Researching family history is something that many people dabble in because they want to know more about where they come from and perhaps even try to see where their family line might end up in the future. An interesting thought of some is that it can divulge much information about our personalities. Some are simply curious.
Many people begin genealogy research following a major event in their lives. A birth or death in the family, marriage, or other major turning point can spawn an interest in genealogical research.
Other people begin a family history simply out of curiosity or interest. Often a genealogy project begins as a way to fill time over a summer and becomes a lifelong hobby.
Whatever your reasons for wanting to research your family history, there are some standard methods that are generally used. First, you will want to interview your family members, particularly the older generations.
They can give you information about their parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles. You will also want to determine whether any sort of written history already exists, perhaps in a family Bible.
Once you have gotten all of the information that you can, you will be ready to move on to records searches. The Social Security Death Index is a wonderful resource for anyone performing genealogical research. The SSDI allows you to search for records of people who have died in the United States.
Simply enter as much information as you know about the person and the Index will provide all matching records. You can use this resource to find someone's social security number and the state and zip code of his or her last residence, as well as exact dates of birth and death. This information can help you determine where to go next in researching your family history.
Land records can be helpful in determining the property holdings of your ancestors and help you trace your family history to specific locations or towns. Census records may also provide information, but these will not give data on direct households.
Census records are useful in providing information on dates or family members. Both types of documents may be available online, but this depends on the time and location of the period you are researching.
Many other types of records may also help you in your search. Depending on your specific research situation, you may discover military records, probate records and other documents. Each of these records that you uncover will add a bit more data to your family history.
Researching your family history is an exciting and rewarding hobby. Creating one can help you to understand yourself a bit better by understanding where you came from.
Your family history will never be truly completed, as there is always more to learn. You may find that genealogy becomes a lifelong pursuit.
The subject of family history research is one that has shown increasing ever-increasing public interest over the last few years. Most researchers, whether professional or amateur are now very familiar with such major sources as The Family Records Office in London and the Public Records Office in Kew. There are also various major national and international web sites offering on-line details of births, deaths and marriage records, census records and a wide variety of other records from passenger lists for immigrant ships, lists of prisoners in particular prisons and any number of other valuable sources.
However there are numerous small local archives that also offer researchers a unique opportunity to supplement these bare facts with much more details about the lives of their forebears. Among these, there are few places more steeped in the history of local families that the small county museums of military history. It is a little known fact, but there are over 130 of these doted all over the British Isles, each representing some unique aspect of local military heritage. They often have archives full of unpublished private papers and diaries dating back to the origins of the British Army in the late seventeenth century plus photographs, some of which date back to the dawn of photography in the 1840's. The website of the Army Museums Ogilby Trust contains a directory of these which are open to the general public, although researchers are advised to telephone ahead to ensure that their visit will be fruitful. Although existing on relatively meagre funding some such museums have developed their own web sites and provide on-line databases for the internet researches.
One such in the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum based in Gloucester which has a website offering on-line databases of over 40,000 soldiers who served with the Gloucestershire Regiment in the First World War as well as a second database of over 7,000 enlistment records from the late 1790's to the middle years of the 19th century. This latter is particularly revealing showing the high percentages of Welsh, Irish and Scots serving in what were essentially English Regiments. During their time, the Glosters and their antecedent regiments (28th and 61st Regiments of Foot) served all over the Empire in Africa, India, North America and in Australia. Many settled abroad and their descendants still look back to roots in the county of Gloucestershire. In addition to these personal databases, the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum has digitized its collect including many thousand photographs and these are available as on-line resources.
Both Mike Selvon & Arthor Pens are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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