Research Guides: Genealogy Research: Planting Your Family Tree: Tips and Tricks

Starting Your Search

Things to Remember

Don't ignore your living relatives - they are great sources of information, stories, and documents
Take it one generation at a time - it can get overwhelming when you start diving into aunts, uncles, cousins - take your time
Look for supporting evidence - primary sources, official documents, etc. are your best friends
Be critical - I know, it relates to the last statement, but seriously, check and double check your information sources (including relatives)
Keep organized - note keeping, categories, etc., this will help a lot

Top 10 Genealogy Mistakes to Avoid
Genealogy can be a very fascinating and addictive hobby. Each step that you take in researching your family's history can lead you to new ancestors, delightful stories and a real sense of your place in history. If you are new to genealogy research, however, there are ten key mistakes that you will want to avoid in order to make your search a successful and pleasant experience.

Legacy 9.0 Family Tree
Free software that will help you keep your research and discoveries organized.
Cyndi's List: Software & Computers
Cyndi's List provides a list of different tools to keep your research organized.
Library of Congress - Personal Digital Archiving
You've discovered or created photos, videos, maybe even audio files. What about the letters and journals? How do you preserve your rich family history? Library of Congress provides tips on how to do just that.

Share online:

Ancestry's Trees
Allows users to share or "publish" their family trees online. It's convenient, easy, and attractive. It's possible to sign up for an account and do this for free, but a paid individual subscription to Ancestry provides more options and features (such as the ability to download others' documents, photos and other attachments and upload your own). Many people subscribe for a few months, then unsubscribe.
FamilySearch
Free online genealogy resource sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In addition to searching through millions of historical records, users can use the online Family Tree to see and contribute information in a shared database of more than 1.2 billion ancestors.
WikiTree
Free and has similar features to Ancestry's Trees, allowing you to share/publish family trees online.

Start a blog:

Wix
Free blog hosting site.
Weebly
Free blog hosting site.
Blogger
Free blog hosting site.
Blogging Your Family History Search
A blog, short for Web log, is basically a very easy-to-use Web site. No need to worry too much about creativity or code. Instead a blog is basically an online journal -- you just open it up and start to write -- which makes it a great medium for documenting your family history search and sharing it with the world.