1. Welcome to the Genealogy for Beginners Workshop Sponsored by: Wheeling Area Genealogical Society

2. The format of this workshop
The workshop will last about one hour.
The focus is on those with little to no experience in researching their family history.
You will receive information on how to start your research with acceptable practices common to those working in genealogy.

3. If Genealogy were an Iceberg
We’re going to cover this much.

4. What is Genealogy?
Genealogy is researching and documenting specific individuals that you can prove you have a relationship to.
Anything else is Legend, Myth and Folklore.

5. Researching Genealogy
The most common research example
It starts with you . . .
Every generation you go back doubles . . .
Never forget that 50% of your Ancestors are female . . .

6. It’s all in the NAME Let’s briefly look at the history of names . . .
At one time a person only had one name . . .
It evolved into having an identifier . . .
Then evolved into a last name . . .
Then evolved a middle name . . .
William
Adam Black
the Blacksmith
Black

7. A fun example of Names Dennis the Menace Hagar the Horrible
However, during your research you would find that he has a last name.

8. The modern design of a NAME
(the common usage)
General
Lawrence Joseph BREIDING
, Jr.
Given name
Surname
You may have prefixes or titles
Or suffixes

9. You may have a lot of information pertaining to a specific NAME
For example:
General Lawrence Joseph BREIDING, Jr.
aka: Larry, LJ, or Junior
aka = also known as

10. WARNING
NEVER assume that persons with the same exact LAST NAME are related to you.
Remember William Black? There may have been more than one Blacksmith in the area.
William’s last name could have been SMITH instead.
NEVER assume that persons with similar LAST NAMES are NOT related to you.
Remember in the past many did not know how to spell . . .

11. WARNING Names may have been spelled the way they sounded.
Those that came from other countries commonly would have “Americanized” their last name.
Former slaves sometimes took their former owners last names.

12. Your specific names have VITAL EVENTS attached
They were born.
They marry / union.
They die.

13. Those VITAL EVENTS always have DATES
associated with them.
We commonly write dates this way . . .
2/9/11
We commonly understand it as February 9th, 2011
However, it could mean September 2nd, 1811

14. One preferred way of documenting DATES Day / Month / Year 09 February
2011
Always 2 digits
Always 4 digits
Spelled out or abbreviated
be careful with Jan and June

15. Sometimes you will not know the specific DATES
Genealogist NEVER GUESS DATES
Genealogist ESTIMATE DATES
Let’s say you know Lawrence Breiding was married on 07–Feb-1916, but you do not know when he died.
You would document that Lawrence Breiding died AFTER 07-Feb-1916

16. Some EXAMPLES
of estimating DATES
Before
After

17. WARNING

18. So . . . You have specific NAMES You have specific DATES or estimates
Lastly, you need to document LOCATIONS

19. of documenting LOCATIONS
One preferred way
of documenting LOCATIONS
City , County , State , Country
Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, USA