Genealogy Basics

How to get started researching your family history.

Laramie County Library System

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Genealogy BasicsOverview:

Record What You Already Know.Start with yourself and work backwards.

Read a Genealogy How-To Book.Begin Your Research at Home.Look for Compiled (published) Information.Research one Ancestral Line at a Time.Look for Original Records:

Census RecordsVital RecordsSocial Security Death Index

Record What You Already Know.Using Pedigree Charts:

Begin with yourself and work backwards one generation at a time.

You are number 1.

Your father is number 2.

Your mother is number 3.

• Use maiden names.

Recording Information in Pedigree Charts.

Write surnames in capital letters:William James THOMAS

Write dates military style:10 Aug 2006

Write names of places from smallest to largest:

Cheyenne, Laramie, Wyoming, USA

Using Family Group Sheets.

A family group includes parents, children, and the spouse of each of those children.Prepare a family group sheet for each couple, formally married or not.Include all children alive or deceased.Include adopted children, but indicate adopted.Show where you found the information.

Work Backwards From Known to Unknown.

Work backwards from the present to the past, one generation at a time.

This will help you keep from making mistakes.Dates and places of events are just as important as names.For every generation back the number of ancestors doubles.Know the history of where your ancestors lived. The more general history you know of the time and place your ancestors lived the easier your research will be.

What are you looking for?:

WhoA full name, use a woman’s maiden name if known.

WhatThe event: birth, death, marriage, etc.

WhereA very important thing you need to know is the place where a person was born, married, lived or died, etc.

WhenAn (at least) approximate date for a vital event (birth, death, marriage, etc.)

Using paper forms:

Use pedigree (or ancestry) charts, family group sheets, research logs, to get organized.

Paper genealogical forms are available for you to copy in the LCLS Genealogy Room or at:

www.cyndislist.com/supplies.htm www.familysearch.org/eng/home/welcome/start.aspwww.laramiecountylibrary.org/specialcollections/gettingstarted

Using Genealogy Software:

By using a genealogy software program you can:

Enter individual informationLink individuals together Allow for as many notes as necessary Share information with others Download (copy) files from other people Add photographs, video clips or pictures of family memorabilia Produce artistically pleasing and personally-designed forms and chartsSearch databases automatically

Genealogy Software Programs:FREE:

Legacy Family Tree – Standard edition www.legacyfamilytree.com

Gramps gramps-project.org

Family Tree Legends www.familytreelegends.com

Personal Ancestral File (PAF) www.familysearch.org

For a small cost ($25-$50):Family Tree Maker – Generations, Legacy Family Tree – Deluxe edition, The Master Genealogist (TMG), RootsMagic, etc.

For the Mac:Reunion

MacFamilyTree

Also GEDitCom, Genealogy Pro, Heredis, iFamily

Read a Genealogy How-to Book:

• The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy

Val D. Greenwood

• The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy

Loretta Dennis Szucs

• Complete Idiots Guide to Genealogy

Christine Rose

• The Everything Family Tree Book

Kimberly Powell

See my genealogy bibliography handout (books are in the 929s on the 3rd Floor)

Use Home Sources:These may be in your home or the home of a relative:

Birth, marriage and death certificates

Deeds, wills, & titles

Diaries, journals, & birthday calendars

Family Bibles and Family trees

Funeral cards

Newspaper clippings

Military Service Records (and more - see handout)

Look for Compiled Information:

Learn what information on the family has already appeared in books and periodicals.

Published information on your family could appear in four types of resources:

• biographies,

• Genealogies (histories of specific families),

• local histories, and

• published original records (published vital records).

These resources are published as periodicals, books, e-books and computer databases or websites.

Evaluate Compiled Information:

Evaluate Written and Oral Evidence Remember the old adage: Just because it's in print (or online) doesn't make it true.Be particularly wary copying other’s research.

Look to see if the book is documented; that is, did the author cite a source for each fact?

Spot check some of the author's sources. • Are you able to find a document based on the footnotes

or endnotes?

Finding Published Genealogies:

Look in WorldCat for books in other libraries.

From the www.laramiecountylibrary.org, click on “WYLD Catalog”,

then “Articles, test preparation, readers advisory and more” .

