Tip of the ICEBERG

I've now been blogging for 3 weeks or 21 days about Family History Research and guess what? I've only touched the tip of the iceberg on what is available. More material is being added DAILY in the form of personal webpages, blogs, and actual digitized resources to search. You could get lost surfing in the Internet for your ancestors and never be missed (unless your spouse or family noticed your absence.)

What's to be done to prevent wasting your valuable time searching without any results? HAVE A PLAN-don't look for every surname on your family tree, pick just one branch to research. Then be SPECIFIC-what info are you missing? A death date for great grandpa? Well, then don't look for his birth record but focus on obituaries, death certificates and cemeteries just in the area where he possibly died. Always check HOME SOURCES first before turning to the INTERNET. Then try a GOOGLE SEARCH before checking out some of the websites I've suggested previously: www.familysearch.org, www.ancestry.com, www.cyndislist.org, www.usgenweb.com, www.rootsweb.com among others. (Click on links for more info.)

Keep good notes in some kind of a RESEARCH LOG so you know where you've looked and jot down any ideas as you're working on where to check next...a TO DO list. Remember census records can be great clues if you're searching in America as to where your ancestors lived. This is like a mystery to solve. One thing leads to another until you discover the facts needed. Sometimes you'll find you need to write letters to Courthouses or make a visit in person or hire a researcher to find info for you. Maybe you'll get lucky and find an Internet cousin or two. Good luck!

What is family history?

Genealogy or family history (easier to spell) is the #2 hobby in the world, topped only by gardening as #1. Millions of people are fascinated by searching for their ROOTS. Read my post about how October got designated "Family History month."

Finding out more than just your ancestor's names, dates and places is what makes family history fascinating. What kind of people were they? Any photos or histories available? What pressures were part of their daily living? Do we owe them a debt of gratitude for settling in America or for perservering and staying in their homeland? What occupations did they have? What was it like to be a mother or woman in those days? If they had a message to send to us-what would it be? (Answering these questions about your immediate ancestors could be the beginning of your family history record to leave for your family.)

Alex Haley, the Afro-American author of Roots (1977) had this to say..."in all of us is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, and an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness..."

Most of us are lucky enough to have had experiences with our parents, grandparents and even some of our great grandparents. Our lives have been affected by their example whether negatively or positively. Will our great grandchildren know of their heritage––only if we preserve some kind of record telling them our life story and about their family history. Have you done that yet?