Genealogy Basics
How to get started researching
your family history.
Laramie County Library System
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Genealogy Basics
Overview:
Record What You Already Know.
Start with yourself and work backwards.
Read a Genealogy How-To Book.
Begin Your Research at Home.
Look for Compiled (published) Information.
Research one Ancestral Line at a Time.
Look for Original Records:
Census Records
Vital Records
Social Security Death Index
Record What You Already
Know.
Using Pedigree Charts:
Begin with yourself and
work backwards one
generation at a time.
You are number 1.
Your father is number 2.
Your mother is number 3.
• Use maiden names.
Recording Information in
Pedigree Charts.
Write surnames in capital letters:
William James THOMAS
Write dates military style:
10 Aug 2006
Write names of places from smallest to
largest:
Cheyenne, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
Using Family Group Sheets.
A family group includes parents, children, and
the spouse of each of those children.
Prepare a family group sheet for
each couple, formally married
or not.
Include all children alive or
deceased.
Include adopted children,
but indicate adopted.
Show where you found the
information.
Work Backwards
From Known to Unknown.
Work backwards from the present to the past,
one generation at a time.
This will help you keep from making mistakes.
Dates and places of events are just as important
as names.
For every generation back the number of
ancestors doubles.
Know the history of where your ancestors
lived. The more general history you know of the
time and place your ancestors lived the easier your
research will be.
What are you looking for?:
Who
A full name, use a woman’s maiden name if known.
What
The event: birth, death, marriage, etc.
Where
A very important thing you need to know is the place
where a person was born, married, lived or died, etc.
When
An (at least) approximate date for a vital event
(birth, death, marriage, etc.)
Using paper forms:
Use pedigree (or ancestry) charts, family
group sheets, research logs, to get organized.
Paper genealogical forms are available for you
to copy in the LCLS Genealogy Room or at:
www.cyndislist.com/supplies.htm
www.familysearch.org/eng/home/welcome/start.asp
www.laramiecountylibrary.org/specialcollections/ge
ttingstarted
Using Genealogy
Software:
By using a genealogy software program you can:
Enter individual information
Link individuals together
Allow for as many notes as necessary
Share information with others
Download (copy) files from other people
Add photographs, video clips or pictures of family
memorabilia
Produce artistically pleasing and personally-designed
forms and charts
Search databases automatically
Genealogy Software Programs:
FREE:
Legacy Family Tree – Standard edition www.legacyfamilytree.com
Gramps gramps-project.org
Family Tree Legends www.familytreelegends.com
Personal Ancestral File (PAF) www.familysearch.org
For a small cost ($25-$50):
Family Tree Maker – Generations, Legacy Family Tree – Deluxe
edition, The Master Genealogist (TMG), RootsMagic, etc.
For the Mac:
Reunion
MacFamilyTree
Also GEDitCom, Genealogy Pro, Heredis, iFamily
Read a Genealogy How-to Book:
• The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy
Val D. Greenwood
• The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy
Loretta Dennis Szucs
• Complete Idiots Guide to Genealogy
Christine Rose
• The Everything Family Tree Book
Kimberly Powell
See my genealogy bibliography handout
(books are in the 929s on the 3rd Floor)
Use Home Sources:
These may be in your home or
the home of a relative:
Birth, marriage and death certificates
Deeds, wills, & titles
Diaries, journals, & birthday calendars
Family Bibles and Family trees
Funeral cards
Newspaper clippings
Military Service Records (and more - see handout)
Look for Compiled Information:
Learn what information on the family has
already appeared in books and periodicals.
Published information on your family could appear in
four types of resources:
• biographies,
• Genealogies (histories of specific families),
• local histories, and
• published original records (published vital records).
These resources are published as periodicals,
books, e-books and computer databases or
websites.
Evaluate Compiled Information:
Evaluate Written and Oral Evidence
Remember the old adage: Just because it's in
print (or online) doesn't make it true.
Be particularly wary copying other’s research.
Look to see if the book is documented; that is,
did the author cite a source for each fact?
Spot check some of the author's sources.
• Are you able to find a document based on the
footnotes or endnotes?
Finding Published Genealogies:
Look in WorldCat for books in other libraries.
From the www.laramiecountylibrary.org, click on
“WYLD Catalog”, then “Articles, test preparation,
readers advisory and more” .
