How to Start Genealogy Research

A Process for Connecting to Your Ancestors

By R. Bruce Arnold

brucearnld@aol.com

Genealogy has become a hobby for lots of people since it is now so much easier to find your ancestors via the Internet.  In the old days, you needed to write to relatives to get data from the flyleaves of their family Bibles or to town clerks who would look in their records for you.

Today, there are a number of excellent websites that are free and are a very big help to get your search started.  Some of the best free sites include:

•  www.rootsweb.com  Be sure to pay attention to the “Getting Started” links on the home page.  There are very good tips and further links there to help you find your ancestors.
• www.familysearch.org  This is the main site of the Mormons (Church of the Latter Day Saints), the organization with largest database of people from the past that exists in the world.  Fill in the boxes at the home page when it opens with the name of one of your relatives and be surprised at the amount of information that is likely to appear.
• www.cyndislist.com  This is a site that has hundreds of thousands of links that can prove useful in your search.  Click on the “Categories” button at the left of the home page to find a wide array of topics and sites that can be researched.
• www.google.com  Just type in the name of your ancestor and be surprised at how many references you are likely to find.

There are many more Internet connections that are of value. You are likely to find them once you get started on your search.  Local libraries often have good sections on genealogy and staff members that can help you get started.  They often purchase access to the “membership” sites where huge amounts of information can be found, and they make them free to members of the library. 

The most useful “membership” site is probably www.ancestry.com.  The fee structure increases depending on how comprehensive you want your search to be.  The site has literally billions of names of people from the past, with many of them in countries other than the US.  They add significant amounts of new information every day.

One of the highly useful pieces of information to be found is on the pages of the US Census.  The first Census was taken in 1790.  Every ten years thereafter, a new census was taken.  The government rules are that census information cannot be revealed to the public until 72 years have passed.  That is to protect the privacy of those who contribute their personal information.  Thus, the most recent US Census data available online was collected in 1930.  The 1940 data will be released for the first time in April 2012.  The pages from 1890 were almost totally lost due to a fire and extensive water damage that occurred in the late 1890s in Washington, DC in the building where the pages were stored.

At the local level, a group meets monthly at the Easttown Library in Berwyn, PA on the second Thursday at 1:00 PM.  It is called the Main Line Genealogy Club and the public is welcome to participate.  Their website can be found at www.mainlineroots.org. 

Finally, it is likely that a lot of information will be developed if you really get involved in your search.  It is especially helpful to use a software package to log your newfound information on your computer as opposed to having many boxes of paper records.  You can find lots of help in making a selection by typing “Genealogy Software Review” in your Internet “Search” box and making use of the information that appears.

Beware: The search for ancestors can become almost “addictive” because it is so fascinating.  The “detective” work that is involved can be both lots of fun and very rewarding.