A Simple Guide to Genealogy: How to Gather Information
Gathering information on your family might not be easy so listen carefully and respectfully because many people talk in circles, or as memory suits them and your job and is to piece all their information together in a form that makes sense. And take all family histories any other relative may have already started and do not be surprised if some of them differ. Be careful when asking questions some relatives may not like each other and so information might not be pretty.
Organize your information. Become a journalist when you visit relatives. Carry a notepad, pencil, and recorder with you. Here is a sample of questions you should ask and information you should include:
1: Full name of person you are interviewing.
2: Date of the interview.
3: Addresses of the person.
4: Person’s occupation.
5: Has this been the person’s only occupation?
6: Date and place of birth.
7: Date and place of marriage/s.
8: Date and place of baptism.
9: Name/s of husband/wife (full name, dates, etc.).
10: Names of all children and their birth, marriage, baptism, & death dates and places.
11: Religious affiliation.
12: Their father’s name.
13: His residence, occupation, and place of origin.
14: Their mother’s name including maiden name.
15: Date and place of parent’s marriage.
16: Date and place of father’s birth.
17: Date and place of father’s death & burial.
18: Same info for mother.
19: Names & dates & places of birth for aunts & uncles.
20: Full names of any other grandparents, etc.
Do not feel discouraged should you only come up with information that brings you back two or three generations. This may be more than enough information to begin research at any one of a number of genealogical facilities throughout the United States and abroad.
The most difficult times to research will be the period before 1500; the period between 1520 and 1565; and the period during the American Revolution. Many records especially from England were lost during the early 1500’s and surnames were not commonly used before 1400.
Many immigrants came to whichever country they are living in for various reasons. Some came for legal matters, others to find friends and family, others for adventure, and even more so–for personal freedoms. Many of these immigrants coming to the United States arrived during the early to middle 1800’s to a country scarred by conflict of brother against brother, country against country, and a nation that seemed to be ready for conflict again. All of these factors coupled with an increasing desire to explore westward caused some families to leave behind friends, relatives, and in some instances their existence, their individuality. Many took on new names as they embarked on their journey towards a new life.
Hundreds of individuals and families left the Eastern states in search of new lands. A new life, a new chance for their dreams to come true and all of this seemed to lie just over the next hill. Many would never return or send for the remainder of their family to join them. Some would disappear and never be heard from again. This separation and migration of families has created a difficult task for some of us who are trying to piece our family’s history together during this period. So do not become frustrated and give up. You are not the only one facing these problems and this is the reason why personal visits with any relatives are important. Be it so small even one tiny piece of information could piece together three or more generations. One relative may have the one piece of information that ties Isaac Miles of South Dakota to Levi Miles of Iowa and previously of New York, thus, giving you another piece of the ancestral puzzle.
Remember to ask if there are any old photographs or family bibles, etc., possibly in the attic or in an old trunk in the basement. Photographs, especially if they are old, may have vital information on the backs of them. Offer to pay for photocopies and all expenses involved in securing the documents and photos.
If for reasons of distance, finances, or illness it becomes impossible for a personal visit to Aunt Vivian’s, draft a form similar to the one shown here and mail it to them with a letter of introduction. Enclose a SASE or something similar with more than enough postage, or money for the postage. And be sure to tell them to take their time and wish them a speedy recovery. Do not expect Uncle Bill, or Aunt Jane to foot the bill for sending you any materials they may have.
Dear Aunt Vivian,
My name is Thomas Ellsworth Miles, and I am looking for information on the Miles family. When you are feeling better and if you so desire could you answer some questions for me? (Depending on how well you know or don’t know this relative you can offer some chit chat or more introduction etc. before listing the following questions:
Uncle Todd’s dad, Levi Ernest Miles, was born on______
_________________{Date}, in_____________________________________
_________________{Place}. His father and mother were___________
_________________________________________{Include maiden name} and they were
from____________________________________{place}.
