Genealogy: Finding Your Folks

So you think you’d like to try genealogy? Part 1

Judy Fowler Kilgore is the religion editor and genealogy columnist for The Citizen. She regrets that time does not permit her to do personal family research for others. She may be reached at jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

By Judy Fowler Kilgore
Genealogy Columnist

I received an e-mail this week from Mike Roberts who is just starting his genealogical quest and wanted some tips on how to get started. He included some information on his Roberts family which was mostly in Tennessee.

You all know that I try to limit information in this column to families which were in the metro Atlanta area, preferably the south metro area, at some time. But, since it’s about time to do a “rank beginner” column, I will make an exception this once and share Mike’s family information with you. This topic will probably be done in at least two parts, since there is a lot you need to know about getting started. I’ll tell you more about Mike’s family next week.

I know many out there got new computers for Christmas and are eager to learn how to apply their genealogical searches to the Internet. Genealogy via the Internet is great, as far as it goes, but by no means should you limit your research to that which is available online. Let it lay your groundwork for “real” research in courthouses and libraries. Resist the urge to copy all those family trees on the Internet (see last week’s column for my opinion on those) since most of them are unproven and may lead you down the wrong path. If I have every thrown you a red flag, this is it, folks. Beware in big red letters.

Genealogy, whether done via the Internet or done the old fashioned way, begins with you. You always work from yourself backward in time to your ancestors. Only by doing it this way can you be absolutely sure you are making the correct connections.

So, the first thing you do is gather all the information you can on your immediate family: your sisters and brothers, your parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles. The information should include names, birth and death dates and locations of both, burial places, military service, church membership, where they lived, and any family stories anyone wishes to share.

I highly recommend purchasing a computer genealogy program — two of the most popular are Family TreeMaker for the PC and Reunion for the Mac — and entering all your immediate family information as soon as you get it. Don’t forget to include the sources of your information. If Great Aunt Hattie told you something, note it in your source. Birth certificates, death certificates, family Bibles, inscriptions on gravestones — all are valid sources of information. If you don’t put your sources in now, believe me, you will regret it later.

After you have your basic family information and have preserved it either in your computer program or on handwritten family group sheets (or maybe both), then you are ready to try and find ancestors farther back in your pedigree.

One of the best ways to start is by making contact with others who are researching the same family and the quickest way to do this is via the Internet genealogy message boards. These may be found on two sites — Rootsweb and Genforum. Rootsweb’s home page is at http://www.rootsweb.com and Genforum’s start page is at http://genforum.genealogy.com/.

Maneuvering to the specific message boards is easy if you read the information on the home page. Rootsweb has a button at the top that says very clearly, “Message Boards” and Genforum’s start page has a box where you can type in the surname you’re researching. Both sites have a “search” function so you can single out messages which have a specific word or name in your family, such as a given name or location. You may leave messages on the sites and, if anyone has information, they will reply. Be sure and check the box at the bottom that says “Notify me when a reply is posted.” You will be notified by e-mail when someone replies to your message.

The other quick way to reach others who are researching your surname is through the Roots-L e-mail lists. I cannot tell you how wonderful these lists are for making contact. These lists work sort of like a “party line” in that all messages you receive may not be for you. Everybody in the world who is searching for a particular name and who has signed up for the list will send and receive messages. The Internet is not restricted to the United States, you know.

Signing up for these lists must be done by “subscribing” and getting off the lists must be done by “unsubscribing” and the functions are very specific about how this must be done. Full instructions are on the site.

To get to the mailing lists and instructions on how to subscribe, go to Rootsweb’s home page and click on “Mailing Lists” at the top. This will take you to a page where you have a choice of signing up for a surname list, a regional list, or a special interest list. There is no limit to the number of lists you may subscribe to, but if you subscribe to too many at first, the amount of e-mail you receive may be overwhelming. I would keep it to two or three until you get the feel of it — perhaps your father’s surname, your mother’s maiden name, and your grandmother’s maiden name. You can always sign up for more later.

Post a message to the list and wait to receive a reply. Be sure to give the names you are researching, the inclusive dates they lived (1900-1975, for instance, and estimates are fine) and where they lived. Without these three things, your message will be useless.

I know you are itching to check to family trees at Rootsweb and Ancestry too and by all means do this. But resist the urge to copy them and add the information to your family tree. Print them out and keep them but hold off adding the information until you have some proof. Remember the red flag and trust me.

Okay. Off you go. More tips and more sites next week.

I welcome all letters and e-mails about genealogy and info on south metro Atlanta families. Send them to The Citizen, P.O. Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com. Any letters and/or e-mails I receive are subject to being used in the column.

Until next week, happy hunting!