Genealogy Research Project
(The first 15 points are covered in the three previous articles.)
By now if you have been following the step by step procedures outline here you will have started to recognize the importance of doing your genealogy research project in this manner.
Continue on to the conclusion and I guarantee that you will have success in finding those missing links. There are always records some where that will help you to prove your connection to these people. It is up to you to keep digging until you find the proof.
16 - Your state vital records for Births, Deaths and Marriages will be located usually at your state capital. Some states have them published on line and you could do a Google search to find them. Old newspaper articles will be the best way of finding the right dates and names for these key points in people's lives, and then you must document them with copies of the official vital records documents.
17 - The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is online and free. It can be searched at ancestry and the USGenWeb. You can also download many free forms such as census extraction forms from ancestry and cyndislist. By using these newly discovered death dates and old newspaper articles you will find many more clues to your family history.
18 - Maps are extremely helpful in putting your ancestors in a certain location and time period. Many of the earlier cadastral maps will show the names of the property owners on the maps. There are some very good sites that you will be able to look at old maps, current and old topographical maps, aerial and satellite photos and many other very useful free sites of interest. It is best to Google these terms also because the sites keep changing.
19 - This is a hobby that will consume you if you get hooked, but set some goals and go out and record that data. Buy books, take courses, have fun. A great book that you will want to have a copy of is titled, "Step by Step Genealogy Guide".
20 - In closing I wish to thank you for reading these tips and if I can leave you with the very most important single thing it is this. Document your sources! Make good citations of each and every point and detail that you record in your spiral notebooks and then enter into your computer database. Make sure you record the date and location that you obtained each fact. You can thank me in ten years for that bit of advice.
Happy hunting!
(The end.)
Rich Hill is the publisher of Old Newspaper Articles.