Levi Ernest married Sena Severson on_____________________________
___________{Date}, in____________________________________________
___________ {Place} and their children were__________________________________________{List in chronological order, including self}. Please list, also any deaths, marriages, & baptisms you may have knowledge of, and please include dates and places if known. _____________________________________
You may also include with your letter some of the genealogical forms available and be sure to ask if they could send you any photographs, letters, etc., that they may have. Offer to pay for the cost of reproducing them, or reproducing them yourself and returning the originals to them. Also be sure to enclose a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope). Remember you have invited your self into their home, into their memories; show them that you are willing to help defray the cost of any mailings or photocopying that may need to be done.
As you begin going through the various information, books, pictures, letters that you may have received during your personal interview or through the mail be careful to take your time. Read every scribble in every margin, on every page. Look at the back of every picture; you do not want to miss any piece of information. Many people write as they read, or doodle, and it could be within one of these doodles or scribbles that you find the one piece of information you have searching for.
An example is while I was going through one of my grandmother’s cookbooks I found a note she wrote in the margin: “Sam Raizes’ has boys Levi’s for 1.00 and butter is 5 cents a pound at Mabb’s. Dad’s great grandpa Richard Miles was the first Miles to arrive in this country in 1635. Beverly’s boy Ronnie is taking piano lessons. Ernie’s Uncle Samuel got mixed up with a group of outlaws. Ernie says the rest of the family don’t want anything to do with him.” If I had just glanced at this piece of writing, seeing only the price of butter, it could have been left undiscovered for months, years, or perhaps forever. From this one passage written by grandma, I gathered three valuable pieces of information:
1) Richard Miles arrived in this country in 1635
2) Samuel Miles my grandpa’s uncle got mixed up with some outlaws
3) Samuel’s family wanted no part of him due to this information
These three pieces of information gave me nearly one hundred and fifty years of family treasures. Thanks to my grandma’s doodles as she made noodles.
In one of my grandmother’s notebooks I found information about Richard Miles’ home being in England and how he came to America in a ship that was built by his brother. I also discovered that he along with 10 to 15 other settlers left the first settlement in America and founded their own community. This information led me to books containing complete biographical sketches of many of my ancestors. Later, I found an entry in a book that named a ship called the Mary & John, which was the ship my ancestors piloted to the United States.
Family Bibles are great assets to the genealogist. Some can be a storehouse of information. If you are lucky enough to find a family Bible you very well may have also stumbled upon an entire family tree going back two, three, four, or more generations. Do not be afraid to ask if you may have the Bible so that you can make copies of the pages that have information on them or if you can copy the information or photocopy. Remember to gather all information available to you. If Aunt Georgie says here is a trunk full of photos and stuff take it. Don’t hesitate take the whole trunk and go through it piece by piece.
Always write down your information, and where it came from. Develop a method of cross-referencing your notes that is easy and efficient for you. You will find your self swamped with letters, note-cards, note books, pictures, and photocopies at times but if you keep things organized it will all pay off in the long run.
Obituaries are also a very important piece of information. Obituaries carried in the newspapers before 1980 are generally full of information as to immediate family, and their mother and father, as well as where they were born. Bibles, letters, diaries, oral histories, all are important and all need to be checked and rechecked because you can close a gap of one or two generations at times by cross referencing from item to item. An entry in the family bible may mention great uncle Samuel having been born in New York, but giving no other information. Then an entry in a diary or a paragraph from a letter may mention how Samuel fell in with a group of outlaws and was banished by the rest of the family. Thus, another piece of the puzzle falls in place.
As with any information that has survived for generations, you will find exaggeration and discrepancies but do not let these discourage you. Use the mistakes and exaggerations to help build an interesting story to accompany your family history. After all, history is the retelling of events, places, and individuals, so use the flowery language, the variant spellings of names, and the trials and accomplishments of your ancestors. Let the oral traditions they spin to you, spin a tale of fantasy, truth, and genuine love, which will become the basis of your research and the compilation of your family tree. This is your family’s history, your country’s history, and your children’s history, treat it with care and it will reward you, encourage you, and, it will also discourage you, but more so, it will thrill you.
