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Discovering Your Family Tree |
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Table of Contents
1. Identify What You Already Know About Your Family
Use Appropriate Forms To Record Information
Recall And Record Information About Your Family
Gather Information Within Your Family
Copy Information From Family Documents Or Records
Organize Records, Documents, And Family Memorabilia
2. Decide What You Want To Learn About Your Family
Identify People For Whom There Is Insufficient Information
Choose One Person To Learn More About
Identify Questions To Answer About The Person
Select One Question As The Research Objective
Prepare A Research Log
3. Select A Record To Search
Identify Major Categories Of Records Available To Search
Select Specific Record(s) To Search
Describe The Record On A Research Log.
4. Obtain And Search The Record
Obtain The Record.
Search The Record.
Record The Results.
5. Use The Information
Evaluate The Information Found.
Transfer The Information
Organize Newly Acquired Records.
Share Your Family History With Others.
Records, The Church And Family Ties
5. USE THE INFORMATION
Evaluate the information to determine how helpful and reliable it is. The key to interpreting information is determining how close in time it was recorded to the event it describes. Primary information was recorded at or near the time of the event by someone closely associated with it. Secondary information
Add any new information you find to your pedigree chart
As your collection of family history records grows, organize your records for easy access. Many excellent handbooks and forms are available to help you. Look for them at local libraries and bookstores.
Several computer programs can help you to organize your records in a home computer. The Personal Ancestral File
If you write a family history, share it with your descendants and other relatives. It can be a source of enjoyment and education for them. You might want to place a copy in a library where it can be preserved and shared with many others.
You can help to make research easier and faster for others by sharing the results of your research and by helping to index the records. The Family History Library offers several opportunities for you to help. For example, you can contribute to Ancestral File
People enjoy family history research for many different reasons. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Life does not end at death. When people die, their eternal spirits go to a spirit world where they continue to learn while they await the Resurrection and Final Judgment. Those who did not have an opportunity to learn the gospel of Jesus Christ during mortal life will have the opportunity in the spirit world.
Families can also continue beyond the grave, rather than only "until death do you part." Special promises, called covenants, can unite families for eternity. In LDS temples, members of the Church make these covenants on behalf of their ancestors who have died. The ancestors have the opportunity to accept these covenants in the spirit world.
Today many people are beginning to discover their family history. The Church continues to collect and preserve records and establish research facilities and computer systems to provide easier access to this information. By following the simple steps outlined in this pamphlet, you can begin connecting yourself to your ancestors.
In 1938 the Genealogical Society Paper publication: 1993
Telephone: (801) 240-2331 ©1998, 2001 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.
No part of this document may be reprinted, posted on-line, or reproduced in any form for any purpose without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. FamilySearch is a trademark of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
Evaluate the Information Found.
was recorded much later than the event or recorded by a person who was not at the event. Your preference should be for primary information. Try to build a pedigree and establish each fact with substantial evidence from the best sources available.
Transfer the Information
, family group record, and personal and family history notes. Make photocopies of key documents.
Organize Newly Acquired Records.
is a software package produced by the LDS Church for home computers. Contact the Family History Department if you would like a description of this software.
Family History Department
50 East North Temple Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84150
Telephone: (801) 240-2584
Share Your Family History With Others.
by sending a computer disk copy of your pedigree chart and family group records. Or, you could index records and add more names to the International Genealogical Index. Contact the Family History Department if you would like more information about these programs.
Records, The Church and Family Ties
have a special reason for identifying their ancestors: love for their deceased family members and a desire to serve them.
began gathering and preserving records on microfilm. Today more than 150 photographers are filming birth, marriage, death, probate, land, military, and other records throughout the world. Much of the collection of microfilmed records is available to individual researchers at the Family History Library and through more than 2,000 family history centers.
[FamilySearchTM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 6/8/2001]