Follow our guide to begin your genealogy journey, and feel free to reach out if you need help along the way. Good luck and have fun!
1. Gather Evidence from Home Sources
Start by searching your home and the homes of your family members (with their permission of course) to find readily available records like birth certificates, baptism records, and marriage certificates. Look for photo albums, baby books, wedding albums, high school yearbooks, and newspaper clippings. See our home sources checklist for a full list of items that can offer valuable information for your genealogical research.
Photo by Laura Fuhrman on Unsplash
As you look through the records, do your best to keep the originals in the same condition or better. Ask for help identifying everyone in photographs, and keep detailed notes about what you find and who to contact if you have more questions, or if you need to return anything later.
If you do not have any records in your home or your relatives homes, skip ahead to step 4. and begin mapping out your Family Tree.
2. Copy, Preserve, & Organize Records
Now it is time to make copies of all the records you have found so far. Even if you were able to keep the original file, like your parent’s marriage certificate, you’ll want to make a photocopy that you can easily reference during your research and keep the original safely stored to prevent damage. See Preserving Records for more tips.
Invest in a flatbed scanner / printer, or a mobile scanner, or take your documents to a copy center or library with a copy machine. My preferred method is the mobile scanner, as you can make digital copies on the go (with a laptop) without having to borrow documents. I’ve found people are much more likely to let you make a quick copy while in their presence than to let you take a precious photo or family document.
I recommend a mobile scanner like the DS-640 model from Brother, on Amazon.com (affiliate link). I’ve had the older version for more than a decade and it’s traveled with me on many trips!
You may have to bring items that are difficult to copy yourself, like bound journals or scrapbooks, to a professional copy center. We suggest having them make both a digital copy and a physical photocopy.
In fact, it’s best if you have copies of all your records in both physical format and digital format. You will need to setup an organizational system in whatever way works best for you and your research behavior. Your organized files should be:
easily accessible to you
backed up in case of damage to your computer, or damage to your home storage
in the newest file format types (not on outdated media like CDs, DVDs, floppy disks, etc.)
stored in more than one digital area: one active set of records for use during research and one back-up set stored in the cloud (try Google Drive or OneDrive) or a second storage hard drive.
free to access anytime, not stored solely on a subscription site like Ancestry.com
Set-up your digital filing system similar to your physical one for ease of use. For example, I store my physical files in a unique binder for each family line with a folder for each generation. It’s very easy to duplicate this method digitally. You will find what works best for you as you start to research.
As you make a copy, be sure to label each photocopy and online file so you can easily find and refer to the original source when needed. This is called a source label. Do not write on or damage original documents. You will want to keep a record of your sources in your research notes, that you can easily link to these records (I’ve found a numbering system helps). See Citing Sources.
3. Start Documenting and Recording Information
Let’s say you now have a bunch of labeled photocopied records, with the originals you collected from home sources safely in storage, and backed up online. You have a plan in place for how you will organize your records. You need to make a few more decisions before you can start the research phase, starting with how you will record your information:
Will you use worksheets to capture your research notes?
Worksheets can be a very helpful tool, but are not necessary. You can download free copies of Family Group Sheets, Research Logs, Correspondence Logs, and more on our Templates page.
Will you write in notebooks or a computer? Will you use an online program?
I recommend and use Google Docs, as it is free and I can access it anywhere. It is also automatically saved as I’m working.
Which format you will use to cite your sources - footnotes, endnotes, or a source list?
As you will want to keep record of your sources as you go, you should attempt to format them correctly so you won’t have to make a lot of changes later - or at least be aware of the information you need to capture.
Learn about genealogy formatting standards and the proper way to record names, dates, and locations. Decide on how you will record these things in your notes so that you remain consistent.
If you are ready, you can start examining the records you already have and taking notes about them. Try to keep it to facts relevant to your ancestor. For example, if you are looking at a census you should write down all the information for your ancestor’s family but not necessarily everyone else on the page, unless you find it interesting - like people with the same surname or living at the same address. Write down any questions you have as well.
Each piece of information or fact you record should have a source linked to it in your notes. This will be very helpful later. At this stage we’re just pulling information, so write it down even if it contradicts something you already wrote - just be sure it’s linked to a source. Keep both pieces of information, with a note about the contradiction, so you can examine it and weigh the evidence further down the road.
