How to Do Family History Research

In this column we will be bringing you ideas and tips on how to go about researching your ancestors. Each month there will be a theme. To start off, we look at a common question: just where do you start?

The best place to begin is to gather all the information you already have. Do you have any old photos of grandparents or great-grandparents? Or great-aunts and uncles? What about old letters or diaries or journals? Or the family bible? These can be a mine of information if you look through them carefully. They may tell you where an ancestor lived, or what they did for a living, or give you a birth or death date. They may give you the names of the ancestor's parents, or brothers and sisters.

All this information will be invaluable when you come to start looking up your ancestors in the records. And there are bound to be family stories which you can collect and write down - but beware, family stories have a way of turning out to be semi-mythical, and need to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Once you have gathered all the information you have, then it will be time to turn to the records. Devon County Council has a website on Family History which will give you an idea of the kinds of records which are available:

http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/councildemocracy/record_office/family_history_3.htm

Susan Francia is a genealogist and family history researcher.

Email: fhistoryresearch@gmail.com

Website: www.family-historyresearch.co.uk

Tel: 01822 841811

Free initial consultation