I have had several people ask me how to get started in family history. I tell them it depends on what they want to accomplish, what their goal is. This is true but there are some things that anyone should do when the begin doing family history research.
The first thing I tell people to do is to start with what they know. Some people tell me that they don't know very much. That's okay. Don't worry about what you don't know, just write down what you do know. When people start writing down what they know they are often surprised how much they really do know.
So start with yourself and record what you know. Then do the same thing for your parents and your grandparents. The next step is to go through any pictures, documents, letters, journals or other records you can find. Once you get started you will be amazed at all the information you never knew you had.
The next step is to talk to living relatives. Find out what they know. They may say they don't know much. Tell them not to worry about what they don't know. You are looking for what they do know. You may both be amazed at the information you get. Sometimes the most important piece of information you will get is who they suggest you talk to for the information you are looking for.
I know that we go in looking for names, dates and places but gather the stories and pictures too. These are what will make your ancestors real to you. I don't know about you, but for me, one of the main reasons I do family history is to get to know my ancestors
