First Steps to Getting Started

When you have your goal defined for researching your family history you can step up your game plan. Gather your supplies, and now you are ready to begin discovering your past.

Where should you begin your search? - the library, the internet, national archives?

No, you start with yourself and what you already know.  Write down what you know about your family.  Ask yourself key questions, answer the best you can. Be specific! Record everything, be precise and fastidious and do not abbreviate.

Proving Who You Are- look at your birth certificate, it will probably list:

• your full name at birth
• your sex and whether you were part of a multiple birth
• date of birth
• county and state of birth
• usual residence of your mother
• mother's full maiden name
• her age and race
• state or foreign country of her birth
• number of previous children
• number of her living children
• father's full name
• his age and race
• state or foreign country of his birth
• his usual occupation
• kind of business or industry in which he worked
• name of the informant
• attending physician or midwife's name
• signature of the doctor or midwife
• name of the hospital or institution
• date of registration
• registration number on the certificate
• and usually the certification by the state registrar attesting that it is a true and correct copy of the record

If you don't already have a copy of your birth certificate, you can request one from the state bureau of vital records in the state where you were born.