So, you’ve successfully completed the first step in beginning your genealogy research and conducted an interview with one of your relatives, but how do you use the information you’ve gathered from the interview to begin your research?
This next step is where genealogical research plans come into play. A genealogical research plan allows for increased efficiency and helps the research stay focused. Sticking to a research plan will alleviate the researcher from pursuing unnecessary tangents (“going down the rabbit hole”) and researching areas that aren’t related to their original research goals.
In this blog, we’ll discuss how to create two different types of genealogical research plans that can be used to begin researching family history. The first, simpler, research plan has five steps and should be used for targeting more specific information about an ancestor, while the second plan has ten steps, and serves as a full guide to tracing a family tree.
HOW TO CREATE A GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH PLAN FOR TARGETING SPECIFIC INFORMATION
The overall goal of creating this type of genealogical research plan is to pinpoint the information you seek to uncover and put together the questions that must be answered in order to reveal your desired information. Such research plans are used by the majority of professional genealogists when conducting research, even if the plans are relatively short. But what are the steps that go into making a quality research plan for targeting specific information in genealogy?
STEP ONE: PICK AN OBJECTIVE
When you first start on your plan, it’s a good time to ask yourself what it is exactly that you wish to learn about your ancestor. These questions include information such as their marriage date, spouse’s name, where they lived at a particular point in time, when they died, etc. Try to be really particular when deciding on a question. Singling out one specific question will help keep your research focused and prevent it from going off-track (which tends to occur frequently when researching genealogy).
STEP TWO: LIST OUT THE KNOWN FACTS
Ask yourself what you already know about your ancestors. This approach includes information such as names, relationships, dates, and places that are verified through original records. Look for important documents, papers, photos, diaries, and family trees in your family and home sources as well as continuing to interview your relatives in order to finish piecing together missing information.
STEP THREE: DETERMINE YOUR WORKING HYPOTHESIS
Determine what the possible or presumed conclusions are that you wish to verify with your genealogical research. For example, imagine you would like to know when your ancestor died. In most cases, you would probably hypothesize that they passed away in the last location they were known to be living.
STEP FOUR: IDENTIFY SOURCES
Now that you have your hypothesis, decide which records are most likely to support it. These are usually records such as census records, marriage records, land deeds, etc. Make a list of these possible sources and specify where you will obtain your information from — libraries, archives, genealogical communities, or online websites where the records and resources have been published to allow for public research.
STEP FIVE: LAYOUT YOUR RESEARCH STRATEGY
The last step in creating your genealogical research plan is to decide the most effective order to use. You might even have to visit the various places you intend to obtain your information from, while keeping in mind which records are available as well as your specific research needs at that time. Generally, your research strategy will be organized according to the available records’ probability of containing the information you’re targeting. However, it also may be influenced by factors including reachability (is it reachable online or do you have to physically travel to the destination) as well as the cost of the records. An additional tip is to take into consideration that certain information you require from one particular record type may become easier to access through locating other records that provide relevant information to that particular record type. For example, if you have located information using a census record, the information found may lead you to research other record types such as city directories, voter registration lists, etc.
EXAMPLE: GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH PLAN FOR TARGETING SPECIFIC INFORMATION
OBJECTIVE
Find the cause of death for Kay Nell HERMS.
KNOWN FACTS
- According to descendants, Kay Nell HERMS was born to Albert HERMS and Lauren HUBENTHAL in 1940 and died only three years later in 1943.
WORKING HYPOTHESIS
Since Kay Nell supposedly died in 1943 (according to family members), her death certificate should be available to be viewed online. (Texas began registering deaths as early as 1903.) The Find a Grave Indexes will also be a viable place to search, as they tend to have valuable information when researching deaths.
IDENTIFIED SOURCES
- Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982
- Texas, U.S., Death Index, 1903-2000
- U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
RESEARCH STRATEGY
- View the Texas Death Index to verify her death date.
- Check her death certificate for a cause of death.
