Searching For Your Ancestors

What is genealogy?

Here are some basic definitions of the common genealogy terms, which you will undoubtedly come across as you start your research.

There are a lot of words that are specific to genealogy research and many words, which have vanished from common usage or whose meaning has changed over the years. 

Where do I start?

Start with yourself and your partner.  Your information (dates and places of birth, marriage, etc.) will form the first entry on your family tree, followed by your parents, grandparents, etc.  Ideally, record this information on the various forms that can be found in our "Documents" section.

The next stage is to speak to as many relatives as possible.  Make notes on your conversations or ask them if they would mind you making a tape recording or video for future reference.  These records can also form part of your family history collection.

Ask relatives to fill out family group sheets, or complete them together, and obtain copies of any documents in their possession including birth, christening, marriage, death, burial, military, educational and occupational records.  Also, try to establish their addresses at various dates to enable you to use census records.  You should also make copies of photographs of your ancestors. 

Find out if there is an old family bible that has been passed down from generation to generation and is maybe lying dusty in an attic or on a top shelf.  This may list family members at the front and important events in their lives.

Also, don't forget that old family friends may be able to provide you with valuable information and shed light on the personalities of your ancestors.

What is the next stage?

Organise and file the information that you have collected from your relatives by family group or by surname depending on the amount of information that you have managed to obtain.

We would recommend that you invest in good genealogy software, which will allow you to record each individual family member and their relationship to one another.  We will review the various software packages on our Genealogy Software Page.

What basic records do I need for each family member?

If you have not obtained a copy of an original certificate for any of the above events for a particular ancestor, then the verbal information that you have been given needs to be verified and you should obtain a certified copy of the original record.

Starting your Research

As a beginner to genealogy research, you will have a lot to learn about terminology, the types of records at your disposal and research methods. 

It is better to focus on one ancestor at a time.  Always try and work backwards, i.e. look for their death first, then their marriage and lastly their birth.

There are two types of records that you can search.

Previous Research Records
These are records of previous research, such as biographies, family histories or genealogy, which are in published form and/or online in some cases. 

Original Records
These are records created at or close to the time of an event such as birth, marriage, death or census records.

If you are lucky enough to find that somebody else has already researched a part of your family tree, you could save yourself a lot of time.  Bear in mind though that the research is only as good as the researcher, so you should still validate the information before adding it to you own family records.

Always search broad time periods and check for spelling variations.  Sometimes names were recorded inaccurately or the name changed for other reasons, i.e. Duxbury has been variously shown as Duxbury, Ducksberry, Duxberry and some of these names have then carried on for decades.

So now you're ready to begin on your voyage of discovery - part of the fascination of genealogy is that you never know what famous or infamous ancestor may be lurking in your past!

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