Then choose “WorldCat”. You’ll need a library card
number and PIN. The default PIN is WYLD.
Ask the 3rd floor “Ask Here” desk to ILL
(Interlibrary Loan) the book for you.
We charge $2 for ILLs plus the lending library may also
charge an additional fee.
More Places to Find Published
Genealogies (Family Histories):
The LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake
City is the largest genealogy library in the world.
Go to www.familysearch.org and click on the
Library tab. Items with film notes can be
ordered from familysearch and viewed at the
Laramie County Library for $5.50 per film
(paid for by credit/debit card on their
website).
Google Books at books.google.com.
Look Online
for Family Histories:
LDS Family History Library at familysearch.org:
The Ancestral file contains information about 30 million +
persons. Each person is linked to a family and through their
family back in time as many generations as family
researchers have provided.
Ancestry Library and Heritage Quest databases:
Ancestry Library is available at Laramie County Library
Heritage Quest can be accessed at home with a library card
# and PIN. (the default PIN is wyld).
And don’t forget to just try your luck on an Internet
search engine such as Google at www.google.com.
Genealogy
Periodicals:
Read a general genealogy
magazine to learn new
search techniques:
Family Chronicle
Family Tree
Internet Genealogy (etc.)
To find past articles about kin and their home
towns published in magazines, journals and
newsletters use the Periodical Source Index
(PERSI). Available on Heritage Quest database.
Over 200 periodical titles published from 1986 to
the present, are included in the database.
Learn More About the Places
Where Your Ancestors Lived:
Consult Everton’s Handybook for Genealogists or
Ancestry’s Redbook.
•
Gives the history of a county and tells where records are
located.
Dollarhide’s Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses,
1790-1920.
DeLorme Topographic Map Collection for all 50 States.
Search WYLDCAT (the LCLS library catalog) for books
with information from the county and state where your
ancestors lived.
•
Use keyword search!!!
Look for Original Records:
Primary Sources
A primary source is one created by an eyewitness of
an event.
Vital records (birth, marriage & death certificates) and census
records are usually primary sources.
A secondary source is based on evidence gathered
after an event occurred by a person who was not an
eyewitness. Some sources contain both primary and
secondary information.
Newspaper clippings are secondary sources. Vital records or
census report can be both.
Original Records:
Secondary Sources
A secondary source is based upon evidence
gathered after an event occurred by a person
who was not an eyewitness.
–
Newspaper clippings,
compiled family history,
etc.
Sources may be both primary and secondary.
–A death certificate is a primary source for
the death but may be a secondary source for
a birth.
Census Records:
One of the best original records
In the U.S., a census has been taken every 10 years
from 1790 through 2010.
1790 to 1940 censuses are available to genealogists to
search.
All censuses taken after 1940 (1950-2010) are still
confidential and the information they contain is not
open to the public. There is a 72 year privacy rule.
Census Records
Why should you use census records?
Census records are an extremely valuable tool
in genealogy research.
They are one of the easiest types of records to
use and one of the most accessible for all family
historians.
Census records lead to other civil and religious
records.
They narrow down the timeframe and places to
search for civil and religious records.
Both federal and state censuses are available to
researchers.
What can I find out with
Census Records?:
Many of the censuses give not only names, ages
and birthplaces, but also state the relationship
of people within a household.
Depending on the questions asked in that
particular census, you may also learn when your
ancestors came to the U.S., if and when they
were naturalized, how many children a woman
gave birth to and other vital pieces of
information.
More about the
U.S. Federal Census:
1790 through 1840 censuses listed head of
household plus number of others living
there.
Beginning in 1850, census lists all names,
ages, places of birth, occupations, etc.
1870 census indicates if individual’s parents
were foreign born.
1880 and later censuses added:
Birthplaces (country or state only) of each
person’s parents.
U.S. Federal Census cont.
1890 federal census was (mostly) destroyed
by fire.
1900 and 1910 censuses include:
the age of each individual, how many years he
had been married, year of immigration,
citizenship status.
1920 and 1930 censuses also:
age & lists the year of naturalization.
Start with 1940 and work backwards.
Searching
the U.S. Census:
Look at the census for the state where your ancestor
lived when the census was taken
Start with most recent census (1940) and work
backwards.
Note similar names living nearby—in the same
county and in neighboring counties.
