Getting Started with Family History and Genealogy

Family history and genealogy have become really popular in recent times due to all the advancements and developments on the internet. Also older people are now more capable and willing to embrace this new technology and want access to it. Genealogy has definitely become a boom industry in the last 10 to 15 years.

Like any new project, it is probably a good idea to draw up a plan which you can refer to, so that a degree of order can be maintained in what you are doing. It is very easy to get distracted, by jumping from one thing to the next. There is a huge amount of information out there, so let's not try to take it all in at once! If you do you could suffer from information overload!


My own interest in genealogy began in 1998 after my father suddenly passed away. I guess I felt that a record of our family history needed to be kept, and that with my father's passing a lot of that history had already been lost forever. It was time to get actively involved in finding out all I could about our family while there were still elderly members of the family with good memories still around. I was annoyed that I had not thought to start this project earlier, as 8 months before my father passed away, his mother had also passed away at the age of 108, and she had a great memory right up to the end. Anyway it was pointless to dwell on what may have been, and it was time for some positive action.


Getting Started
I started my crusade by digging out old photo albums and old documents and letters which had been in the family for many years. I went through all these firstly with my mother, as she was able to identify many of the people in the photographs, then with other elderly relatives and family friends.

You find that most elderly people love to go back in time when looking at old photo's, and that seeing these photos jolts the memory and they are able to recall many interesting stories about the people in them. It is a good idea to note down all the information on who is in each photo. Also write down or even record by video or audio the many stories told to you about events and the history of the photo and the people in them. If at all possible you should scan the photo's that are of interest to you, so that you can have them stored on your computer to be viewed and used at a later time.


Even if you don't intend to get involved in your family history at this time, it is still a good idea to get the people in your old photo's identified while there is still someone around to do so!



We will have a look at what information your family already has access to tomorrow, and we'll have a look at Genealogy Software on the following day.

Anyway I think that this is enough for most people to make a start in researching their family history. I'll be back again soon with further tips and steps which can be followed.


If you have any comments or tips of your own, I'd love to hear from you!

Best wishes,
Peter Annett