How to
Start
How to Start Your
COMPUTERIZED GENEALOGY
provided by:
The St. Tammany Genealogical Society
Robert B. Noles
Rev. 2 July 12, 2005
Effectively Tapping into
Local, County, State Historical Societies and Libraries
by Barry J. Ewell
If you are ready to initiate a project to research and document your family history, this primer for Computerized Genealogy provided by the St. Tammany Genealogical Society (STGS) may help you get started.
1.1 GET ORGANIZED - Collect & organize your existing notes & documents concerning the family(s) that you will be researching (names, dates, places, official documents, pictures, stories, etc.). Give some thought on how you will be filing the documents you have and hope to collect.
1.2 INTERVIEWS - Interview as many of your families’ oldest members as you can. Tape record or take good notes concerning your interviews. Try to have your older family members tell you stories about their parents and grandparents. The old family stories may be more important to your efforts than the facts and figures they might be able to provide.
1.3 GENEALOGY SOFTWARE - Decide upon a Genealogy Database computer program for your use. The Family Tree Maker (FTM) program is easy to use (yet has many sophisticated features), is widely used and is available for your use at the St. Tammany Parish Library (STPL) Electronic Resource Center (ERC), the STPL Genealogy Research Center [both located at the Covington Branch], or FTM can be purchased for under $30.00 via Ancestry.com. Training for the use of FTM is periodically by the STGS. The Genealogy Reference Librarian (Al Barron) can also help you get started using FTM.
If you do NOT choose the FTM program, be sure to pick a program that will provide the features you will need. It is important that the program you choose has the capability to import and export GEDCOM files and runs with Windows 98, ME or XP. If you are in doubt about the use of a particular program, please ask a STGS Board Member or an ERC staff member concerning the suitability of the program for your project.
1.4 LEARN to use SOFTWARE - Learn to use your genealogy program of choice and decide on how you will use it for your family(s).
1.5 FOCUS - Focus your initial efforts on one or two family lines (surnames). After a year or two of learning how to research and document family history using your genealogy program, you may want to expand the number of surnames that you are investigating.
1.6 GENEALOGY SOCIETIES - Join the STGS to obtain local support and advice, even if you are not researching a family line in the St. Tammany Parish or Louisiana area. After learning where your ancestors lived (especially if they were in one location for many years), join the genealogy society for that parish or county. You may also want to join the National Genealogical Society (NGS), if you become really serious about your genealogical efforts.
1.7 START USING COMPUTER PROGRAM - Load your genealogy program with the family information collected per items 1 & 2 above (what you know & have learned via family interviews).
1.8 PRINT REPORTS - Print out several different genealogy reports after you have entered what you know. By printing out some reports, you will learn about some important features and benefits of computerized genealogy and you will be able to begin sharing what you know with other family members right away. These genealogy reports will help you understand how the data you have entered appears on the reports and family members receiving the reports will be able to provide you with additions and corrections to what you have started (an important process).
1.9 DETERMINE WHERE ANCESTORS LIVED - Based on what you know, try to determine where your ancestors lived and/or worked one generation at a time. Start with the present generations and work backwards in time. As you will see in many of the suggested research ideas below, you will need to know where your ancestors lived in order to find the important documents that they left behind; i.e., deeds, wills, etc.
1.10 GENEALOGY LIBRARY - Begin to collect genealogy reference material (books, CD-ROMs, manuscripts, etc.) that will be needed to help you with the research as well as provide source material for the data you need. See below for some recommendations.
1.11 ELECTRONIC RESOURCE CENTER (ERC) - Become familiar with the genealogy capabilities available at the ERC and the Genealogy Resource Room at the St. Tammany Parish Library in Covington.. You will find state-of-the-art computers and peripheral equipment; i.e., black & white as well as color printers, scanners for documents and pictures, as well as readers for CDs, Zip disks and floppies. In addition, the ERC will have many of the "How To" genealogy books listed below for your use while visiting the ERC. The ERC also offers introduction courses on how to use the Internet.
