Sue Seibert
P. O. Box 61
Mineral Wells TX 76068-0061
siouxcitysue@cox-internet.com
Chasing Your Tales, How to Begin
It's been a long time now, since I went over how to begin the search for your ancestors, and I though it was about time I mentioned some of the ends and outs for those of you who have just begun chasing your tales!
The best way to begin a family history is with yourself. This is your history, but it is also a record which your descendants will joyfully use. It is one of the best gifts you can ever give.
Jot down your full name, maiden name if you are a married woman, the date and place of your birth, the names, dates, and places of birth of all of your siblings, your siblings' families including wives maiden names and dates. If you are married, do the same thing for your children, your husband or wife, and their siblings and spouses. Ex-spouses need inclusion if they are the biological parents of your relatives.
In addition to the relevant dates and names, also make note of particular illnesses of this and other generations, as that could be essential for the generations to come.
The next step is to talk to your parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles who are still living. Go to them with a questionnaire…a fill in the blanks, as it were, and, after they have filled in the historical information, ask each one to tell you something about his or her childhood, some lasting memory. If possible, tape record this information and then transfer it to a CD. That way you have their voice telling their story!
Always write down who gave you what information. Someone who gave you information from their direct knowledge is called a primary source. As you go along be sure to record who they were and how they may be located, including postal address, telephone number, and email address, as well as their relationship to you.
Keep a notebook. Often a looseleaf notebook, with dividers is very helpful. Keep one divider for each surname. Also, keep plastic or paper containers with pockets in with each surname, and as you obtain a vital record, such as a birth certificate, death certificate, marriage license, etc., make a copy of it and place them in the pocket.
Always use a pencil when taking down notes, so that you can erase. Then, when you are ready to publish your information, either for your own use, for a book to give as a gift, or for the internet, type it all and save it. Another gift suggestion to go along with the genealogical information, is a book of recipes handed down through your family.
If you intent to submit your information to an internet source for publication, be sure, when you email it, to send it in a text only, or ascii, format.
As you expand your search, the notebook is going to be too small. At this point, you will need a box for each family, and in that box you can store the vital records, as well as photographs.
A note about photographs. Take the time, as soon as possible, to discover who the folks are in all of your photos. Even if you know, don't take for granted that your children or grandchildren will know. Write it down!
The oldest family members, grandparents, great-grandparents, great aunts and uncles, are you best sources of information. If they are still able to remember the family history and family stories, ask them now. Don't but if off, or it may be too late. You remember that great-grandma's memory is probably failing, and one day, it will be gone, as will she! Remember these folks were once young, too, and they will enjoy telling stories about their childhood and youth!
When you visit relatives, ask them to show you their family photo albums, scrapbooks, family Bible, baby books, and news clippings. Be sure to make a note of who has the family Bible! This can be one of your most valuable resources. Let these relatives know that you are willing to share genealogical and historical information. That may encourage them to find out more from a part of the family you don't know.
You will need to spend some time in a library which has a genealogical section. I strongly recommend the Fort Worth Library, but the Weatherford Library is gathering more genealogical information all the time. I suspect that they will, at some point, rival the Fort Worth Library. Don't be afraid to ask the librarian for assistance! That is what they are there for, and usually they enjoy this.
Probably the greatest help to a beginning, or a long-time, genealogist is the internet. There is a vast amount of free information on the internet. I strongly suggest that you do not join one of the many, many "for profit" groups until you have used up all the free information. Many groups are in it for the money, but there are still plenty of genealogists out there who are freely giving their time and talents to assist people in locating family history. I know, because I am one, and I work closely with many others.
There are several I will recommend here. The USGenWeb at http://www.usgenweb.org/ has links to every state in the union. Within each state, every county has a page, and there are also city pages. The next source is the WorldGenWeb at http://www.worldgenweb.org/ . It is divided into continents, countries, counties or provinces, and then cities.
There is another group which specializes in genealogy for the United Kingdom called GENUKI at http://www.genuki.org.uk/ . They are free, and they are very good.
One for my favorite sites is Cyndi's List, put up by Cyndi Howells who has been working in genealogy since 1996. Her site is at http://www.Cyndislist.com/ . She has genealogical information for every part of the world.
My favorite search engine on the internet is Google. They are located at http://www.google.com/ . Simply type in the surname you are researching, and Google will provide you with pages and pages, most of which won't be relevant, but some will be.
Finally, a free and for profit site which has a tremendous message board system is Genforum Genealogy at http://genforum.genealogy.com/ . They have boards for both countries and counties and for surnames. They do sell stuff, too, but you don't have to buy it!
You may come upon conflicting information as you study your family. One of the more common conflicts is name spellings. In my family cemetery in Brown County, the name Faulkner is spelled at least four ways, and it is a small cemetery. Also name spelling often changed when our ancestors came to America. One of my family surnames is Nowlin, but in the "old country" of Ireland, it was spelled Nolan.
You may also find conflicting dates and ages which come from human error, faulty memories, and people for whom spelling and numbers did not come easily. You may or may not discover the version which is correct. But, remember, primary sources are the best. They are written documents and memories of the people who were there and the vital records of the lives.
Don't be discouraged if it takes several years, or even a lifetime, to discover your family history. Just be sure to keep a record of what you do, keep it in a safe place, and be sure to let your family know where you are keeping it!
So, until next time, I hope more of you will go out chasing your tales, and I hope you will send me some of those tales to be published in Painted Post Crossroads. You may contact me, Sue Seibert, at P. O. Box 61, Mineral Wells TX 76068-0061 or email me at siouxcitysue@cox-internet.com . Also, I hope you will check out my genealogical page on the internet at http://www.ralphandsue.com/ChasingOurTales/ .