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GETTING STARTED
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A photograph of a family wedding found in a box in a bottom drawer. No other information given except '1921' was written on the reverse. A mystery waiting to be solved! In the second photograph, taken in 1919, I recognised the couple getting married and sent a copy to a relative in Canada. I received an email from her cousin who said that the baby in the picture was her mother! She also helped me out with identifying other people in the photograph.
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There are some simple rules used by family historians worldwide that will get you started. The first rule is to start with what you know - about yourself and close relatives. Take a piece of paper and write down the details you know about yourself. You need to record your full name; date and place of birth; details of your parents, siblings , marriage and children; where you have lived and when; what jobs you have done; military service; schools and universities and any other details that you can think of. You might like to include any hobbies or interests so that descendents in years to come might get a glimpse of you! Next you should complete a similar list for other family members such as your parents and grandparents. The important details are dates and places and CIVIL REGISTRATION information - births, marriages and deaths. It doesn't matter if there are blanks because you can fill those in as you
develop your research.
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The next step is to search for any documents that you have relating to yourself and your family. Sometimes these can be found in a desk, or box in the wardrobe or under the bed! You should look for certificates, photographs, newspaper clippings, passports, letters, medals, and other ephemera that may provide clues to family history and even better your ancestors' characters. You can also contact other members of your family who may also have documents in the attic. Interview as many relatives as you can, however distant and older relatives are particularly helpful as they may remember ancestors who you never met.
FAMILY SECRETS AND MYTHS Be prepared to find out more than you bargained for and your discoveries may even change your perception of some family members. It can be exciting to uncover a skeleton in the cupboard of a distant relative who died long before your time, but there are often secrets kept within families even now that come as a surprise to a generation that is far more open than previous ones. Issue such as illegitimacy, adoption, bigamy and even criminal activity may creep into the family tree. If you discover a potentially revealing aspect of a close relative's past life, think carefully about how to deal with passing on that information to other members of the family or talking to a person who may have a link.
VERYIFYING INFORMATION Always cross reference stories, accounts, names, dates, places and events. Be aware of 'false' relatives and aliases and establish exact relationships and find out everyone's full names and nicknames. Get the facts and use the second-hand information you get as a guideline for your research.
Take along family photographs to prompt memories and ask your relatives to identify people and name them. Make sure you handle photographs with care as they may be quite old and fragile and certainly valuable. Write on the back in pencil and don't just write 'Family Wedding 1921'! It was clear to the person at the time but not to me! Write the full name, including maiden name if married. Take copeis of unknown family to family gatherings.
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