Preparing to Research Your Family Tree

Researching your family tree can be a rewarding experience, not just for you, but also for other living members of your family and those members yet to be born. The first step in preparing to research your family tree is to write down all the information about your family that you know. Include names, birth, marriage, divorce, and death dates and locations. Occupations, residences, schools attended, medical information, and anything else you find pertinent to your family tree should also be included. If you do not know birth, marriage, divorce, and death dates or locations write unknown. Also, write down stories about family members that you either remember hearing as you grew up or experienced yourself that would be beneficial to pass down to descendants.

The next step in researching your family tree is approaching and interviewing family members for information. Asking your living relatives for genealogical information can save you several hours of time spent researching, along with hundreds of dollars. If your grandmother already has copies of vital documents for ancestors, you will not need to order these records. Ask these relatives for family journals, scrapbooks, vital records, family Bibles, and other types of family heirlooms and records. Start with the eldest member of your family, working down to the youngest, even if you believe they would not offer you much assistance. Every family member will have stories to share that may help lead you to information you will be looking for once you begin your research. After you have gathered information from your family you will be ready to begin actively researching your family tree through outside sources.