So, you’ve decided you’d like to document your family tree? Sometimes, people start this in order to gift their parents or grandparents a plaque or chart showing their ancestors or maybe their descendants. Not a lot of research is required for that, just family memories. However, it is usually during these quests that you discover there are gaps that memories can’t fill. Maybe Grandma was married twice and no one remembers the first guy. Or maybe there was an adopted child or one who left…there are many scenarios that cause us to lose track of people, believe it or not. I can recall a family that was affected by TB years ago. Over the course of a couple years all but one member of the family died from the disease. That remaining person was taken in by the husband’s side of the family and moved to a different state. It didn’t take long for memories of that person to became faint.
The place to start your family research is with what you already know. The next best source is the parents and grandparents in your tree. The siblings of your parents and grandparents, if they are still alive, can also provide just a ton of great information. Interview these family members, be sure to write down what they said and when they said it. Use Voice Record on your phone, to record the conversation. You never know when a detail in their story might validate some information you have located. Since not everybody is going to be interested in the family tree, having an actual interview might be awkward. Simplify it. Just have a conversation and ask a question or two. “Do you remember where Grandpa was born?” “I can’t remember, what is the name of the man cousin Jane married?” etc. While there are plenty of family legends that turn out to be a bit of a stretch, there is usually fact buried in there as well – so take everything you can get. Your combined memories will help point the way to the next round of details.
