1. November 4, 2011

2. How do I start when I have no information?  Create a Family Group Sheet with the following:  name  birth date, place  marriage date, place  death date, place

3. Begin with living family members.  Interview your oldest living relatives.  Request documents and photos  Keep records of what you learn and the source.  Scan photos and documents  Keep track of what you have and where you got it.

4. Other good places to start:  Census records  Social Security Death Index  Cemetery records If possible, get copies of any documents or photos, digital or paper.

5. Online Research Sources  Family Search - http://familysearch.orghttp://familysearch.org  A free service provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Has search functions, many articles and tutorials about how to search, locations of Family History Centers where you can get additional help.

6. Online Research Sources  Ancestry.com - http://www.ancestry.com/http://www.ancestry.com/ Has both free and paid accounts to search multiple databases and indexes.

7. Online Research Sources  Find a Grave - http://www.findagrave.comhttp://www.findagrave.com Look for grave locations and photos. Information is added by volunteers.  The USGenWeb Project - http://www.usgenweb.org/ http://www.usgenweb.org/ Volunteer site that provides links to state and county genealogy websites.

8. Online Research Sources  Genealogy Trials - http://genealogytrails.comhttp://genealogytrails.com Another volunteer site with varying amounts of data online, organized by state.  Google Books - http://www.books.google.comhttp://www.books.google.com Search the text of books that have been indexed: some of the books are free and some can be purchased

9. Help Getting Started  Ancestor Search - http://www.searchforancestors.com/gettingstarted/ http://www.searchforancestors.com/gettingstarted/ Has a detailed step-by-step path to get you started.  Family Search - https://www.familysearch.org/learn/getting_started Video tutorials and free forms to record information for your family tree.

10. Help Getting Started  Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/learningcenter/home. html https://www.familysearch.org/learningcenter/home. html Contains a series of courses on topics related to genealogy research.  Ancestry.com http://learn.ancestry.com/Home/HMLND.aspx Includes courses and other resources to teach you how to go about your research.

11. Help Getting Started  Cyndi’s List http://www.cyndislist.com/ A comprehensive, categorized and cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online.

12. Desktop Genealogy Solutions  Family Tree Maker  Legacy  Roots Magic  Ancestral Quest  Family Historian  The Master Genealogist

13. Comparisons and Reviews of Software  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_geneal ogy_software http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_geneal ogy_software  http://genealogy-software- review.toptenreviews.com/ http://genealogy-software- review.toptenreviews.com/  http://genealogy-software.findthebest.com/ http://genealogy-software.findthebest.com/

14. Web Based Genealogy Solutions  Genealogy Web Sites (e.g., Geni, Ancestry, Facebook)  Geni.com http://www.geni.com/http://www.geni.com/  Ancestry.com http://www.ancestry.comhttp://www.ancestry.com  My Heritage http://www.myheritage.com/http://www.myheritage.com/  Tribal Pages http://tribalpages.com/http://tribalpages.com/  Family Tree Guide http://familytreeguide.com/http://familytreeguide.com/ This is only a small sample—do a web search for Family Tree Websites

15. Web Based Genealogy Solutions  Web Space (e.g., Free Rootsweb, http://accounts.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ ) http://accounts.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ Put your own HTML pages on the web.  Site Creation Software (e.g., TNG (The Next Generation of Genealogy Software, http://lythgoes.net/genealogy/software.php) http://lythgoes.net/genealogy/software.php Create your own data driven web site.

16. Comparisons and Reviews of Web Based Genealogy Software  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Web- based_Genealogy_Software http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Web- based_Genealogy_Software

17. Software Demos  Legacy Family Tree-- http://legacyfamilytree.com/ Standard EditionFree Deluxe Edition$29.95-Download Edition $39.95-CD and Printed Guide  TNG-The Next Generation of Site Building http://lythgoes.net/genealogy/software.php $29.99 –License fee and download only