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My family and I have been researching our family tree for over 20 years and find it to be a fascinating subject. We have extensive information on some of my family lines, and are working on other branches of our family tree.
I personally became interested in genealogy in 1974, when my father's aunt was visiting us. I wanted to know how we were all related, and I have been researching my family tree ever since. I have no idea how many hours I have spent talking to people, reading census records, searching old cemeteries, etc., since that time. Genealogy can be a very time consuming hobby, but it has been very enjoyable for me. I was away from this hobby for several years due to my work schedule and other interference's (haha), but am trying to get back into it and I am really excited about being online. I have made contact with some new family members and added to my tree since getting on the internet in December, 1997.
If you are interested in researching your family tree, the best place to start is with your parents, and then talk to other relatives. If you are lucky enough to have elderly relatives, they can be a great source of information. We were very fortunate in our family to have several great-aunts and great-uncles who were very generous with their time and knowledge. Most of them were thrilled that someone was interested in their history. I would never ask any questions, however, that I felt may offend anyone, and I tried not to be too personal with my asking. Family friends and neighbors can also be a big help.
The family cemetery is another place to learn information about your ancestors. The tombstones contain birth and death dates. Also be sure to note who your ancestors are buried near, oftentimes the neighboring graves may be in-laws that you might not be aware of until later on in your research.
The county courthouse for the county where your ancestors lived is a great place to visit. You can obtain dates of marriage and probate information there, as well as information regarding any deeds your ancestors may have had. .
Your
local public library is also another great place to do research.
Many libraries have sections devoted to genealogy. If you are lucky
enough to live in the area where your ancestors lived, this can be
very beneficial. There are also special libraries devoted solely
to genealogy. Frankfort, Kentucky, has a great genealogy library.
When you are writing your information down for your family tree, please remember to write down your source of information. This can be very important to you, as it's easy to forget where you received information from. As I said above, I was away from genealogy for a few years. I have some notes now that are useless to me because I cannot remember where they came from!
Another good thing to do is if you have old photographs or tin types, label those with the names, places, and dates of the person or persons photographed. Masking tape works well on the back of tin types for this purpose. If you do not know who is in an old photograph, you may be able to find out from an older relative or friend of the family.
I also wrote down a lot of stories that my grandparents told me about my family. I am really glad I did this. It gives a great insight into your ancestors, and really makes you feel like you knew them. For example, I know my great-grandmother, who died at the age of 26 years, was an excellent seamstress and loved keeping a scrapbook. Fortunately one of my relatives had saved her scrapbook, and it was a thrill for me to read the poems she had saved.
For
links to some genealogy pages that we have found useful, please check our link page.