[HOME] [TOP of PAGE]
2.1. COMPUTER - Your computer or the computer you are going to obtain should have the following minimum specifications. Nearly all new computers will far exceed these requirements:
Pentium 166MHz (minimum)
128 MB Ram (minimum) 256 MB Ram (recommended)
Windows 98, ME or NT
CD - ROM Drive
95 MB free hard disk space
VGA Display (256 Colors, minimum)
2.2 GENEALOGY DATABASE SOFTWARE - Any of the following genealogy programs would be excellent choices for your family history project.
Brother’s Keeper
Family Origins
Family Tree Maker (FTM)
Generations
The Master Genealogists
Personal Ancestral File (PAF)
Ultimate Family Tree
2.3. INTERNET ACCESS * - If you do not currently have an Internet Service Provider, you will need to sign-up for the service or take advantage of the ERC. You can surf the Internet and have one of the free email accounts through the ERC.
2.3.1 Obtain Internet Service Provider (ISP) for your home computer
2.3.2 Use the STPL - ERC
* Use of the Internet is not required for genealogy research, but it will greatly speed your efforts
2.4 GENEALOGY RESOURCE LIBRARY - Start your collection of genealogy resource reference material, or locate and use the references at the local branch libraries. The following references are important to have handy as you progress with your research (there may be other important reference books depending on what direction your research takes - check with STGS members or the Internet sites for other ideas):
2.4.1 "The Handybook for Genealogists", 9th edition, 1999, by Everton Publishers
2.4.2 "The SOURCE", Revised Edition, 1997, by Ancestry Inc.
2.4.3 "Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920", 1997, by William Thorndale & William Dollarhide
2.4.4 "Getting Started in Genealogy", 2nd edition, 1998, by William Dollarhide
2.4.5 "American’s Best Genealogy Resource Centers", 1998, by William Dollarhide
2.4.6 "The CENSUS Book", 1999, by William Dollarhide
2.4.7 "British Origins of American Colonists", 1629 - 1775, 1997, by William Dollarhide
2.4..8 "Map Guide to American Migration Routes, 1735 - 1815", 1997, by William Dollarhide
2.4.9 "Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County & Town Sources", 1998, by Ancestry Inc.
2.4.10 "Everton’s Genealogical Helper", Magazine Subscription, Everton Publishers
2.4.11 "American Passenger Arrival Records", 1999, by Michael Tepper
2.4.12 "Evidence!: Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian", 1997, by Elizabeth Shown Mills
2.4.13 "The Basic Researcher’s Guide to HOMESTEADS & Other Federal Land Records", 1994, by James C. Barsi
2.4.14 Genealogy CD-ROMs containing records for your ancestors (The ERC & the STGS have started a library of these CD-ROMs); e.g.:
FTM - Family Archive CDs
FTM - World Family Tree CDs
LDS - Pedigree Resource Files CDs
FTM or Heritage Quest - Census CDs
[HOME] [TOP of PAGE]
Although the Internet has revolutionized and energized genealogical research, you can NOT depend on the Internet alone for your research efforts, if you are to be successful. The following non-Internet research tasks should be performed as well. You may want to carry out some of the Internet research before performing the following steps to maximize your on-site research efforts (which will normally require you to travel):
3.1 LOCAL LIBRARIES & GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES - Plan to visit the Libraries (and LDS Family History Centers), and the Genealogical Societies (or Historical Societies) within the counties where your ancestors lived. You will be trying to determine from these local organizations what, if anything, has been already documented concerning your ancestors and what original records these organizations have to help you find the genealogical data left by your ancestors while they were living and working in these locations. If you can not visit the county in person, you will want to write to these organizations or get in contact with them via the Internet if possible.
The local libraries and/or societies will usually have surname files. Be sure to ask to see the files for your surnames and those surnames that were closely aligned with your family. These local surname files may contain genealogy reports prepared by other researchers and other correspondence concerning the former residents of that community with the subject surname. Many times these surname files contain very old research that has not been placed on the Internet.
These local genealogical organizations will usually be able to provide you with old maps of the county and locations of the old cemeteries.
Join the local genealogical society in the areas where your ancestors lived, particularly if they lived in the area for several generations. In time you will make a lot of contacts through the genealogical society that will assist you with the research in that county.
