Internet Sites
Several Internet sites include guides for getting started with family history research. Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, has posted a new site called "Finding Your Ancestors." This site also includes useful audio clips. For Latter-day Saints, a related site is available, "Providing Temple Ordinances for Your Ancestors." However, the new TempleReady program described at this Web site may only be used at LDS Family History Centers.

The Family and Church History Department's Web site, FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service, includes a new Research Guidance section, as well as help for beginning genealogists. At this site you can search databases containing millions of names, and also get links to many related Internet sites. One of the most useful areas this site offers is a description of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and access to most features of the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC).

The RootsWeb.com site, "RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees" includes links to "Where to Begin?" and other useful helps for beginners. Also available at this site are links to articles describing records about research in various foreign countries and descriptions of basic American records, such as census and church records. Myra Vanderpool Gormley is the author of "Shaking Your Family Tree" hosted at RootsWeb.com. Myra includes information for beginning genealogists and a discussion of genealogical records, such as immigration records, military records, and so forth.

Ancestry.com posts helpful articles from online genealogy columnists and others. Ancestry’s site also includes a “Getting Started” section. Sample articles include how to get started and descriptions of various record sources. Free genealogy charts and forms may be downloaded at this site, such as research calendars and extract forms.

More Tips for Getting Started
After working at the Family History Library for several years, I discovered that many people wanted to trace their family tree too far too fast. One person wrote to me and wanted help finding the English origin of an ancestor, but there were several generations still missing in Ohio. It is best to work on one pedigree objective at a time, working from the known to the unknown, and documenting each generation.

Some people become overwhelmed because they try to do too much. I assisted one patron at the Family History Library who took some 9,000 family group records with her. It would be better to place your family group records, pedigree charts, and research notes in a manila folder and only take three or four families with you when you go to the library to do research. It is good to have an effective note-keeping system. I like to print out records from the Family History Library Catalog from my home computer using the FHLC on compact disc (available from Church Distribution, order number 50081).

See my article, "Using the Family History Library Catalog" for more information regarding the Family History Library Catalog.

Always look for spelling variations of surnames (last names), given (first) names, and place names (localities). I once found my ancestor's given name spelled four different ways on one page of a Civil War pension file at the National Archives. People were not concerned about how their name was spelled. In addition, there are transcription and printing errors in some of the printed census indexes, especially those covering 1790-1850. Errors may also be found in abstracts and transcriptions of records. See my article, "Naming Patterns: Tips for Finding Your Ancestors."

For Further Reference
Crandall, Ralph. Shaking Your Family Tree: A Basic Guide to Tracing Your Family's Genealogy. Dublin, N.H.: Yankee Publishing, 1986.

Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2000.

Jacobus, Donald Lines. Genealogy as Pastime and Profession. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968.

Rubincam, Milton. Pitfalls in Genealogical Research. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1987.

Szucs, Loretto Dennis. Family History Made Easy. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1998.

Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, eds. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Rev. ed. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997.