4. Begin Mapping your Family Tree
Are you going to use a software program like Family Tree Maker, or an online database like Ancestry.com to create your family tree? There are many options, each with their own benefits. We discuss some of the major pros and cons of each on our respective software and database pages. You could also use handwritten charts from our template page.
Begin mapping out your family tree so that you can visualize relationships. Enter any information you have learned so far and upload your records, but be careful not to share your work until you have finalized your research. At this stage you have only pulled information from a couple of sources and nothing is confirmed, so it’s best to keep your family tree settings to private until you can offer proof of your research. You do not want anyone to blindly copy your information as fact.
5. Interview Family Members & Other Relatives
While you can interview your family members and extended relatives at any point during your research - and you should anytime the opportunity comes up - it’s a good idea to do it before you conduct heavy research. You could learn information that will help you validate records as those more likely to belong to your ancestor. For example, let’s say your grandfather tells you his father Vinnie came from Italy with his younger brother Johnny when they were both teenagers. It may not seem like a lot to go on, but if you later come across a passenger record for a Vincenzo, age 19, and Giovanni, age 16, you should give it more weight than a different passenger record with a similar named Vincenzo in his thirties traveling alone.
How cute is this stock photo? Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
Interviews should be casual conversations that are recorded (with permission) and later transcribed. Use open-ended questions, and ask for clarification when needed. Find out family stories, memories, and traditions as well as facts. See our Interview page for tips and questions.
6. Set Research Objectives & Goals
You’re almost ready! Before you start researching in depth, you want to think about what it is you hope to accomplish. Is your goal to publish your research for your family members? To apply to a lineage society? To preserve your family’s records? To find answers to specific questions about your ancestry? Or maybe just to try a new hobby?
Let your goals guide your research objectives. Think about if you want to start with your mother’s side or father’s side, or the family lines of your partner. You may be more interested or curious about one family line over the other, or may choose to start with the one with the most home sources and known information. Also decide if you plan to only research the direct lineage, or siblings and extended relatives as well. Some people like to see how far back they can go, then go back and fill in family members. It’s important to note that looking at extended family and collateral relatives is a search method tactic that can help you in your research.
For each relative on your family tree, at least on your direct bloodline, you should aim to know the basic facts, including their full name (and maiden name), date and location of birth, date and location of marriage if applicable, and date and place of death. You should know the name of their spouse(s) and children, ideally with vital records of each. Also important to find are records that link generations, such as a child’s birth certificate with both parent’s names on it, or a census record with the whole family.
You should understand the value of different types of sources, giving more weight to primary, original sources but recognizing the need for all authentic sources, even secondary and derivative. Become familiar with the genealogical proof standard (GPS) so that you can apply it to your research methods and work. In time you will become skilled at discovering sources, and extracting information from these sources and turning it into evidence. All of this evidence will help you uncover your ancestors’ identities and stories, which you will then be able to preserve and share.
In addition to having overall research objectives, you should go into each research session with one clear goal, such as “find a record of my great-grandparent’s marriage”, and ideally work on one event at a time. This will help you stay focused. Even better if you can phrase this goal as a question, such as “when did my grandparents get married?” and once you answer that, move on to the goal of “where did my grandparents get married?” and so on until you find your record. When you are better informed, like knowing they must have gotten married between 1950 and 1954, you have more success finding records.
Write down these goals, and track your research along with it, so that you can pick up the same goal at a later date if needed and not have to repeat your efforts. When you gain more skills, your research objectives and session goals should be matched with a clear research plan, that includes the places you intend to search.
7. Start Researching: Request & Search for Sources
This is the heart of all genealogy work, and for many it’s the most rewarding. Discovering a new record about your ancestor, especially if it helps you break through a brick wall, can feel like a dopamine rush.
Understand that you will have to request certain vital records, for a small fee, from government agencies, courts, or third-party affiliates. These are recent records for next-of-kin that are not yet available to the public for privacy reasons, like possibly your grandmother’s death certificate. Privacy restrictions vary by state and by type of record.
Additional records can often be requested but you might also be able to find on your own through other sources. These may include military service records, pension files, land records, probate records, and court cases. Some of these records can be ordered from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for various fees.