3.2 COURT HOUSES - Plan to visit the Court Houses for the counties where your ancestors lived. You will be looking for old Tax Records, Deeds, Wills, etc. You may find that these records, particularly the really old ones, have already been donated to the local Genealogical Society or Historical Society for that county or they may have been provided to the state library and archives. You can usually make copies of documents you find at the county court houses, but they are typically much more expensive than at libraries. Be prepared to take notes or perhaps take along a digital camera.
If you are successful in locating land grants or deeds issued to your ancestors at the court house, you should attempt to locate the property while you are visiting the county.
3.3 STATE LIBRARIES & ARCHIVES - In many cases, the really old records for the counties that you may be interested in will be on file (usually on microfilm) at the state library & archives. For most states, these facilities are quite large and well equipped for serious research. The state archives will have many original documents and copies of original documents that cannot be found anywhere else. The state archives will usually have all the census records for the state and probably the region as well. The state archives are a good source for obtaining the microfilm records for all the old newspapers previously published in the state. In some cases the microfilm records may be purchased for your use at home or at your local library.
3.4 NATIONAL ARCHIVES & RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (NARA) - The NARA in Washington DC (with Regional Records Service Centers throughout the US) welcomes private researchers to use both original and microfilmed records. The NARA is the most complete repository for many of the original records that you might need; i.e., military service & pension records, bounty land warrants, ship passenger arrival records, census records, etc. If you are unable to visit the NARA or one of its regional facilities, you may obtain copies of many documents through the mail. Information concerning requesting documents by mail can be obtained via email (or via the NARA Web site:). In many cases the microfilm records at the NARA may be purchased for your use at home or at your local library.
3.5 U.S. CENSUS RECORDS - The U.S. Census records are perhaps the single most important genealogical resource you will use both in terms of the volume and the quality of the data. Your ancestors may not have owned property nor left wills, but they were most likely in one or more censuses where they can be found. The census data is also perhaps the most readily available genealogical resource. Begin to collect the books, CD-ROMs, or microfilm for the census records for the counties that you will be researching. The U.S. Population Census Indexes and digital images of the actual Census pages are now widely available on the Internet via subscription.
It is recommended that you seek out some good books, or genealogical courses or seminars on how to use and interpret census records.
3.6 CEMETERIES - When you are able to visit the counties where your ancestors lived, you should attempt to find and visit the cemeteries where your ancestors are buried. Record the information inscribed on the tombstones and/or take pictures of the tombstones, if they exist. If the cemetery is still operational, the cemetery office may have some burial records that you will want to copy for your files. If the cemetery is not operational, the records may have been donated to a local genealogical society or library. Even if records or tombstones are not available, a visit to the cemetery gives you a great feel for the area where your ancestors lived. Your ancestors were usually buried very near where they lived, perhaps even on land that they or other family members owned.
[HOME] [TOP of PAGE]
4.1 SURNAME SEARCHES - Use several of the following Web sites to search for specific ancestors and the Surnames you are researching:
4.1.1 FamilyTreeMaker.com (Family Tree Maker Software web site, some features require subscription)
4.1.2 FamilySearch.org (LDS - Mormon Church web site)
4.1.3 RootsWeb.com (Oldest & largest genealogy web site - totally free, but they accept contributions)
4.1.4 Ancestry.com (Ancestry Inc.’s web site - some databases require subscription)
4.1.5 Everton.com (Everton Publishers’ Web site - some databases require subscription)
4.1.6 Heritagequest.com (Heritage Quest Web site)
The surname searches via the sites listed above should provide you with a variety of Internet sites that potentially will have information posted on your ancestors. The results of these searches may identify databases where important basic information is located; i.e., marriage records, birth records, cemetery listings, deeds, wills, etc. In addition, these surname searches will usually locate Web Pages placed on the Internet by other researchers concerning the genealogy of some of your ancestors. The FTM site will tell you which one(s) of the FTM CD-ROMs contain information about your ancestors. The LDS site will provide the reference numbers for the microfilm containing records concerning your ancestors. The LDS microfilms can only be obtained through an LDS Family History Centers. Although there may be some overlap among the results of the searches by these sites, they are for the most part searching different databases. So, you will want to conduct searches using all of them.
