Where Do I Start With Family History?
Start with what you already know—but treat what you know as the beginning of the investigation, not the end of it.
Begin close to home
Write down what you know about yourself, your parents, grandparents, and other close relatives. Talk with living relatives. Ask about names, places, marriages, occupations, migrations, photographs, family Bibles, letters, certificates, and the stories everyone assumes somebody else remembers.
Collect before you chase
Before diving deeply into online databases, inventory the material already in the family. Make copies of photographs and documents when appropriate and record who provided them.
Then prove it
Family stories are valuable even when they turn out to be incomplete or inaccurate. Records help us test those stories. Vital records can be important, but census records, newspapers, directories, land and probate material, military records, immigration records, and many other sources can add context or challenge an assumption.