Then choose “WorldCat”. You’ll need a library card number and

PIN. The default PIN is WYLD.

Ask the 3rd floor “Ask Here” desk to ILL (Interlibrary Loan) the book for you.

We charge $2 for ILLs plus the lending library may also charge an

additional fee.

More Places to Find Published Genealogies (Family Histories):

The LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City is the largest genealogy library in the world. Go to www.familysearch.org and click on the Library tab. Items with film notes can be ordered from familysearch and viewed at the Laramie County Library for $5.50 per film (paid for by credit/debit card on their website).

Google Books at books.google.com.

Look Online for Family Histories:

LDS Family History Library at familysearch.org:The Ancestral file contains information about 30 million + persons. Each person is linked to a family and through their family back in time as many generations as family researchers have provided.

Ancestry Library and Heritage Quest databases:Ancestry Library is available at Laramie County LibraryHeritage Quest can be accessed at home with a library card # and PIN. (the default PIN is wyld).

And don’t forget to just try your luck on an Internet search engine such as Google at www.google.com.

GenealogyPeriodicals:

Read a general genealogy magazine to learn new search techniques:

Family ChronicleFamily TreeInternet Genealogy (etc.)

To find past articles about kin and their home towns published in magazines, journals and newsletters use the Periodical Source Index (PERSI). Available on Heritage Quest database.Over 200 periodical titles published from 1986 to the present, are included in the database.

Learn More About the Places Where Your Ancestors Lived:Consult Everton’s Handybook for Genealogists or

Ancestry’s Redbook.

• Gives the history of a county and tells where records are located.

Dollarhide’s Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920.

DeLorme Topographic Map Collection for all 50 States.

Search WYLDCAT (the LCLS library catalog) for books

with information from the county and state where your

ancestors lived.

• Use keyword search!!!

Look for Original Records:Primary SourcesA primary source is one created by an eyewitness of an event.

Vital records (birth, marriage & death certificates) and

census records are usually primary sources.

A secondary source is based on evidence gathered after an event occurred by a person who was not an eyewitness. Some sources contain both primary and secondary information.

Newspaper clippings are secondary sources. Vital records or

census report can be both.

Original Records:Secondary Sources

A secondary source is based upon evidence gathered after an event occurred by a person who was not an eyewitness.

– Newspaper clippings, compiled family history, etc.

Sources may be both primary and secondary.

–A death certificate is a primary source for the death but may be a secondary source for a birth.

Census Records:One of the best original recordsIn the U.S., a census has been taken every 10 years from 1790 through 2010.

1790 to 1940 censuses are available to genealogists to search.

All censuses taken after 1940 (1950-2010) are still confidential and the information they contain is not open to the public. There is a 72 year privacy rule.

Census RecordsWhy should you use census records?

Census records are an extremely valuable tool in genealogy research. They are one of the easiest types of records to use and one of the most accessible for all family historians.Census records lead to other civil and religious records.They narrow down the timeframe and places to search for civil and religious records.Both federal and state censuses are available to researchers.

What can I find out with Census Records?:

Many of the censuses give not only names, ages and birthplaces, but also state the relationship of people within a household.

Depending on the questions asked in that particular census, you may also learn when your ancestors came to the U.S., if and when they were naturalized, how many children a woman gave birth to and other vital pieces of information.

More about the U.S. Federal Census:

1790 through 1840 censuses listed head of household plus number of others living there.Beginning in 1850, census lists all names, ages, places of birth, occupations, etc.1870 census indicates if individual’s parents were foreign born.1880 and later censuses added:

Birthplaces (country or state only) of each person’s parents.

U.S. Federal Census cont.1890 federal census was (mostly) destroyed by fire.

1900 and 1910 censuses include:the age of each individual, how many years he had been married, year of immigration, citizenship status.

1920 and 1930 censuses also:age & lists the year of naturalization.

Start with 1940 and work backwards.

Searching the U.S. Census:

Look at the census for the state where your ancestor lived when the census was takenStart with most recent census (1940) and work backwards.Note similar names living nearby—in the same county and in neighboring counties.Watch for spelling errors and variations, and over-sight. Do not be wedded to one surname spelling.Scan, photocopy or otherwise record the information you find, especially the year of the census.

