Lesson 1: Basic rules of genealogy and how to get started.
LESSON 1
By Tracey Evans
Genealogy vs Family History – What is the difference?
Genealogy is the gathering of statistics (i.e. names/dates/places) in relation to your family tree.
Family History is the filling out of those facts to include information about the places they lived, the time they lived. It can also include family stories and is developed into a full story of our ancestors lives.
Basic genealogy
At the very least you will want to find and record as much as you can i.e.:
Usually this is a grandparent and then you work backwards. Remembering that there are certain restrictions on access to records and indexes:
Births 100 years i.e. 1917
Marriages 80 years i.e. 1967
Deaths 50 years i.e. 1987
Genealogy is the gathering of statistics (i.e. names/dates/places) in relation to your family tree.
Family History is the filling out of those facts to include information about the places they lived, the time they lived. It can also include family stories and is developed into a full story of our ancestors lives.
Basic genealogy
At the very least you will want to find and record as much as you can i.e.:
- Date and place of birth
- Names of parents
- Date and place of marriage
- Date and place of death
- Names and birth dates of children
- Family Stories
- Immigration (if applicable)
- Occupations
Usually this is a grandparent and then you work backwards. Remembering that there are certain restrictions on access to records and indexes:
Births 100 years i.e. 1917
Marriages 80 years i.e. 1967
Deaths 50 years i.e. 1987
This is of course to protect living family members from intrusive queries.
You could start by interviewing older family members to see what they know or remember. Also taking into account that if there are skeletons in the closet they may not wish to talk about them – Personally I think you should respect their wishes. Usually you can find the information on Trove.
Try and have some questions ready when you visit them.
You may even need to go back a couple of times and might get different answers.
Try to ask open ended questions to start the conversation e.g. What are your memories of your grandparents?
Take notes or even tape the conversation (that way you can type it up later).
Rule number 2: Reference everything.
There are numerous forms all over the internet for recording your information and where you got it. Not only is it polite to acknowledge where you found the information, it's also a good way to keep track of where you've already looked. This way you don’t spend hours searching for information in places that you have already been (we will be covering some of the forms and where to find them in a future lesson). However having said that there is new information becoming available online all the time so sometimes it is good to go back and double check some months or even years later.
When I was first starting out I found Familysearch a great place to start. There are some documents online there and many indexes covering various countries.
Familysearch was started by the Church of Latter Day Saints and is a free online search. You can create your family tree there. You do need to set up a FREE account (yes I know, another damn password to remember – put it in the front of your notebook that you use for family history).
https://familysearch.org/
There are some charts on this link to help you get started: including a Pedigree chart, Family Group Sheet and a Research Log (very important).
https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/FamilySearch_Downloads
Rule number 3: Always double check for accuracy.
Where possible try to cross-reference with other documents and registers, as sometimes we think we've found the correct entry, but in fact haven't. We are all human, anyone can make a mistake and a lot of these records have been transcribed into indexes by members of the public (not to mention the mistakes made when the records were initially made!).
Rule number 4: Don't get hung up on the spelling.
There are many reasons why names may be transcribed incorrectly in a database or alternatively spelled. It could be because of the inability to read and write on the part of the person giving the information or writing down the information. It could also be because of accents – how people hear different names.
• Use wildcards when searching databases this will find different spellings and name variants. (On most it is * or % symbols).
• Try leaving out a name when searching and just use a first name or last name with a place of birth/marriage/death. Not all databases allow this type of search. Also remember that sometimes nicknames can be used (though not officially correct).
• If you are fairly sure of where someone lived, then try browsing through the records for that area to look for possible matches.
• If you’ve found a possible match for a person on a database but the name presented just doesn’t look correct (or even probable), try saying the presented name out loud. For example, ‘Marilous’ could be Mary Louise depending on the accent of the person (i.e. Irish, West End London, Scottish etc).
Another issue with change of names – this can be as simple as someone mishearing a name or as complex as someone trying to hide their identity. Could also be that a child was born to a single mother and then takes the husband's name whilst growing up. There is often no official documentation of this.
You could start by interviewing older family members to see what they know or remember. Also taking into account that if there are skeletons in the closet they may not wish to talk about them – Personally I think you should respect their wishes. Usually you can find the information on Trove.
Try and have some questions ready when you visit them.
You may even need to go back a couple of times and might get different answers.