- Search the Find a Grave index for Kay Nell HERMS to see if a cause of death is listed.
If your discoveries come back inconclusive when executing your genealogical research plan, don’t lose hope. Just rethink your original objective and hypothesis to realign with the new information you’ve discovered thus far.
HOW TO CREATE A GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH PLAN TO TRACE YOUR FAMILY TREE
STEP ONE: FIND WHAT’S HIDDEN AROUND THE HOUSE
The best starting point in beginning your family tree is to begin gathering up all the information you already have — important papers, photos, documents, and family heirlooms. Dig through your attic, basement, the filing cabinet, the back of the closet, or wherever these documents may be. Next, get in touch with your relatives to check if they have any important family documents that they may be inclined to share with you. Notable clues regarding your family history may be discovered on the back of an old photo, a family bible, or maybe even an old postcard. If your relative seems to be hesitant with lending an original document, ask permission to have copies made or to take pictures of the photos and/or documents.
STEP TWO: ASK YOUR RELATIVES FOR INFORMATION
While you’re busy gathering records, allow time to interview your family members. Begin with your parents, and progress back from there. Remember to aim to collect stories, not just names and dates, and to ask open-ended questions. As noted in the previous blog post, the interview could bring the two parties closer and create a more meaningful bond; an added bonus!
STEP THREE: BEGIN WRITING EVERYTHING DOWN
Write down all the information you have learned from your family and begin entering the information into a pedigree or traditional family tree chart.
STEP FOUR: WHO DO YOU WANT TO FOCUS ON FIRST?
As thrilling as it would be, you can’t research your entire family tree at once, so decide with whom and where you would like to begin your research. Ask yourself whether you would like to begin researching your maternal, or paternal side. Pick out one singular surname, individual, or family to focus your research and create a simple research plan like we previously discussed. Narrowing down your family history search serves to help keep your research on course, and minimizes the possibility of missing key details due to an overabundance of information.
STEP FIVE: EXPLORE WHAT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ONLINE
Traverse the internet for information clues pertaining to your ancestors. Adequate places to visit first include online pedigree databases, message boards, and resources pertaining to your ancestor’s location.
STEP SIX: ACQUAINT YOURSELF WITH AVAILABLE RECORDS
Gain a basic understanding of the vast array of record types that may be of use to you in your search for your ancestors including wills, marriage and death records, land deeds, immigration records, military records, etc.
STEP SEVEN: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST GENEALOGY LIBRARY
Take a trip to your local Family History Center or even the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, where you will be granted access to the world’s largest assortment of genealogical information. If you find yourself unable to visit one in person, the library has digitized millions of its records and made them available online to the public for free through its FamilySearch website.
STEP EIGHT: ORGANIZE AND DOCUMENT YOUR NEWLY DISCOVERED INFORMATION
As you take in new information about your relatives, make sure you write it down. Take notes, make photocopies, and take photos, to then create an organization system, whether physical or digital, to save and log your findings. It’s a good idea to keep a research log that documents information you’ve searched as well as what you have uncovered and what still needs to be uncovered along the way.
STEP NINE: GET OUT AND GO LOCAL
While you can conduct a great amount of research remotely, odds are at some point in time you will end up wanting to take a trip to see the places your ancestors lived in person. Visit the cemetery where your ancestor is buried, the church they attended, and even the local courthouse to further explore records that were left behind throughout the duration of their time in the area. Contemplate a trip to the county and / or state archives too, as they often hold historical records from the community as well.
STEP TEN: REPEAT WHEN NECESSARY
If you have researched that particular ancestor as far as you can possibly go, or notice yourself becoming increasingly frustrated, it is the appropriate time to take a break. Always remember genealogy is supposed to be enjoyable. Once you are ready to resume uncovering your family’s mysteries, revisit step four and select a new ancestor to start researching.
Now that you know how to successfully plan your research, our next blog post will share some of the best tips and tricks that everyone should be using in their genealogy research.
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