STARTING YOUR FAMILY TREE - STEP 2

Post date: Jan 19, 2015 11:12:44 PM

TALK TO EVERYONE, DO IT OFTEN, and START NOW

Step 1 (see Starting Your Family Tree - Step 1) was about focusing on what you know. Step 2 will focus on the first-hand knowledge of other members of your family, as well as the first-hand knowledge of close family friends.

Talk to everyone! Talk with your siblings, your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even with people who you know that knew your ancestors. Spend time interviewing as many people as possible, either one-on-one, or in a group setting if possible. Frequently, one person’s recounting of their knowledge about people or events can help to trigger memories in other members of your family.

For this step, only rely on people’s first-hand knowledge of people and events. Do not rely on their research, unless it is clearly documented. I refer you to the WARNING described in Starting Your Family Tree - Step 1.

WARNING - Many family traditions include include stories of having Native American ancestors, descent from famous historic figures (i.e., royalty), or shared relationships with famous people who may or may not share the same or similar surname. A great percentage of these stories turn out to be untrue. If Aunt Mabel says that her great grandfather had been a Cherokee, of if Uncle Harry says that you share a common distant ancestor with Neil Armstrong, keep a note of these stories, but do not include these "facts" in your tree just yet. You will want to follow up on these stories as you get further along in your research.

Many people do not begin researching their family history until their parents have already passed. If you are reading this, I hope that you are one of those lucky enough to still have parents or grandparents who can provide valuable information. If not, reach out to your siblings, cousins, and friends of you parents.

When speaking with anyone, but perhaps especially with those over a certain age, it is a good idea to be prepared with family photographs, and to ask whomever you are interviewing, if they can bring with them to your interview, photographs of your family and ancestors. Not only can these photographs often spark memories, but they will often make a fantastic addition to your family history if you can incorporate them into your tree.

Follow up! Conversations about people and events can frequently trigger memories about things related to those people and events after the conversation. Having the initial conversation is a great start, but you may be surprised by how many additional details begin to creep out during subsequent conversations.

Do it now! Don’t wait until you all get together for the holidays. Start the conversations over the phone, via email, or through the mail if necessary. You can always continue the interviews when you next get together. Not only will these initial conversations help to prompt memories that may be more accessible when you get together, it will provide you with the ability to be more prepared to interview them when you see them.

Throughout this process, take copious notes and ask many questions. It is also a great idea to record as much of the interviews as possible. Audio recordings are fine for now, but video recordings of these interviews will become even more valuable in years to come.

Please feel free to contact me at mail@ancestorsandcousins.com with any questions.

Watch this space for step 3, soon to come.