Watch for spelling errors and variations, and oversight. Do not be wedded to one surname spelling.
Scan, photocopy or otherwise record the information
you find, especially the year of the census.
Always keep track of the source.
Searching Census Information
on Computer Databases:
Census Information is available in the library
on Ancestry Library and Heritage Quest
databases. Some can also be found at
familysearch.org and elsewhere.
Heritage Quest can be searched at home with
your library card # and PIN #. The default
PIN is wyld.
Ancestry Library:
Ancestry Library
is the library version of Ancestry.com
(a paid subscription website).
A wealth of genealogy information
available including scanned images of
the original census reports.
Available for searching only in the
library.
About the 1940 Census:
Released on April 2, 2012.
Now fully name indexed*.
Available to search for free at:
1940Census.Archives.gov
*AncestryLibrary.com (in the library only)
*Ancestry.com
*Familysearch.org
MyHeritage.com
Heritage Quest:
Heritage Quest
is another great genealogy
database provided through Wyoming libraries. HQ
also provides access to 1790-1930 census images
(and much more).
It can be accessed through the Laramie County
Library System’s website at
www.laramiecountylibrary.org with your
library card # (2900920xxxxxxxx) and your PIN
(default is wyld).
Vital Record information on
the Internet:
You can find some vital record information
on databases such as Ancestry Library or at
individual websites such as those from the
LDS Family History Library, state
archives, or universities.
But often you will have to write to the
county or state where the records are held
and pay money to get copies.
Write for Vital Records:
Vital records are civil records of births,
marriage,deaths, etc.
Keeping vital records only began after the
mid 19th or early in the 20th century.
Start with yourself and work backwards.
Obtain a birth and marriage certificate for
yourself.
Then obtain birth, marriage and, if applicable,
death certificates for your parents, then
grandparents, etc.,
Birth Certificates:
Birth certificates reveal:
Baby’s name, birth date and parents
Birthplaces of both parents, their
age, their occupations, and their
address
The number of other children
Death Certificates:
Death certificates can reveal:
Place and cause of death.
Name of deceased’s parents,
Residence at time of death,
Exact date of death, and date of burial
Name of informant and relationship to
deceased
Funeral home that handled the arrangements,
name of cemetery
Marriage Records:
Beginning in the 1600s, town clerks in New England and
county clerks elsewhere (1700s) primarily maintained
marriage records.
After 1850s at State Board of Health/Bureau of Vital
Statistics
Other sources of marriage records:
Justice of the Peace registers
• Found filed with county clerks, local historical societies,
libraries or descendants of the Justices.
Church records, especially New England, Quaker, and
German.
Where to Write for Vital
Records.
“Google it” or use another search engine but
look for official government websites (.gov or
state.gov).
Mocavo.com is a good genealogy specific
search engine.
Websites such as “Where To Write for Vital
Records”
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w.htm
Social Security
Death Index:
Available at
www.familysearch.org
www.ancestry.com and Ancestry Library Edition.
• The database contains information
provided by the Social Security
Administration and contained 89+ million
records as of February 2012.
With their Social Security number you can
write for a copy of the deceased’s “Application
for a social security card,” form SS5.
The Original
SS Card Application:
Gives the name of the person's
father, maiden name of mother, date of birth,
address at time of application, occupation, and
name and address of employer. This is primary
evidence because it was written by the person
himself.
To obtain a copy, write to:
Social Security Administration
OEO FOIA Workgroup
300 N. Green Street
P.O. Box 33022
Baltimore, Maryland 21290-3022
Summary:
1. Record What You Know.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Begin With Yourself and Work Backwards
Read a How-to Book.
Begin Your Research At Home.
Look for compiled information.
Research one ancestral line at a time.
Look for Original Records:



Census Records
Vital Records
Social Security Death Index
The Family and Local History
Room at LCLS:
The Genealogy Room (3rd Floor) is open:
Monday – Thursday
• 10:00 to 9:00
Friday –Saturday
• 10:00 to 6:00
Sundays
• 1:00-5:00
If no volunteer or staff person is available, ask for
help at the 3rd Floor “Ask Here” Desk.
Thanks for attending:
Come back to our other genealogy classes:
Genealogy: Beyond the Basics – October 8th
Family History Day – October 6th
We will repeat the basic series in February,
June and October every year. Handouts are also
available on the LCLS website.