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Research Tips & Tricks |
Where do you
begin? Begin with yourself. Always proceed from the present to the past. Record
your name, place and date of birth, marriage and
residence.
Now search out
and record the same information about your parents, then your grandparents and
so on through as many generations as possible.
The next step
is to visit your parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins. If they
are married, give each a family group sheet to fill out on themselves and ask
them to include any stories or family legends. Ask them to help you fill out the
family group sheets of your common ancestors.
If you are lucky enough to have
grandparents and great aunts and uncles, allow plenty of time to visit. They are
a treasure box of memories and facts. Remember to ask about the whereabouts of old letters, wills. deeds, christening and Sunday
school records, etc. Make a photocopy of these as they should be included in
your history.
When
interviewing by mail, always include a stamped, self addressed envelope (SASE)
with your first letter to insure a reply.
Don't forget
pictures! Ask everyone if they know of any and ask permission to copy them. This
can be done at a photo shop or by yourself with a 35 mm camera and close-up
lens.
After you have
exhausted your relatives knowledge and patience, you can start with public
records and libraries. The library will have some of the following sources:
family genealogies, municipal and county histories, census records, directories,
biographies and military records.
Other places to
look:
Vital Records - birth records, marriage records,
death certificates. Vital records should be checked first, including those you
already know. Death records often but not always show the birth date and place,
the parents names (including maiden) and birth places, and the name of the
person supplying the information. Marriage and birth records may show some of
the same information.
Probate Records - wills, letter of administration,
executor and administrator bonds, inventories and appraisals, adoption
proceedings change of names, secret marriages. Wills may have a list of children
and sometimes grandchildren. Check for the administration of the
estate.
Land Records - deeds, mortgages, leases, recorded
wills, power of attorney, maps and plats.
Civil Records - partition of property, divorces,
foreclosures. Miscellaneous records, voter registration, tax and assessment
rolls, naturalization records.
Federal Records - censuses,. military records,
passenger lists, passport records, immigration records, homestead application,
pension applications.
Census Records are available from 1790 to 1920. The 1850 census is the first one that lists
everyone in the household by name. Previous years broke the family into age
brackets and can be useful in roughly estimating ages and sex. The 1880 census
lists birth place of parents.
Church Records - membership rolls, baptisms,
marriages, burial and cemetery records.
School and College records - roster and
rolls.
Family Records - family bible, old family documents,
diaries, letters, signed photographs, engraved jewelry, newspaper clippings,
wills, lodge records, insurance papers, social security papers, employment
records.
When interviewing by mail, always include a stamped, self addressed, envelope (SASE)
with your first letter to insure reply. Be considerate of libraries,
genealogical societies and public offices. Most do not do
research.!
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Muskegon
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