There is a lot happening in genealogy research right now with websites changing their look and criteria, plus information is being added very quickly. I will attempt to list a few for your reference:

Footnote.com announced that they are “opening their Revolutionary War
Collection free to the public for your ancestry search. This unique collection features millions of
original records found nowhere else on the internet.”

This collection includes: Soldier Service Records, Revolutionary War
Pension Files, Payment Vouchers for Military Pensions, Letters and
correspondence from the Founding Fathers, and more.

With the basic, free, Footnote membership you will also be able to see any
other free images; create your own Footnote pages; spotlight images &
documents, upload, annotate and print your own images; and more. See the
“Join now” page for more details.

Ancestry.com has added new Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Files, 1800-1900 and more. Did you know that 60% of Americans have Revolutionary War roots? Ancestry has also upgraded the Federal Census for 1820 – 1840. If you don’t have Ancestry at home, most libraries have access and your Mormon libraries usually have access as well.

First, the Family Search group released 300,000 names on Friday to the Pilot Family Search site. So, you might want to go to http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start and do some searching.

Second, yes the Family Search group did release a new website – for beta testing. It is not complete and we, here at the conference, have been giving them an earful! It appears that the programing was done by those who have never even done genealogy. So what else is new! So, check it out and use the “Not getting the results you expect? Help us make them better” link in the upper right-hand side of the page to let them know of problems.

The Family Search group released 300,000 names recently to the Pilot Family Search site. So, you might want to go to http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#

Next, the Family Search group did release a new website – for beta testing. It is not complete and we, here at the conference, have been giving them an earful! It appears that the programing was done by those who have never even done genealogy. So what else is new! So, check it out and use the “Not getting the results you expect? Help us make them better” link in the upper right-hand side of the page to let them know of problems.

Some that have been noted include (but is by no means the entire list):

Library catalog:

Does not have the look and feel of a library catalog.

Does not list the call number of books.

Does not list the microfilm numbers.

Does not provide related places.

Does not separate out the State, county, city, etc. records.

Does not contain all of the items listed in the “old” catalog.

Too many clicks of the mouse to drill down to the records you are trying to find.

Trees:

Does not include the Pedigree Resource File.

Does not provide the pedigree chart for a family.

Does not provide a family group sheet for a family.

Difficult to see the children of each wife when a man has more than one wife.

And, finally NARA is reviewing 4 new looks to make is easier to navigate their website. There is also a Facebook page for NARA.

Many counties have genealogy societies that post a lot of information as well. Everyday there seems to be more information accessible on the internet for our ancestry search. It is wonderful to be able to do so much research from your home. Happy hunting!

First, you start with yourself and immediate family.  The best thing to do is use a family tree form or group sheet which you can find free on the internet to write basic information, or copy and paste the one below.  Write your full name, birth date and place, marriage date and place. If you’re married you write the same information for your spouse and children.  Documentation for each event is necessary in research.  Write the surname in capital letters.  When writing dates you would write 30 October 2009, as an example.  Once you get started you may find this process is a bit addictive, as I did.

Obviously having only this information would be a bit boring one hundred years from now, so you want to add other pertinent events with dates, graduations, baptisms, including divorces, second marriages and pictures.  Medical information is also very important to future generations.  Try to leave a picture of your life for your relatives as if they were reading a good novel.

The next step is writing the same information for your parents, including death and place of death, when applicable.  List your siblings, including their children if applicable.  Using a family group sheet for each family is the easiest way to keep track of the families.  There are many types available but the necessary information is the same.  Then, you will want to use a pedigree file as the family group gets larger.  It is so important to list information accurately, especially if you want to join one of the many genealogy organizations where you must prove your heritage.

Note: If you are adopted some choose to list only the adoptive parents, others wish to list information from their birth parents.

You will want to talk to all your oldest living relatives.  Make a list and visit everyone if possible.  They will have stories and they will be able to answer many questions easily that would take a great deal of time in research.  Making a list of questions before your visits can be helpful.  They can tell you stories about those that have passed away and you may find there were some relatives you have never heard of before.

Review your information as you work starting again with you and moving up the line.  The research can get out of hand if you don’t keep things well organized.  I have a file for each family with copies of legal documents.  Some people have them in labeled brown envelopes.

There is much to be learned by joining your local genealogy society, even if you are not living in the place where you grew up.  The internet is absolutely growing by leaps and bounds with new genealogy information.  Ancestry.com is probably the best known but it does cost to join.  The Family History site of the Mormon Church is also a terrific place to do research.  You will become familiar with census from 1790-1930.  For a detailed article explaining each census see http://hubpages.com/hub/Genealogy-I-mportance-of-Federal-Census

There are several computer programs to store your information.  The best known are Family Tree, Legacy, and Roots Web.  They are all good programs and relatively inexpensive.  This keeps all information at your fingertips.

You have a big job ahead of you, so its time to get started!