Always start with the most recent people first, and the most recent events first. Find the records for your parents, then grandparents, then great-grandparents, and so on. Look for records for the most recent events, like a death record or marriage certificate, before attempting to look for a birth certificate.
Think about the time your ancestor lived in and the events they might have lived through to help guide your research. Our timeline feature might help you with understanding historical context.
It is helpful to learn about the locations you are researching, and any boundary or name changes that may have occurred that effect which collections you should be looking in. Also know when vital records were first recorded in the state.
We have detailed explanations about the various types of records and how to find them, that include links to various online collections. It may help to come up with a checklist, specific to your ancestor, for which records you hope to find and cross off items as you are successful. However, be aware there may be multiple types of records for the same event. There may be a marriage certificate from church records, as well as a marriage record in the town history books, and a marriage record from state records. You should always check all available sources as each record might have more pieces of information. Also don’t forget there may be multiple events, like more than one marriage per lifetime.
Look at Search Field Tips to learn ways to effectively query various databases and websites, and read through our Search Methods to learn some popular research strategies.
Keep research notes that are organized and easy to read. Remember to keep accurate source citations in your notes as you work. As you find and use a record, write down the citation and link it to the specific fact you include in your work.
8. Analyze, Extract, and Correlate your Data
Look carefully at each source as you find it, then at the evidence, and then look at all the evidence you’ve gathered as a whole. This step should be one you work in tandem with the previous step of searching for sources. You will find a way to work that flows between finding records and analyzing them, and then stepping back every now and then to look at everything.
Take a close look at both the records themselves and the information presented. See Analyzing Records for tips on how to do this successfully. Keep detailed research notes and accurate citations as you work. Use clues you uncover to guide your search for more sources.
Use various methods of correlating data to compare and contrast your evidence and show new patterns or discoveries, or to show where there are conflicts in evidence. See Correlating Evidence
.
9. Resolve all conflicting evidence
First, identify the information you have that may not be correct. Examples of conflicting or incorrect evidence include:
Any facts that have more than one “correct answer”
two or more dates of arrival into the country
two or more different dates of birth
a different date on the death certificate than on the headstone
Differences in names or spelling of names
Two children with the same name but different birth dates
Irrational mistakes within the dates:
child born to a 12 year old mother
person dying at 125 years old
birth date after a death date
someone born in 1850 marrying someone born in 1950
first child born before the marriage date (possible but unlikely)
Gaps of time or events unaccounted for or not backed up by sources
How will you account for discrepancies like these? Try to find a rational explanation that you can prove with reasoning, and if needed, by finding additional sources. For example, let’s say you have a child with two different dates of birth you found from separate trustworthy documents. You know this child lives into adulthood, but in order to solve this conflicting evidence you look up death records, and are able to find a death certificate for this child - or actually, this child’s older sister. In the 19th century and earlier, it was a popular custom to name a newborn after a recently deceased sibling. What you thought was two different birth dates turned out to be two children.
Of course, that’s not always the case. Some records can be authentic in that they are in fact that of our ancestor, but they still may contain errors. Think about who is reporting the information and how well they know the individual. A niece reporting the death of her uncle may take a guess at his date of birth that will end up on his death certificate. A teenager answering the door to the census taker may estimate his parents age or the ages of his siblings. When comparing conflicting evidence, trust sources primary for the event itself over others, and look for sources as close to the event as possible. Meaning you would trust the date of birth on a birth certificate over the date of birth on a war draft registration card for the same person.
Small differences, like a name spelled differently or someone a year older on a census record, can be considered insignificant as long as you are able to confirm both sources are valid. Always note differences and conflicts in your research notes and final reports.
10. Write your Research Report
The fifth step in the Genealogical Standard of Proof, or GPS, is having “soundly written conclusion based on the strongest evidence”. In this summary, we share the facts we have learned that are supported with accurately cited sources. We offer explanations when drawing evidence from a combination of sources, using indirect, inferred, or negative evidence, identifying missing records, or to note and resolve conflicts. We share the logical steps used to reach our conclusions with proof summaries and proof arguments.
It should be clear enough for anyone to follow, with sources linked to every fact or piece of evidence, connected to citations as footnotes, endnotes, or a source list. A clearly written report will help you with your future research goals, whether it’s to continue your family history search or to publish your work.
Be aware that even the best conclusions are subject to change over time as new research comes to light, through your own work or the work of others.
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