Always keep track of the source.

Searching Census Information on Computer Databases:

Census Information is available in the library on Ancestry Library and Heritage Quest databases. Some can also be found at familysearch.org and elsewhere.

Heritage Quest can be searched at home with your library card # and PIN #. The default PIN is wyld.

Ancestry Library:

Ancestry Library is the library version of Ancestry.com (a paid subscription website).A wealth of genealogy information available including scanned images of the original census reports.Available for searching only in the library.

About the 1940 Census:Released on April 2, 2012.

Now fully name indexed*.

Available to search for free at:

1940Census.Archives.gov

*AncestryLibrary.com (in the library only)

*Ancestry.com

*Familysearch.org

MyHeritage.com

Heritage Quest:

Heritage Quest is another great genealogy database provided through Wyoming libraries. HQ also provides access to 1790-1930 census images (and much more).

It can be accessed through the Laramie County Library System’s website at www.laramiecountylibrary.org with your library card # (2900920xxxxxxxx) and your PIN (default is wyld).

Vital Record information on the Internet:

You can find some vital record information on databases such as Ancestry Library or at individual websites such as those from the LDS Family History Library, state archives, or universities.

But often you will have to write to the county or state where the records are held and pay money to get copies.

Write for Vital Records:

Vital records are civil records of births, marriage,deaths, etc.Keeping vital records only began after the mid 19th or early in the 20th century.

Start with yourself and work backwards.Obtain a birth and marriage certificate for yourself.

Then obtain birth, marriage and, if applicable, death certificates for your parents, then grandparents, etc.,

Birth Certificates:

Birth certificates reveal:

Baby’s name, birth date and parents

Birthplaces of both parents, their age, their occupations, and their address

The number of other children

Death Certificates:Death certificates can reveal:

Place and cause of death.

Name of deceased’s parents,

Residence at time of death,

Exact date of death, and date of burial

Name of informant and relationship to deceased

Funeral home that handled the arrangements, name of cemetery

Marriage Records:

Beginning in the 1600s, town clerks in New England and county clerks elsewhere (1700s) primarily maintained marriage records.

After 1850s at State Board of Health/Bureau of Vital Statistics

Other sources of marriage records:Justice of the Peace registers

• Found filed with county clerks, local historical societies, libraries or descendants of the Justices.

Church records, especially New England, Quaker, and German.

Where to Write for Vital Records.

“Google it” or use another search engine but look for official government websites (.gov or state.gov).

Mocavo.com is a good genealogy specific search engine.

Websites such as “Where To Write for Vital Records”http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w.htm

Social Security Death Index:

Available at www.familysearch.org

www.ancestry.com and Ancestry Library Edition.• The database contains information

provided by the Social Security Administration and contained 89+ million records as of February 2012.

With their Social Security number you can write for a copy of the deceased’s “Application for a social security card,” form SS5.

The Original SS Card Application:

Gives the name of the person's father, maiden name of mother, date of birth, address at time of application, occupation, and name and address of employer. This is primary evidence because it was written by the person himself.To obtain a copy, write to:

Social Security AdministrationOEO FOIA Workgroup300 N. Green StreetP.O. Box 33022Baltimore, Maryland 21290-3022

Summary:

1. Record What You Know. Begin With Yourself and Work Backwards

2. Read a How-to Book. 3. Begin Your Research At Home.4. Look for compiled information.5. Research one ancestral line at a time.6. Look for Original Records:

Census Records Vital Records Social Security Death Index

The Family and Local History Room at LCLS:

The Genealogy Room (3rd Floor) is open:

Monday – Thursday • 10:00 to 9:00

Friday –Saturday • 10:00 to 6:00

Sundays• 1:00-5:00

If no volunteer or staff person is available, ask for help at the 3rd Floor “Ask Here” Desk.

Thanks for attending:

Come back to our other genealogy classes:

Genealogy: Beyond the Basics – October 8th

Family History Day – October 6th

We will repeat the basic series in February, June and October every year. Handouts are also available on the LCLS website.