Start with the Basics
If you are researching an ancestor, ask family members for some initial information about when and where the person lived; any details surrounding dates of birth, marriage, and death; what the person did for a living, etc. You might get lucky and get copies of important documents to start your research.
If you want to know more about an ancestor someone not related to you, go to your local history library or genealogical society to learn if there are any books, papers, articles, documents, oral histories, or photographs about the person you are researching. Ask a librarian for help if you are not sure where to start first.
Look through transcribed or compiled books at your local history library or genealogical society. Take advantage of the efforts made by others to gather birth, marriage, death, or burial information into one place. These compilations can simplify your initial research making the information easier to find. But make sure to look for the original documents. Compiled sources can have errors or missing information.
Gather as much basic information as you can. Do not worry at this point if you are not sure how accurate it is.
Next Look for Details
Begin asking the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions about the new information you have. In what directions can these new clues direct you?
Think about what you learned in the Types of Sources section, which sources do you think would work best for your search? Below is a list of suggested steps and primary sources to begin with. Every community had different types of sources available, so ask your local librarian or visit your genealogical society for more information.
Vital records, obituaries, cemetery records, and tombstone transcriptions give you the initial mileposts about a person’s life and give you a time frame to work with. If you know the specific dates about an individual’s birth, marriage, and death, search for the documents so you can at least verify the dates. You never know, you might find more information than you expected.
If you do not know exactly when a person died, check your local history library or genealogical society to see if they have compiled lists of birth, marriage, or death records, obituaries, or cemetery transcriptions. Finding an obituary might furnish new clues including: personal information such as birth date and place, immediate family information, occupation, if the individual lived elsewhere for a time, if he was a veteran you might find a regiment name and number, where the burial site is located, organizational memberships, or key events of someone’s life.
City directories can give you a sense of when a person lived in your area, where his or her home was, and maybe where he or she worked. Start with a year you know the individual lived in your town. Then look backwards and forwards through as many years as are available to you. Tracking someone over many years might reveal different jobs, residences, and might suggest when the individual moved into or out of the community.
Census records can be incredibly helpful because they record a wide range of data that can provide you a wealth of clues. Information changes depending on which year you are researching. If you are researching a family member, such as a grandparent, start with the most recent census available, which is 1930.
If the person is not related, begin with a year you are confident the individual lived in the community. Be patient when searching, names might be slightly misspelled, so try out all options of a surname spelling. Once you find the person, see if you can follow them to other decades prior to or after the one with which you began.
As you look through your first round of primary sources keep asking yourself questions about what information is accurate or what you find contradictory. Each new clue will help to verify a fact as true or prove it false or unreliable. As you learn more details you can begin to venture into more primary sources depending on where the evidence leads you and what you want to know about the individual.
Researching people can be very difficult, but also very rewarding. Above all be patient, stay focused, and have fun.
For more information about what is available in your area or additional suggestions check out:
Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
Family Search
by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS)
US GenWeb Project
RootsWeb
Ancestry.com
Genealogy.com
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