Geneaology?

Question:

Geneaology?

I'm thinking about going to my library's geneaology dept. and search through my family roots. I was just wondering how it works, really. Is it seperated by family name? State? What? Any info. you can provide would be appreciated!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: The best way to approach your visit to your library's genealogy department is to do some groundwork first.

Begin with yourself.
Who is your father? mother? (maiden names?)
Who are your grandparents? great-grandparents? great-great grandparents? etc.?
Birth dates? Marriage dates? Death dates?
As far back as you can go just based on your own knowledge.

It helps to write things down. There is a chart that family researchers use called a pedigree chart. This chart can be found on the internet. Fill out a pedigree chart--again as much as you can based on your own knowledge.

Take this chart with you when you go to the library. Ask the librarians if they can help you go further and help you start finding out what you do not already know. Keep in mind there is no single path forward. It all depends on the details of what you know.

Some key questions at every step: Where and When? For example: Where were your grand-parents married? When? The specific answers to these types of questions will determine where the best place to go for further information.

If you can identify (great?) grandparents who were married in the United States prior to 1930, you can look them up in the Federal Census.

If you know the state and county in which they were married, sometimes (not always) the marriage record will identify the parents of the bride and groom.

Again everything depends on the specifics of your individual ancestors and the quality of record keeping in the time and place where they lived.

What the specific genealogy department can do for you will depend on the types of records they either have or have access to.

Personally, I would not start with the family name materials. I have seen many a new researcher (including myself) waste a lot of time researching individuals with their family names who were probably not related to them.

Start learning the records for the times and places your known relatives lived.