The Family Tree
Warning: family history can lead to emotional discoveries.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but you begin at the end! That is, you begin with you.
Check your birth certificate, verify your parents. It may seem like a given, but just sometimes people find they are adopted, or their mum is really their grandma. It pays to check.
Check your parents birth certificates, to verify your grandparents. Then work your way back through the generations, verifying birth certificates.
These first steps build the strong foundation of your family tree, so worth doing well.
It is not a case of how far back you can go, but the quality of your data
You may wish to answer a family question. I knew my parents were second cousins, so wanted to find out about this link. Set yourself a goal to work towards. Whatever your motivation, make sure you verify each generation of grandparents. Birth certificates are the key.
A process
Filing and filling in the gaps
For free US birth record search Fee Mormon Genealogy
Use a FREE search engine to find missing birth information. In the UK use FreeBMD
It is a basic form. You don’t have to add all the information. But as much as you can. There is no SEARCH button. Hit RETURN, to activate the search.
Verify you have the correct record and make note of the District, Vol and Page
In this example the District is Bath, the Vol (short for volume) is 7c, the Page is 57. Also note the month ie Births Dec 1957.
You will need this information to order birth certificates online.
Money saving tip: The certificates are half the price from the Gov.UK site than if purchased through any family history website. I’m sure the same is true in the USA.
Order birth certificates, here in the UK you can buy them from the Registry Office Gov.UK
In the USA please check US National Archive
Getting these certificates correct, is of paramount importance. The the validity of your family tree, hangs on verified information of the grandparent line.
Choosing a family history search engine
Its very exciting receiving your ancestors birth certificates. They hold so much information. Other than the date, it has names and occupations of the parents and grandparents. also the addresses and ages of the parents. This verifies your next generation, and perhaps more birth certificates to order.
Once armed with verified data, of names, dates of birth, you can consider documenting your family tree on a website. They all have their pros and cons, and for research purposes, I have used most of them over the years. I have my family tree documented on Ancestry.co.uk as this was the most advanced when I first began my wonder down Ancestry Lane.
Warning: do not be seduced by the hints facility provided by many ancestry websites. You much check each one out, usually by ordering certificates, before accepting them. Many are incorrect. They are merely useful hints and suggestions, not proven data.
I hope this gives some hints on best practice and advise on where to start. If you would like some more in-depth insights, let me know. Comments are always welcome. Have you have any tips you would like to add?
Many thanks to DA-Al for suggesting the theme of this post.
M.A. Lossl 
These tips are so useful! I get overwhelmed thinking about “sleuthing the past,” but it’s so worth it. Since two of my sisters already did some work. I’ll have to see what they’ve found so far.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Glad to help. I will post some more money saving sleuthing tips soon.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Awesome!
LikeLike
Excellent post! The approach really makes us question our assumptions.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you Liz.
LikeLike
Yes your findings can bring emotional reactions from other family members, especially older family members. I remember once saying to my brother in law that I wondered what on earth my father thought I would find out, getting so upset about my researching our family history. He suggested that I had already found it. further thought and discussion among my own generation brought the realisation that different generations view things differently from each other. We realised that an episode that was not major to us was major to the older generation, who refused to discuss it with us.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Your comment is so true. We have to handle our findings with care and respect for the older generations point of view. This is why I have written my family story in a memoir. My family have been more able to assimilate the information, disguised in a novel format. Thank you for your comment. All the best with your research.
LikeLiked by 2 people
this is post offers great info — many thanks, Margaret ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re very welcome 😊. Thank you for the idea. X
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent tips! Researching can sometimes be overwhelming, but you’ve offered some practical, down-to-earth advice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to help. Thank you for your kind comment.
LikeLike
Good advice, thank you, I will be looking into this at some point. Hints really are a dodgy way to make some money. People so easily fall for it too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your comment. Loved your recent holiday pictures. I believe the hints on ancestry websites are computer generated. They are relational data bases, so do have the ability to cross reference say, name, location, date of birth. This information can be useful, I would say, 50% of the time. The algorithm the data bases use, are not that accurate yet. My nerd side is peaking out. Relational data bases used to be my field of expertise, as an IT consultant. Say hi to your lovely wife. I’m keeping an ear out for some other melodic English moments to share.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you. The nerd side is always good, learning and understanding how things work is one of the joys of life. My philosophy is usually, ‘don’t understand it? Poke it with a stick’.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Brilliant! 👌
LikeLike
It seems like we have a lot of interests in common. Thank you for stopping by m blog and I am greatly looking forward to following yours.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, I’m certainly itching to hear more from your Grandmothers journal. Fascinating.
All the best with your manuscript.
Kind regards
Margaret
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so very much. 🙂
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Happiness Between Tails by da-AL and commented:
Guest Blog Post: Tips for Sleuthing the Past by Margaret Lossi
Writers and readers alike, for times we’d like to look into our histories, author Margaret Lossi offers tips for how to get started. Be prepared for surprises…
Who’ll your search turn up? Photo thanks to Ryan McGuire of Gratisography.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
many thanks for writing, Margaret – hope you enjoy how the reblog looks on my site & that it brings lots of readers to yours 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very interesting post.I too am trying to chart out our family tree, but in India it is much more difficult in the absence of official
birth certificates since birth registry was not compulsory about150 years ago.I have been able to go back only up to the time of my great great grandfather, circa 1820, based upon the details available in family journals. Beyond that I can only go back four more generations of my paternal ancestors.No details of their spouses or families are available.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you. I know how you feel. I could only go back to 1860 with my Henseluck family. They came from Neu Stettin Germany, which is now a part of Poland. To progress, I will have to visit this now Polish city. I will do so, but at the moment I am telling my vivid family story in my books. Currently, I’m writing about WW2.
Congratulations on all your family sleuthing. Wishing you all the best with your future endeavours.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for your wishes,which I heartily reciprocate, Happy to know about your German ancestory. Just by the way, I have studied in Germany and have many German friends, our friendship going back to 66 years!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow that’s amazing. My mother’s family come from Hamburg, and my father’s from Munich. You can check out my books on my site margaretlossl.com. I have my books listed with reviews and links. Lovely to get to know you.
LikeLike
I spent nearly seven years in nuernberg which is like second home to me.. Will surely check up on your blog .Nice getting to know you too.
LikeLiked by 1 person