So you've heard family history is important, but aren't sure where to begin. Whether you have an aunt that's traced your lineage back to Noah's ark or you don't even know your grandparents' names, we're here with tips to start you off right.
When you're just beginning your family's history, you're inundated with names and dates. It can be intimidating to wade through internet search results for family or through books of remembrance with oversized pages full of old photos and handwritten information.
The best tip I've found for knowing where to start is with you. Begin with the end in mind. Create a family tree with you as the trunk and work your way up. Keep it simple with names, dates, and locations. Do this for yourself, your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.
I designed a basic family tree for you to print and fill out. Just click the image below to download the FREE pdf.
After you have the foundation of your family, start gathering photos and documents for those currently on your tree. Use scanners or phone apps to digitize them. Ask those still living for their personal histories or those of your ancestors. Determine how you're going to organize and store the information. (For a post of my favorite family history apps, CLICK HERE.)
If you decide to use web applications to preserve your family's histories, there are no guarantees a company will maintain that service. (Anyone remember Google Reader?) The only website I put my trust in to remain free and online is FamilySearch. It's owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but you don't have to be a member to have an account.
I recommend saving your information to an external hard drive or archival-quality CDs. USB sticks tend to be error-prone and regular CDs deteriorate over time. Spread copies throughout your family in case something happens to your own.
Now that you've got the basics for the first three generations of your family tree, keep going! Find even more ancestors and tell their stories. Piece together their lives from the documents you discover. Get to know them beyond names and dates.
When I was a child, I didn't look forward to growing up and copying down all the information from my parents' books of remembrance. Luckily technology evolved and has revamped the way I see my ancestors and record their information.
