Identify What You Know

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Step 1: Identify What You Know.

Start by reviewing what information you already know. Record that information on appropriate forms and keep your records organized.

By the end of step one you should have:


 * Facts and information recorded on family group records, pedigree charts, and if desired in personal and family history notes.
 * Organized copies of documents and family memorabilia.

= Use Appropriate Forms =

Begin by carefully recording and organizing your information so important facts and clues will not be lost. To help record the information you already know about family members, you may want to use forms including family group records, and pedigree charts designed for this purpose. Using forms familiar to other researchers assures that they will understand the information you have found. The following forms, used by most researchers, can be purchased at genealogical stores, the Family History Library, Family History Centers, and most genealogical libraries:

Family Group Record
Family group records are forms with space to record information about the parents and children in one family. Good family group records show names, dates and places of births, marriages, and deaths (see the example to the right). Better family group records cite the sources for these events in the lives of family members. Thanks to computers, the best family group records also can easily display additional events such as censuses, change of residence, land purchases or sales, wills proved, and any other events in the family members' lives.

Start research on a new family by compiling a well-documented family group record. This will help you gather, correlate, and analyze information. A well source-footnoted family group record bristles with clues to help you find further sources. For a more detailed explanation of their value see Family group record: roadmap for researchers.

You may need additional pages for large families. While modern family group records are usually letter size, other sizes such as legal size have been common in the past and can still be used.

Create a family group record for each couple on your pedigree chart. A four-generation pedigree chart has seven couples, so you would make up to seven family group records for such a pedigree.

For a person who married more than once, make another family group record for each additional marriage, especially if the marriage produced children.

Pedigree Chart
Most pedigree charts, sometimes called “Ancestor” or “Lineage” Charts, have space for four or five generations (parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.) There is space for dates and places of birth, marriage, and death. See the nearby example. Ancestral lines can continue onto other charts.

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