1. How to Start your Family
History

2. Genealogy
Genealogy: Collecting dead relatives and
sometimes a live cousin!
Genealogy: Where you confuse the dead and
irritate the living.
When we die, we become 'stories' in the minds
of other people.

3. Genealogy
 My Passion with many benefits
 Stories and pictures
 A gun and the “Family Bible”
 Dedication ceremony
 New relatives (Rick, Pres. Zachary
Taylor, Lady Bird, cousins, etc.)
 Daddy’s war letters

4. How to Start your Family
History

5. Step 1: Remember your
Ancestors
 Begin by remembering information
about each member in your family that
will identify that person. Each person
can be identified by personal
information, such as the following:

6. Information
 Name ･
 Other members of the family
 Dates and places of important events
such as birth, marriage, and death
 Occupation

7. A Place to Start
 First fill out a form for your own family,
and then work back to your parents
and grandparents. You can quickly see
what you know and what information is
missing or incomplete.

9. Step 2. Use Sources in Your
Home
 Look for sources in your home that
might contain the missing or
incomplete family information.
 What might that be?

10. Sources in your home
 Useful sources include birth, marriage,
and death certificates; family Bibles;
funeral programs; obituaries; wedding
announcements; family registers; and
ancestral tablets.
 Create a family bag or box if you have
not already.

11. Step 3. Ask Relatives for
Information
 Contact the relatives - visit, call, write,
or e-mail them.
 Be sure to ask specifically for the
information you would like. (For
example, "Do you know when Aunt
Jane was born?")

12. Step 4. Choose a Family or
Ancestor You Want to Learn
More About
 Select a family or ancestor with
missing or incomplete information. ･
Start with the generations closest to
you, and work your way back.
Usually, it is easier to find information
for a family member or ancestor born
in a recent period.

13. Step 5. See if Someone Else
Has Already Found the
Information
 Look for a published family history.
 Use the internet to see what research
has been done.

14. Step 6. Search Records for
Information about Your
Ancestor.
 Find copies of original records, such
as censuses and birth records, based
on where the person lived and the
time of his or her birth, marriage, or
death.
 Court records – land titles

15. Family Tree Format
 Geneology standard date format :
05 August 1957
 Females use maiden names
 Gedcom files

16. Organization
Start with one notebook, with dividers. As
you gain information you will keep
adding notebooks for each parent’s
line. Then you will add notebooks for
each family line.

17. Forms
 ･ Pedigree Chart -A pedigree chart lets you
list your pedigree (your parents,
grandparents, great grandparents, and so
on).
 ･ Family Group Record -A family group
record lets you list an entire family and their
information. You will need several copies.
 Descendant charts

18. “Cousins, Once removed!!”
Kennith &
Bennie Scoggins
Diana Ferguson Marilyn Davis
Justin Ferguson Greg Davis First cousins
Jonah Ferguson Kayah Second cousins
First Cousin - the people that have the same
grandparents.
Second Cousin - the people that have the same great-
grandparents
Removed - is used to describe people from different
generations.

19. Ask questions while you are
young. You will have
regrets some day,
because you did not ask
nor pay attention!

20. Genealogy meets
Technology
 You will find these on the GMS website
on the genealogy link.
 http://www.gunterisd.org/gms/index.html

22. Do a Wordle

23. Type With Me
 http://typewith.me/Oqiu35um3c
 Send an email with this link to relatives
that might have some information that
you can use for this project.

24. Animoto

25. Prezi
 Power Point on steroids in the cloud!

26. Google Maps
 My Genealogy Maps - Birthplaces

27. Google Docs
Scrapbook Album
 Google Doc – Scrapbook Album

28. Ancestry.com
 Website
 Is there an App for that?
Of Course!!!
I do not leave home without my genealogy!

29. Collaborate with Others
 Do a family blog.
http://mdsmemories.blogspot.com/
 Do a photo gallery
http://picasaweb.google.com/marilynsdavis

30. Preserve Photographs
 An old picture, means less if you don’t
know who the picture is of or where
taken. Record information with dates!
 Digitize valuable pictures. (tiff before
jpg / highest resolution)
 Take older pictures out of photo
albums that have acid base pages.
 Ziploc baggies is a GREAT solution!

31. Digital Pictures
 Back up, Back up, and Back up!
 External hard-drives
 Burned CD or DVD
 Extra memory card
 Update with new technology

32. In Conclusions
 A family tree can wither if nobody tends
it's roots.
 Trees without roots fall over