching a family tree which is connected to yours. Post questions online in forums, email lists or discussion groups. A list of some of these is available at the end of this article.

Summary

I hope this article has been helpful to you. Any feedback is always welcome.