4.2 USGenWeb PROJECT - Visit the USGenWeb Project Web sites early and often. Go to the specific counties (within the USGenWeb site) where your ancestors lived. Take advantage of the databases on line (cemeteries, wills, deeds, censuses, etc.), use the query features, contact the host or hostess for the county, take advantage of look ups offered, etc.
Many of the USGenWeb county sites are becoming quite sophisticated. Nearly all counties in the US are now available. These county sites are run by knowledgeable volunteers at no cost to the user. The county sites will often tell you about the history of the county, list the resources available within the county and identify other people (and provide you with their email address) that are researching their ancestors in that county. Most importantly, the USGenWeb county sites are now uploading many of the databases for county records for you to search on-line or download. The USGenWeb site may also list very important reference material that may be purchased for a nominal cost.
4.3 ROOTSWEB.COM - Besides the Surname Search feature provided by RootsWeb.com, this very large Web site provides an enormous number of genealogical services for the new and experienced researcher. Take some time to try out a variety of these features, including: various databases, search engines, links to other important genealogy sites, email lists, etc.
Take advantage of several of the email lists provided by RootsWeb.com. They are found under Mailing Lists on the RootsWeb.com Web Site and are listed as Roots-L Mailing lists. There are many thousands of these email lists. Pick ones for your surname(s) of interest and your geographical interests. The RootsWeb email lists are available for every conceivable surname, US counties, geographical areas and many other categories of interest to the genealogists.
By subscribing to the RootsWeb email lists, you will be placed in contact with other researchers (usually several hundred) that have a common interest; i.e., surname, geographical area, etc. By posting messages to these lists, researchers exchange information on their research efforts (successes and failures). Other than the actual databases for vital genealogical information, these email lists are perhaps the most important Internet resource for beginning genealogists. Do not be afraid to post a seemingly dumb question on these email lists. You will be surprised by how many others have the same question. Experienced members of these email lists love to help out the "newcomers".
4.5 CYNDI’s LIST - Cyndi’s List is a Web site (cyndislist.com) that provides a list of genealogy sites on the Internet. Each of the sites identified on Cyndi’s List are linked to the site. So Cyndi’s site is perfect to use as your genealogy bookmarks. Cyndi’s List contains more than 100,000 links which are categorized and cross referenced for easy use. Use Cyndi’s List when you are looking for a Web site with data that you might need, when using the search engine on the various database sites did not locate the information.
4.6 GENFORUM - The GenForum is provide by Genealogy.com, the company responsible for Family Tree Maker software. GenForum is a free bulletin board provided for genealogists to post inquiries and answers to inquiries for a wide variety of subjects as well as nearly all surnames. Ancestry.com and RootsWeb provide similar bulletin boards. You may want to visit these bulletin boards for your surnames and counties of interest on a regular basis to see if anyone is posting information that may provide you with leads for your research.
The GenForum bulletin boards are not as proactive as the RootsWeb Email Lists discussed above, but are a good way to monitor who is asking questions and providing answers to your area of interest.
4.7 GENEALOGY INSTRUCTIONS - Many of the major Web sites mentioned above and most of the local and national Genealogical Societies can provide you with helpful suggestions and training on how to best conduct genealogical research and document the results. Even if you do not plan to publish the results of your genealogical endeavors, you should take advantage of the various opportunities to learn the finer points for genealogical research and publication; e.g., Genealogy 101 on the Heritage Quest Web site, or the Tutorials on the Family Tree Maker Web site are good choices.
4.8 RESOURCE PROCUREMENT - Consider Amazon.com and eBay.com for locating resources for your research requirements. You can search these Web sites to obtain out-of-print books and documents that you need as well as all of the modern genealogy books at discounted prices.
[HOME] [TOP of PAGE]
GOOD LUCK with your research! We hope to see you at future St. Tammany Genealogical Society meetings. Please feel free to contact a current STGS Officer for more information about membership or help with your research efforts.
Robert B. Noles
1st
Vice President STGS
985-845-4688
October 12, 2005
[HOME] [TOP of PAGE]
