Research Roadmap for Beginners

Tips to Get Started

1. Start with yourself, and work your way backwards

  • Use a family group sheet to write down your full name, birth date, and birthplace
  • Then, write down the same information for your grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. (as much as you know)

2. Gather what you currently have:

  • Family Bibles
  • Photos
  • Obituaries, Funeral programs, and/or newspaper death notices
  • Old letters
  • Birth, Marriage and Death certificates

3. Interview older relatives and record conversations, if possible. Note family stories about:

  • Mention of older relatives the person remembers
  • Personal stories
  • Enslavement
  • Migrations
  • Occupations
  • Schools attended
  • Any ancestors with military service
  • Any churches/religious denominations and affiliations
  • Land ownership

4 . Once you’ve completed steps 1-3, create an online account for one of the following websites (or both):

5 . Come check us out and we will show where to go from here!