GENEALOGY

Genealogy is the study of the descents of families and persons from an ancestor or ancestors. This study is undertaken by many people out of interest in their personal and family origins. As a hobby it can become pleasantly addictive, at least to the person concerned. However the study is also undertaken professionally, not just in order to provide a commercial service that can be used by people who are seeking help in researching their origins, but also for very serious legal and financial reasons. Thus there are accepted standards for doing genealogy "properly" - standards that we recommend you seek to learn and emulate.

The term Family History used to be regarded as synonymous with Genealogy, but now it applies to biographical research into one's ancestors - the aim typically being to produce a well-documented narrative history, of interest to family members and perhaps future generations. Thus the study of family history involves putting flesh on the skeleton that is produced by genealogy - and involves the study of the historical circumstances and geographical situation in which ancestors lived. (The resulting ability to associate historical events with particular generations or individuals of your family can help history come really alive for you.)

This server aims to provide you with information and sources of guidance on both genealogy and family history. However in this brief account we will concentrate on providing some very basic advice on genealogy - we hope it will help you whether you are an inhabitant of the British Isles, wanting to start by tracing your immediate forebears, or you live overseas, and have found that some of your perhaps distant ancestors came from here, and now would like to find out more about them.

However one word of warning - these notes of guidance should not be regarded as a substitute for good old-fashioned books. Especially if you are a beginner you are strongly advised to start by visiting your local library and doing some reading on genealogy. There are many useful introductory books on genealogy and family history which will provide you with more complete and coherent guidance as to how to get started than you will get here, or from merely posting a series of questions to the newsgroup or mailing list with which this server is associated.

Incidentally, if you are lucky enough to live within convenient reach of one of the many Family History Centres of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) make sure to pay the Centre an early visit to find out what facilities and information resources they have, and how you can use them. The volunteers who run these centres, which are freely open to all, will not do your research for you, but you are very likely to find them a mine of useful information and advice.

Master Genealogist Silver Edition

If you care about your genealogical data - how it is recorded, how it is displayed, and the tools you have to work with it - you need The Master Genealogist. It offers unparalleled control of data entry, recording of sources, and formatting of reports and charts. Get it "your way." Offers tracking of research tasks, and colored accenting of people entered by criteria you define, and much, much, more. If you want the best, this is it! Find your ancestors free

How often have you mused about creating a family tree? The Master Genealogist Silver Edition not only helps you get started, it also manages your family history projects. This edition provides novices with tools recommended and used by family history researchers. Customizable options for data entry and report generation deliver flexibility, while compatibility with Family Tree Maker, as well as other data formats, lets you import data with ease.
Choose from more than 30 formats, including customizable narratives, charts, forms, endnotes, and bibliographies, to create reports with professional source citations. Other tools range from integrated historical timelines to correspondence and multimedia logs, and even a to-do list. A tutorial and electronic help manual helps you assess conflicting records, spelling variations, adoptions, and other real-life research problems. You'll also receive a free trial subscription to Ancestry.com, as well as an offer for a free wall chart.

Invaluable help

Organizing Your Family History Search:
Efficient & Effective Ways to Gather and Protect Your Genealogical Research

A 'must - have', truly wonderful book

I have been caught up in this addictive hobby of genealogy for fifteen years now and have over the years tried many different ways of dealing with my ever-increasing pile of info and documents. I had tried folders and various types of filing systems; I had even tried my own numbering and coding systems with disasterous consequences; they just didn't work.
In desperation I ordered this book and upon reading it I was truly enlightened. Wow, why hadn't I thought of doing it this way before. The ideas in this book are simple now that I've read it, but they are truly effective. I can now put my finger on any piece of info I require within seconds, which in the past may have taken me anywhere up to two days to find.
This book is a 'must have' for any genealogist, but especially any new genealogist. Become enlightened and organised at the beginning of your venture into family history, don't have to stop in full-flight like I did to tidy up the mess you've left behind you.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy


If you want to learn more about your family, now's the time to start. With the advent of the Internet, there's more information available than ever before, and it's easier to access now than in the good old days of musty libraries and records halls. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy by Rhonda McClure will have you wired and digging up dirt (or gold) in just an hour or two. Even the most ardent computer-hater will have to admit that the search is simpler, and McClure makes the case clearly. Her charming prose is well complemented by online images and hint boxes scattered liberally on each page. Specific sites are mentioned as well as general means of searching for family data, so even if one site disappears you can still get what you need. The book covers the basics of both gathering family data and online searches, so if you're not quite up to speed on one or the other, you can quickly figure it out. After you've browsed a bit and started collecting information, the later chapters help you to communicate with other researchers, mining government records, and even publishing your own results online. It's not hard to learn plenty about your family's history; whether you want to get in touch with your roots, glean medical information to improve your own health, or give your kids something to think about, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy is for you.

Absolutely essential for all American genealogists

The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy

In every field of study there is one book that rises above the rest in stature and authority and becomes the standard work in the field. In genealogy that book is Val Greenwood's Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. Arguably the best book ever written on American genealogy, it is the text of choice in colleges and universities or wherever courses in American genealogy are taught. Of the dozens of textbooks, manuals, and how-to books that have appeared over the past twenty-five years, it is the one book that is consistently praised for setting a standard of excellence. In a word, The Researcher's Guide has become a classic. While it instructs the researcher in the timeless principles of genealogical research, it also identifies the various classes of records employed in that research, groups them in convenient tables and charts, gives their location, explains their uses, and evaluates each of them in the context of the research process. Designed to answer practically all the researcher's needs, it is both a textbook and an all-purpose reference book. And it is this singular combination that makes The Researcher's Guide the book of choice in any genealogical investigation. It is also the reason why if you can afford to buy only one book on American genealogy in a lifetime, this has to be it. This new 3rd edition incorporates the latest thinking on genealogy and computers, specifically the relationship between computer technology (the Internet and CD-ROM) and the timeless principles of good genealogical research. It also includes a new chapter on the property rights of women, a revised chapter on the evaluation of genealogical evidence, and updated information on the 1920 census. Little else has changed, or needs to be changed, because the basics of genealogy remain timeless and immutable. This 3rd edition of The Researcher's Guide, then, is a clear, comprehensive, and up-to-date account of the methods and aims of American genealogy--an essential text for the present generation of researchers--and no sound genealogical project is complete without it.