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The purpose of this article is to provide a roadmap for a beginner who is seeking to identify ancestors through online research.

Getting Started in a Digitized Online Era
This is wonderful time to begin family history research. Every week, new resources are made available online.

To learn how to start online research, watch a 5 minute video: Find a Record in Five Minutes.

To start, go to familysearch.org and search for an online record of one of your ancestors. Tips to remember:


 * Look for someone who was born before 1930.
 * For your initial search, just enter the first and last names of the person.
 * If your search yields too many names, narrow the search by adding a life event (such as birth, marriage, residence or death) with a location and/or a time period to your search criteria.

FamilySearch has a number of tools to assist you in locating ancestors within the FamilySearch digitized, online records. For guidance, see FamilySearch Tips.

Gather Family Resources
Perhaps you cannot conduct the introductory search for a record because you don't know the name of an ancestor born before 1930, In that event, you should interview relatives to learn more about your immediate ancestors.

In any event, before further online research, gather information closer to you:


 * To lay a solid foundation for further online research, based uponaccurate information.
 * To obtain information that cannot be found online because of privacy concerns.
 * To obtain information about living ancestors.

Tips for obtaining family history information from relatives are in the 5 minute video: Learn from Family. Also, the linked lesson provides information on conducting interviews.

As you interview relatives, gather items that are sources of family history, such as:


 * Birth, marriage, and death certificates,
 * Family Bibles
 * Family records
 * Journals, diaries, and letters
 * Old photographs
 * Obituaries and newspaper clippings

In your quest for information, go beyond your immediate family. It is likely that your second cousin, great-aunt, or other relative already has some family information.

Organize Your Information
As you start to gather information, you must organize that information. For an introduction, watch the 5 minute video: Record What You Know.

The key to organization is the family group record.

Family group records and related information are organized most effectively by using computer genealogy software. Obtain your choice of software if you do not currently have genealogy software. For links to Windows genealogy software, see Windows Genealogy Software. For links to Mac genealogy software, see Mac Genealogy Software.

For an overview of the process for obtaining and recording information, view the 12 minute lesson on Getting Starting in Family History Research.

Organize Your Research Efforts
To plan and document your research, a reserarch log is essential. For further information, view the 21 minute lecture: Research Logs.

Search Existing Genealogy Collections
To avoid duplication of effort, determine what compiled records already exist in genealogy collections. See also Major Databases for Beginning United States Research.

To locate compiled records within FamilySearch, select the Trees tab within FamilySearch.

Be cautious in using compiled records, particularly records that do not cite sources. Compiled records contain many errors. They should not be accepted as fact unless supported by reliable sources., but may point you in the right direction.

Do not be discouraged if you find many compiled records without source citations. Remember:


 * Each undocumented compiled record provides a clue for further research.
 * Don't try to research every line; select a particular ancestor for further research.
 * You can learn how to coordinate your research with others.

Begin Your Research with Census and Vital Records
For each ancestor whom you choose to research, your starting points are to:


 * 1) Document key events in the ancestor's life, particularly date and place of birth, marriage and death.
 * 2) Place the individual ancestor in a family setting.

To accomplish these goals, your key starting documents are census records and vital records.

Value of Census Records
The best records containing information about entire families are the census records. With on-line indexes available, census records provide the easiest means to locate where ancestors lived during census years.

Census records are particularly valuable because they can also be used to:


 * Follow the family over time;
 * Determine family relationships;
 * Obtain details about lives of ancestors; and
 * Find clues to locate other records.

Availability of On-Line Census Indexes and Records
For any country, one can use FamilySearch:Wiki to learn about the availability of on-line census indexes and records. Within FamilySearch:Wiki, browse by country, select the country, and then select the topic "Census."

For guidance in locating and using United States census records and indexes, continue below.

Availability of Census Records for the United States
The federal census began in 1790. From 1850, census records show all individuals living in a household. Other than the 1890 census, which was destroyed by fire, census records are publicly available through the 1930 census. The 1940 census records will be available in 2012.

Many states had state censuses, often five years after the federal census. For information about and, in many cases, access to state census records, go to Historical Record Collections and check the index by state.

Guidance in the Use of Census Records
For a 5 minute introduction to 1930 census, see Exploring Census Records. For a 45 minute online lesson on the use of census records, see Tiff's Census Class.

For written guidance, see United States Census and United States, How to Use Census Records.

Indexes to Census Records
The starting point for searching census records are the United States Census Indexes. Through FamilySearch.org, one can obtain free access to indexed census records for the 1850 census, the 1860 census, the 1870 census, the 1880 census, the 1900 census, the 1910 census, the 1920 census and the 1930 census. For access to census records before 1850, see United States Census Indexes.

Click here for tips in searching census indexes.

Online Images of Census Records
HeritageQuest, available at selected libraries, has images to all available U.S. federal census population schedules from 1790 to 1930.

Ancestry.com ($), a subscription Internet site, has indexes and images to all available U.S. federal census population schedules from 1790 to 1930. This site is available for free at selected libraries and archives, including the Family History Library and larger Family History Centers.

To view free online images of United States census records, go to Internet Archive of the Allan County Public Library. To find the desired census record, write down the follow information from the index:


 * census year
 * state
 * enumeration district
 * sheet number, family number, and line number

From the index to the Internet Archive of the Allan County Public Library, select the census year. Then for that census year, locate the county and enumeration district. Within the film that contains the desired enumeration district, scroll along the bottom of the screen until you find the desired enumeration district. Then find the sheet number and the family number or line number. This will show the original entry.

Extracting Information from Census Records

 * To extract information from census records, you can download census worksheets.
 * Remember to check out every census on which you expect to find an ancestor.
 * Click here for tips on analyzing census data.

Obtain Vital Records
As you seek to identify and document your ancestors, you always want to look for primary sources. The most critical events in the lives an individual are birth, marriage and death. Thus, the most reliable family histories rely, whenever possible, on birth, marriage and death record (otherwise known as vital records).

Consult Research Wiki articles that discuss the history and use of United States Vital Records and the means to locate United States Vital Records.

Increasingly, states are digitizing their vital records and making them available online. Many such records are available on the FamilySearch Record Collection. For indexes and, in some cases, digitized records, go to Historical Records Collection and check the index by state.