How to Find Clues in Family Resources

The first step in the-actual investigation is of course that of gaining access to family documents, bibles, books, photograph albums and so on. One must also decide which side of the family will be traced, whether the male or female line.

Usually the male line traced, making for easier access to similar names throughout the relevant generations. Obviously, this is not nearly so easy when it is the female line featured as the centre of interest.

Also at this point one may make an educated but important decision about the name concerned. In past centuries many names arose from places, father's names, and sometimes from the trade one is engaged in, and so we come by many named 'London', 'Hill', 'Wood' (places); 'Williamson', 'Smithson' and 'Johnson' (father's names or 'son of '); or 'Baker' and 'Smith' (trades).

The normal process of gathering information, as we have already considered, begins with informal chats with members of your family, the older members whose memory can be relied on to uncover facts which until now had passed into those deep recesses and might otherwise never have been extracted if not for tracing your family's history.

Among the most relevant information needed at this stage are details about family members, names (even of those stillborn or who died at birth or shortly afterwards and whose existence might have been temporarily 'forgotten'), dates of birth, marriage details and dates, details and dates of death, and various other family events including baptisms, educational and career-related information, and so on.

Next, is the task of interviewing family, friends, and relatives; the older the better, as long of course as time has not weakened the memory. Old family legends are often the motivating reason in making that decision to trace and document the family tree. Stories of blue-blooded ancestors, famous relatives, criminals and heroes, all handed down from generation to generation. Many of these tales expanded on and elaborated with time, but it is always worth recording even the seemingly tallest and unlikely of stories; often a germ of truth or even an accurate legend to be still making the rounds of the family. Write it all down, or if your interviewees do not object, take a small recorder with you to tape the conversation ready for transcribing to paper when time allows. Among the best sources of information almost guaranteed to set you straight on course for access to the family history in recent decades, hopefully up to a century or more, are family bibles, photographs (often with messages written alongside or on the reverse), diaries, letters, and tombstones. Access to any of these items, even if you must sit and physically take notes from whatever source is available, will prove a more than worthwhile investment with the time, trouble, and sometimes expense involved.