My blog has sat idle for many weeks now as I've been working diligently on some family history projects, both for my own family as well as for other people. I love the digging, the contemplating new threads to pull. Yesterday, however, was a day of unenjoyable monotony as I gathered raw data samples to begin the process of elimination of possibilities. The project reminded me of "New Math" taught in the 1970s, of sets and subsets, of intersections and null sets. Alas, yesterday I found many null sets.
However, during my searches yesterday, I found a wonderful "How to Get Started" page on the www.Lineages.com website. This question of how to begin to research family history is often offered to me, and here at one site are many of the answers I give.
Among the advice at the Lineages site on which I put heavy emphasis is that of interviewing the senior members of your family. With the passing of each generation, we lose so many clues. One of my current family projects came about because of a persistent story told by my Aunt Dot, who was born in 1925 and died in 2003. I sure wish I could ask her for details. Furthermore, this remembrance of Aunt Dot's, that one of her "Granny McMillans" was a descendant of the Delaware Indian tribe in Pennsylvania, brings to mind another piece of advice: write down all the family stories, even those that seem unlikely. All myth and legend have a nugget of truth at their core. While you can't believe out of hand that your great-great-grandmother was an Indian princess, odds are that someone in her family heritage was a Native American.
My number one piece of advice is to write down all the information about your family you now know. This information serves as your own starting place, and it serves as a family interview of sorts for future generations. Bless my Aunt Lillie's heart -- she handed down hundreds of years of family history to my mother and me that, with today's access to government documents, are relatively easily verified.
My own final piece of advice: find people with whom to brainstorm and share your work. For the past several years, I've been privileged to work with some of the best respected genealogists in both the USA as well as the UK and Ireland. Iron truly sharpens iron.
Happy hunting.
Pictured above, from left to right, my great-grandmother Georgia Spray McMillen, my aunt Dorothy Elizabeth McMillen Deason Jones, and my great-grandmother Ann Eliza Cole Whitsett. @1926
Comments