Try to ask open ended questions to start the conversation e.g. What are your memories of your grandparents?
Take notes or even tape the conversation (that way you can type it up later).
Rule number 2: Reference everything.
There are numerous forms all over the internet for recording your information and where you got it. Not only is it polite to acknowledge where you found the information, it's also a good way to keep track of where you've already looked. This way you don’t spend hours searching for information in places that you have already been (we will be covering some of the forms and where to find them in a future lesson). However having said that there is new information becoming available online all the time so sometimes it is good to go back and double check some months or even years later.
When I was first starting out I found Familysearch a great place to start. There are some documents online there and many indexes covering various countries.
Familysearch was started by the Church of Latter Day Saints and is a free online search. You can create your family tree there. You do need to set up a FREE account (yes I know, another damn password to remember – put it in the front of your notebook that you use for family history).
https://familysearch.org/
There are some charts on this link to help you get started: including a Pedigree chart, Family Group Sheet and a Research Log (very important).
https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/FamilySearch_Downloads
Rule number 3: Always double check for accuracy.
Where possible try to cross-reference with other documents and registers, as sometimes we think we've found the correct entry, but in fact haven't. We are all human, anyone can make a mistake and a lot of these records have been transcribed into indexes by members of the public (not to mention the mistakes made when the records were initially made!).
Rule number 4: Don't get hung up on the spelling.
There are many reasons why names may be transcribed incorrectly in a database or alternatively spelled. It could be because of the inability to read and write on the part of the person giving the information or writing down the information. It could also be because of accents – how people hear different names.
• Use wildcards when searching databases this will find different spellings and name variants. (On most it is * or % symbols).
• Try leaving out a name when searching and just use a first name or last name with a place of birth/marriage/death. Not all databases allow this type of search. Also remember that sometimes nicknames can be used (though not officially correct).
• If you are fairly sure of where someone lived, then try browsing through the records for that area to look for possible matches.
• If you’ve found a possible match for a person on a database but the name presented just doesn’t look correct (or even probable), try saying the presented name out loud. For example, ‘Marilous’ could be Mary Louise depending on the accent of the person (i.e. Irish, West End London, Scottish etc).
Another issue with change of names – this can be as simple as someone mishearing a name or as complex as someone trying to hide their identity. Could also be that a child was born to a single mother and then takes the husband's name whilst growing up. There is often no official documentation of this.
So now that you know the basic rules, it's time to answer the BIG question:
WHERE DO YOU START?
By Kate
WHERE DO YOU START?
By Kate
As mentioned above in the basics; you should start with what you already know and work back from there. You may be lucky to still have living grandparents or great aunts and uncles. If you do, grab them while you can and ask them if they can give you details about their parents and grandparents.
Also ask if they have any Birth, Death, and Marriage (BDM) certificates that you can copy or perhaps a family bible. They are your first tool in your genealogy tool box.
Write down everything you know. If you aren’t sure about certain facts put ??? and this will act as a reminder that this needs to be researched further. This will be the basis of your research log, use a sheet of paper per person or couple.
As you start looking at various web sites or other resources you can make a note of where you have looked and what you found or didn’t find. Doing this will save you from going back to the same place over and over. It will also help you to find that piece of information again, should you need to.
We are very lucky in Australia - most State’s BDM Indexes show both parents names on the index. These can help you build family groups and help you step back a few generations. Remember the 100-year restriction on births, therefore it’s important to use your living relatives to get back to 1917 or further. The usual method is to start with someone born before this date.
This is an exercise I want you to do if you are interested.
You are given only this information:
Albert William Wellard born around 1900 in NSW.
I want you to first download the Family Group Sheet 8.xlsx. (You can do this by using the download button in the top-right corner). You don’t need to print it as you can fill it in on your computer once you've downloaded it.
Next search for Albert’s birth in the NSW Indexes. Use the Searching BMD Indexes Australia Lesson 3 if you need help with how to search.
Link to NSW BDM index
When you find the birth, fill the details in on the family group sheet with Albert as the first child and his parents’ names above.
Now with all this information search in births again to see if there were any other children born to this couple. Fill in any if found.
Then go to marriages and search for the marriage of the parents. (Hint: it should usually be within a few years of the birth of the first child). When you find the marriage add this information to the family group sheet. Of course, you will only have the years of these events, not the actual date. The marriage will also give you the maiden name of the wife.
