Last of the 5 Ways to Start a Genealogy Research Project
by Rich Hill
(The first 15 points are covered in the three previous articles.)
By now if you have been following the step by step procedures outline here
you will have started to recognize the importance of doing your genealogy
research project in this manner.
Continue on to the conclusion and I guarantee that you will have success
in finding those missing links. There are always records some where that
will help you to prove your connection to these people. It is up to you to
keep digging until you find the proof.
16 - Your state vital records for Births, Deaths and Marriages will be
located usually at your state capital. Some states have them published on
line and you could do a Google search to find them. Old newspaper articles
will be the best way of finding the right dates and names for these key
points in people's lives, and then you must document them with copies of
the official vital records documents.
17 - The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is online and free. It can be
searched at ancestry and the USGenWeb. You can also download many free
forms such as census extraction forms from ancestry and cyndislist. By
using these newly discovered death dates and old newspaper articles you
will find many more clues to your family history.
18 - Maps are extremely helpful in putting your ancestors in a certain
location and time period. Many of the earlier cadastral maps will show the
names of the property owners on the maps. There are some very good sites
that you will be able to look at old maps, current and old topographical
maps, aerial and satellite photos and many other very useful free sites of
interest. It is best to Google these terms also because the sites keep
changing.
19 - This is a hobby that will consume you if you get hooked, but set some
goals and go out and record that data. Buy books, take courses, have fun.
A great book that you will want to have a copy of is titled, "Step by Step
Genealogy Guide".
20 - In closing I wish to thank you for reading these tips and if I can
leave you with the very most important single thing it is this. Document
your sources! Make good citations of each and every point and detail that
you record in your spiral notebooks and then enter into your computer
database. Make sure you record the date and location that you obtained
each fact. You can thank me in ten years for that bit of advice.
