| Digging up Your Family Roots: Part 1 | | | | holding cell, the trial. This event happened nearly a |
| You've begun delving into your family history. | | | | century ago, yet we have it well documented. |
| You've already filled in all the names of your | | | | The Internet is a good place to start your search. |
| great-grandparents on your family tree. You've | | | | Search engines may be able to provide reliable |
| begun collecting the legal documents that record | | | | and helpful information, or even photographs of |
| the milestones of your ancestors' lives: birth, | | | | ancestors. However, as with all things on the |
| marriage and death certificates. You've even | | | | Internet, don't trust everything you read, and do |
| located your family in a few census records. But | | | | record the URL or source of all information. |
| before you push further back, why not stop and | | | | To find newspaper clippings offline, use indexes of |
| really get to know these people? After all, that's | | | | newspapers from areas where your relatives |
| the purpose of tracing your family roots: knowing | | | | lived. An excellent resource might be the obituary |
| more about your ancestors. | | | | of deceased relatives. You've already gathered |
| If you have names, dates and records through | | | | the death date and place, so you know where |
| your great-grandparents, you have fifteen lineal | | | | and when to look to find the obituary in their local |
| ancestors to get to know, both living and dead. | | | | newspaper. Many places are served by more than |
| To get to know your deceased ancestors better, | | | | one newspaper, so search all those you can find. |
| you have to dig deeper on the paper trail. To | | | | The availability of other milestones like birth, |
| better acquaint yourself with your living ancestors, | | | | engagement and wedding announcements vary, |
| start conducting oral history interviews. Both of | | | | but try to find those as well. If possible, search |
| these techniques are explained in more depth in | | | | for your surname in the newspaper index. Be |
| this set of articles. Part one will discuss digging | | | | sure to check for "alternative" spellings of your |
| deeper on the paper trail, while part two is an | | | | last name as well. |
| introduction to conducting oral history interviews. | | | | Newspaper resources are only one resource. |
| Digging up Your Family Roots: Filling in Your | | | | Military, probate, immigration, court, deed, and |
| Ancestors' Lives | | | | church records are each invaluable sources of |
| Documentary support is vital in genealogical | | | | information. It might be wise to employ a |
| research. Even the oral histories of your living | | | | professional genealogy research service to help |
| relatives will require supporting documents, which | | | | you with these aspects of your family history. |
| they would hopefully be able to provide for you. | | | | Not only will this save you time, but you can |
| While these documents include things like birth, | | | | benefit from professional genealogists' years of |
| marriage and death certificates, it will involve | | | | experience. Professional genealogy research can |
| more than just these documents to get to know | | | | be well worth the cost when it means that you |
| your deceased ancestors better. | | | | get to spend more time reading about your |
| This part of your research might begin with your | | | | ancestors and getting to know them and less |
| oldest living relative. He or she might be able to | | | | time looking for your resources and getting to |
| tell you of books or newspaper articles mentioning | | | | know the archives. |
| relatives, even if he or she doesn't have copies of | | | | The largest repository of genealogical data is the |
| them. The resources your relatives share with | | | | Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City, |
| you are also a good starting place, including | | | | Utah. Run by The Church of Jesus Christ of |
| newspaper clippings, photos, books, Bibles, | | | | Latter-day Saints, this resource can be a one-stop |
| journals, etc. | | | | genealogical gold mine. However, traveling to Salt |
| Newspapers are an excellent resource. If your | | | | Lake may not be in your budget. Retaining the |
| relatives have provided you with clippings | | | | services of a professional genealogy researcher |
| describing a big event, locate the actual | | | | llocated near the FHL is another way to take |
| newspapers (usually on microfilm or microfiche by | | | | advantage of the millions of records found there. |
| now) and search the following days for follow-up | | | | Real family history research is more than |
| stories. For example, I have a great-great-great | | | | recording names and dates. Digging up your family |
| uncle who was a police officer. He was shot and | | | | roots is more than gathering birth, marriage and |
| killed in the line of duty. Not only do we have | | | | death certificates. The goal of family history is |
| newspaper records of the stories about him, but | | | | coming to know your ancestors better. Start |
| we also have stories about the criminal who shot | | | | getting acquainted by fleshing out your family |
| him: the pursuit, the murder of my relative, the | | | | roots for both your living and dead ancestors. |
| shootout, the dynamiting of his hideout, the | | | | |