An Introduction to Your Ancestors GENEALOGY 101

Pulling your ancestors out of the tree... Does this look like you trying to find your ancestors?

1. What do you already know? Fill out a pedigree chart with all the information that you already know Call or write relatives who may be able to fill in the holes. Gather information around your house that will provide more information

Try to fill this chart in with names, birth, death and marriage dates, as well as the places where these events happened. PEDIGREE CHART

Maybe your ancestors will be famous...

Or Infamous... The man you see in this picture is my 10th great grandfather, Alexander Pearis. He embezzled most of the king’s money from the colony of South Carolina. His brother went to Salem, Massachusetts, and STARTED the Salem Witch trials.

2. Contact as many of your family as you can: your cousin Interview an aunt or uncle Write a letter to your grandmother Call your dad

Make a note of what information you need and about whom Ask specific questions, e.g. Do you know where your mother was born? Record the source of each piece of information you obtain: date, person, relationship of person to information. The best way to accomplish that is to use a research log. Generate new questions from the information you obtain and reach out again to those who might be able to answer those questions.

Using a research log like this one will help you keep track of your efforts.

photos Family Bibles Vital records Old letters #3

What happens if you do not organize your records? When you first start out, you won’t have much information. Easy, you say. This will be a breeze to keep organized... A year or so into your genealogy research, and this cartoon may be more accurate.

4. Set Up a Record Keeping System: “If you didn’t record it, it didn’t happen” Using a system of colored hanging folders, you can easily keep family information together and find what you are looking for with ease. Assigning colored notebooks to various surnames is one method of keeping documents, photos, and group records for one family together.

Always begin with what you know the most about: your family. Fill out a family group form to enable you to see what information you have. #5

Put Your Information on an Online Family Tree Family Search is one option, but there are others available. Ancestry.com is another choice, as is My Heritage.

Recording Information When you are recording information on your family tree: 1.Names: Write the entire name the person was born with. For women, this means giving their entire maiden name. 2.Places: Give all jurisdictions from smallest to largest. Separate with commas. Do not use any abbreviations. Important Note: You do not have to use the word county. In this area, you might record Scottsville, Albemarle, Virginia, United States. 3.Dates: Use the format dd/mm/yyyy. Use no commas.

Once you click search records, a lot of possible matches come up. If you find one or more that matches your ancestor, you can attach the source to the record in your family tree. If you do not find any, you will have to look for records elsewhere on the internet, by traveling to the location where your ancestor lives, or by using a large repository such as the Family History Center, the Library of Virginia, or the Library of Congress.

1.We leave a paper trail as we move through life. 2.Records have always been kept, although we keep more today than in the past. 3.Churches keep birth and death records, as well as marriage records. Often you will find that birth records are not available, but baptismal records are. 4.Governmental jurisdictions also keep vital records: cities and towns, counties, states, and national. This is true in most countries, although they may be labeled with different words. 5.Don’t forget military and census records, although the latter may not always be accurate. 6.Often records include additional information, such as occupations and other relatives.

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