Next, if you have the correct information, I want you, using my 20-year rule of thumb (where you deduct 20 years from the marriage year to get an approximate year of birth), to find the birth of Albert’s father. If you can’t find the right one keep expanding your starting date to earlier.
If you find his year of birth, start a new family group sheet and repeat the above process.
If you have time, try to find all the death dates as well. You might find some actual death/funeral dates by using the Ryerson Index.
I’ll post the 2 family group sheets for you to check. Answer page
This is the best way to use the indexes to step and stair your way back.
Using the indexes is free but you may still occasionally need to order a copy of a certificate. I personally, for the NSW certificates, use Marbract Transcription Agents. You get as much information from a transcription as you would a certificate.
A word about online trees. PLEASE do not accept any information from online trees as factual. These trees are riddled with errors and they keep getting copied verbatim and the errors are perpetuated. Use them as guides only. Research any information yourself to confirm or deny.
Finally, a reminder about the spelling of names. Spelling can be very fluid. Many factors can cause a name to be spelled incorrectly.
Many could not read or write
A heavy accent could change how a clerk wrote it down
Many anglicized their names upon arrival in a new country
Some changed their names to hide from authorities
So be flexible when searching. If the site allows wild card searches, then try them.
This concludes our first lesson. Be sure to check back to compare your family group sheet with ours, and of course to check out the next lesson.
Until then, good luck and happy hunting!
Also ask if they have any Birth, Death, and Marriage (BDM) certificates that you can copy or perhaps a family bible. They are your first tool in your genealogy tool box.
Write down everything you know. If you aren’t sure about certain facts put ??? and this will act as a reminder that this needs to be researched further. This will be the basis of your research log, use a sheet of paper per person or couple.
As you start looking at various web sites or other resources you can make a note of where you have looked and what you found or didn’t find. Doing this will save you from going back to the same place over and over. It will also help you to find that piece of information again, should you need to.
We are very lucky in Australia - most State’s BDM Indexes show both parents names on the index. These can help you build family groups and help you step back a few generations. Remember the 100-year restriction on births, therefore it’s important to use your living relatives to get back to 1917 or further. The usual method is to start with someone born before this date.
This is an exercise I want you to do if you are interested.
You are given only this information:
Albert William Wellard born around 1900 in NSW.
I want you to first download the Family Group Sheet 8.xlsx. (You can do this by using the download button in the top-right corner). You don’t need to print it as you can fill it in on your computer once you've downloaded it.
Next search for Albert’s birth in the NSW Indexes. Use the Searching BMD Indexes Australia Lesson 3 if you need help with how to search.
Link to NSW BDM index
When you find the birth, fill the details in on the family group sheet with Albert as the first child and his parents’ names above.
Now with all this information search in births again to see if there were any other children born to this couple. Fill in any if found.
Then go to marriages and search for the marriage of the parents. (Hint: it should usually be within a few years of the birth of the first child). When you find the marriage add this information to the family group sheet. Of course, you will only have the years of these events, not the actual date. The marriage will also give you the maiden name of the wife.
Next, if you have the correct information, I want you, using my 20-year rule of thumb (where you deduct 20 years from the marriage year to get an approximate year of birth), to find the birth of Albert’s father. If you can’t find the right one keep expanding your starting date to earlier.
If you find his year of birth, start a new family group sheet and repeat the above process.
If you have time, try to find all the death dates as well. You might find some actual death/funeral dates by using the Ryerson Index.
I’ll post the 2 family group sheets for you to check. Answer page
This is the best way to use the indexes to step and stair your way back.
Using the indexes is free but you may still occasionally need to order a copy of a certificate. I personally, for the NSW certificates, use Marbract Transcription Agents. You get as much information from a transcription as you would a certificate.
A word about online trees. PLEASE do not accept any information from online trees as factual. These trees are riddled with errors and they keep getting copied verbatim and the errors are perpetuated. Use them as guides only. Research any information yourself to confirm or deny.
Finally, a reminder about the spelling of names. Spelling can be very fluid. Many factors can cause a name to be spelled incorrectly.
Many could not read or write
A heavy accent could change how a clerk wrote it down
Many anglicized their names upon arrival in a new country
Some changed their names to hide from authorities
So be flexible when searching. If the site allows wild card searches, then try them.
This concludes our first lesson. Be sure to check back to compare your family group sheet with ours, and of course to check out the next lesson.
Until then, good luck and happy hunting!
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