If you are new to genealogy, welcome to many sleepless nights! You are about to embark on a wonderful adventure of discoveries, and uncover (part of) the story of all of those who contributed to make who you are.

I wanted to share a few suggestions with anyone just starting their genealogy because there are things I wish I had done when I started my own genealogy. So here is to your story:

Speak to the “living” – Talk to your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents if they are still alive, aunts, uncles, cousins, your grandparents’ neighbors, if you know them, the baker at the village where your grandmother was going every day to buy her baguette (well… that’s the French in me talking… here in the U.S., make it the grocery store!)… Have them share their stories and memories. Everything they are willing to share is a treasure. Every detail is important, even if it doesn’t seem to be at the moment you hear it. If possible, and with their knowledge and authorization, record them, film them. At a minimum, write down the information they shared. You might think “I’ll remember that”, but with time, little details get forgotten, and then, “it’s too late”. Recordings are also wonderful for future generations who will not know this grandparent or great-grandparent.

When talking to several family members, keep in mind that we all may have (had) a very different connection and relationship with the person we are interested in. For instance, two siblings or two cousins might have very different childhood memories of their parents or grandparents. You might hear “She was so nice, always telling me a story before bedtime, always laughing”, but another family member say “She was very distant, I didn’t see her very often”.

Be prepared to discover sad stories, or “shocking” secrets (“Really? My grandmother was adopted and that branch of my lineage stops here?” – “My grandfather is actually not my “real” grandfather?” – “My great-grandfather was married before and had several children with his first wife?” – “One of my ancestors went to jail?” – “My grandmother had a twin sister who died during the war?”). Be also prepared for not learning everything you would have wanted, and get resistance from some people you talk to. There are usually little (or big) secrets in families, and some people simply prefer to keep it just that… a secret! Some secrets might also be painful and bring back too many sad memories for your family member. So respect their decision of not revealing everything, but gently “push them” to talk about anything else they are willing to share.

Tree – Choose where to build your tree – Do your research ahead of time to decide if you want an online tree (research cost, accessibility, “hidden” bad surprises such as “Your tree is free on our site!!” but then, as soon as you click on a link to verify a match from another person or access a record, you are asked to pay a very expensive amount of money to get the information). While I completely agree that any service should be rewarded (few people work for free), I think some websites are way, way too pricey. I had started my tree on a website, but quickly changed. So I chose Geneanet to rebuild my tree from scratch in 2016, and I am so happy with my choice. I have the “Premium” version ($50/year) that gives me access to, among other things, back up of my tree every 24 hours, matches from other Geneanet members’ trees, access to the online library, and more. I also really like the design and functionality of it (and no: I do not work for Geneanet, if you are wondering :)).

Do look at other genealogy platforms and other people’s trees, but personally, I choose to not import any “matched” tree. I had done that on the first website I had started my tree with, and realized later that there were some errors.

Organization – Have a system in place to keep all your information together. Whether it’s a “Word”, “Pages”, “Notes” document where you keep all your notes, and a folder for archives/pictures files, and an online tree, Excel tree, or genealogy software on your computer. The more organized you are, the easier it will be later on.

Research and Sources – Verify and add the sources of your research. There are multiple reasons for this. First, you’ll then know the information has been verified by you. Also, if you need one day to go back to a site, or someone else’s tree, to find the source for a particular ancestor, it will save you a lot of time and frustration. It’s also very helpful to other people consulting your tree: they can easily access the same source if you added a link or the source location, and they also can tell that you have done a serious and thorough research, and not “just copied and pasted” the information you found online. Always verify the sources yourself, unless you know for a fact that the person who gave you some ancestor’s information from another tree did a serious research.

Your direct ancestors and collateral individuals. In your tree, add not only your direct ancestors, but also the collateral individuals (siblings, aunts, uncles) and their spouses. There are several reasons for this. First, it allows you to get familiar with the names of your family. Also, our ancestors often lived in the same village for generations, and it will help you find families. Lastly, your might be “stuck” on a branch because a record is difficult to read, or was destroyed, but you can find the missing information in another record for their sibling, for instance.

Have fun writing your own story!

I wish you all the best in your genealogy journey!

Isabelle

Phoenix, AZ, March 13, 2023