Learning your family history can be important for understanding heritage and future generations. Organize information with pre-printed forms or create your own system. Start with oldest family members and use resources like the internet and Family History Library. Preserve information on acid-free paper for future generations.
Knowing your family history can be important for a variety of reasons. Some people feel the need to connect and understand their heritage, while others want to establish their family history for present and future generations to refer to. Learning family history can prove to be a daunting task as it can take many hours of researching and recording information, but regardless of your motivation, it will ultimately be a worthwhile accomplishment. Before you begin your search, it’s important to create a means of organizing the information you come across. There are pre-printed forms, such as family trees, designed for organizing family history information, but you can just as easily create your own record keeping system.
When starting the actual research, start with the oldest members of your family who can give you background information about previous generations. Perhaps they also have memorabilia like family bibles, wedding guest book records, or obituary clippings that can serve as a resource for locating information about extended family. The depth of your research is up to you, and family members are often the best place to start. By talking to family members, you may find that someone in your family has already done some research that you can build on.
In addition to family members, or even if you don’t have family members to consult, the Internet is a great resource for genealogy research. You can locate certain public records such as births, deaths, marriages, and previous census years. Another excellent resource is the Family History Library, located in Salt Lake City, Utah. There are thousands of branches, called Family History Centers, that operate internationally from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These centers are open to the public and have computers for public use.
Preserving your family history once it’s established is as important as sharing it. There are many ways to beautifully record this information in books for gifting, display or preservation. Remember to record permanent information on acid-free paper, use protective sleeves, and make the information accessible for future generations to add.
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