Where to Start ?

If you are reading this page, you are obviously interested in researching your family history and finding your ancestors. This can be a mammoth task, and most people have no idea where to start. I started a few years ago, but didn't research with any urgency. I would forget about it for a few months...then come back to it...and so it went on until the beginning of 2005. I suddenly realised that my mother, and uncles, are not getting any younger, and their memories will begin to fade. Once that happens, my research will become more and more difficult. I needed to get some serious research done now !!!! So I have been "at it" for months now, and it is finally beginning to take shape. To date (17/11/07) I have managed to trace my maternal line back to 1783. It is really slow going, and at times I get so frustrated !!

My advice would be to start with your nearest and dearest - your parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents. If you can, make copies of all birth, marriage and death certificates, and begin from there. Parents can give you a lot of information about your grandparents, such as, dates of births, marriage dates etc. I'm very lucky to have my mother and uncles, who have great memories (they are in their 70's and 80's).
Start keeping written records - don't rely on your memory !!! If you can manage it, buy a programme specifically designed to record your family tree. I am using Family Tree Maker. This allows me to keep all my records in one place. I also have a drawer of a filing cabinet, where I use a hanging file for every person I am researching, and all their bits and pieces are kept in there. To begin with, an A4 hardbacked file will do. Use a plastic sleeve per person, and file all their info in it. This will soon fill up if you are serious about your research, and then you will have to move on to another filing system.

So...where do you start ?

Start with YOU. Create a file for yourself (or a plastic sleeve). Make sure you have a full length copy of your birth and/or marriage certificates in it. You birth certificate should state the names of your parents - (2 more files, or sleeves). Now you need to decide which line to follow first - your mother's or father's. I jumped from one to the other, but have finally settled on working on my mother's line until I have exhausted it (or am exhausted myself !)

Comments

[Nancy Heaps Burgen]

Hello,

I am related to Robert Lloyd Heaps. My father is Walter Richardson Heaps born in early 1920's. I am wondering if Robert Lloyd Heaps is of the same family as what you have listed on your site. Feel free to email me.