Photo provided by: VintageKin.com

6 Tips to Getting Started with Genealogy Research and Genealogy Forms

Like most every project doing family research is not really hard, the getting started is the hard part.  There are many places on the internet where you can download the forms to get started on your search.

Getting Ready…

1.  Gather some forms together. There are lots of free ones available on the internet to start working with.  Free Genealogy Forms and Charts  The forms you will need the most to start with will be Pedigree forms, Family Group sheets and Research Log forms.

Find and print a few copies of a pedigree form to start with.  Much to my own aggravation I’m always trying to reinvent the wheel and often times create my own forms.

I’ve made a couple of Pedigree forms that you can download for free to get started and a Research Log. The download links are at the end of the post.  These Pedigree forms are 3 generation forms to include; you, your mom and dad and your grandparents.  The Family sheets, I really have not come up with a better reinvention of those – YET.

2.  Start a numbering system right from the beginning. You will be SO sorry later on if you don’t.  You will be #1, your Dad #2, your Mom #3, your dad’s dad is #4, your dad’s mom is #5, your mom’s dad is #6 and your mom’s mom is #7.  Once you get further back in your research the numbers will continue in the same manner as you have started here.

3.  I also have created and added a “Blank-Family-Record-Documents-Collected” spreadsheet form that I attach to the front of the file folder of the family I am researching.  You can also download a free copy of that below.  To open this form you will need Microsoft Excel or you can use Open Office, which is free to download (Download Open Office)

4. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be. When I first started I did that and still at times make things more difficult than they need to be.  Just start with yourself and write down what you know and continue backwards.  The main thing to remember is to write down the information you find and where you find it so you don’t end up retracing your steps again looking for the same information.

If you have your birth certificate; mark it on the form I’ve provided that you have attached to the outside of your family folder and the same with your parents.  Any documents you have mark it down on the form and store the document in acid free sheet protectors.

5.  Most of all, make your project fun.  Add some scrapbooking touches to your pages. There are also scrapbooking pages with genealogy charts; kits are already put together with pedigree forms and family group sheets.

6.  Another great tip is “digital scrapbooking.”  If you would rather do all of your work on the computer, sign up for a free account at Scrapbook Flair.  The software is a free download and a little large but well worth it.  You can create your family pages in tree form, or chart form, add embellishments and print them out in whatever size you want; even 12×12 if you are lucky enough to have a 12×12 printer.

Have a great time and remember you can post information on the family lines you are researching on the “Add Your Family Tree” section of this blog.  You never know when you may find a connection with someone who can help you in your research.

http://scrapbookingyourfamilytree.com/add-your-family-tree/

Share this post with friends and family.  Best of all, get your children involved in preserving their family history with you.

Click here to download the Pedigree form above.

Click here to download the Pedigree form above.

Click here to download the Blank-Family-Record-Documents-Collected

Scrapbooking Your Family Tree

Since I have decided to accept Tonia Kendrick’s “31 Weeks to a Better Genealogy Blog” challenge based on the book by Darren Rowse;  “31 Days to a Better Blog,”  it’s time to write my “elevator pitch” about my blog and why my blog is going to be different.

My Tag line is going to be:  Grandma and Grandpa Live On As Long As We Write Their Life Stories!

Add some FLARE to your Genealogy Research by using Scrapbooking Techniques to preserve your heritage in STYLE…

Along with being interested in family history, I am also obsessed with scrapbooking, so I have decided to combine scrapbooking and family history research into one project.

I have inherited so many pictures from my ancestors and I have no idea who some of them are or anything about them.  Some photos may have a name and a date or possibly a location scribbled on the back but most have nothing written down.

Who is this lady in this picture?  I know because I remember my grandmother telling me who she was.  There is nothing written on the back of the picture of who she is, how old she is, where this was taken, etc.

My daughter and grandchildren would not know who she is but they WILL know who she is because I am going to write down as much as I know about her, which unfortunately is not very much as she passed away at the age of 37, when I was only 4 years old.  She is my aunt Maxine Mae Shaw, born 05 Nov 1922 in New Vienna, Clinton County, Ohio and passed away on 02 Mar 1961 in Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio.

Even in my own scrapbooking pages, I have found myself doing the same thing by not writing down enough information and sometimes writing nothing at all on the backs of pictures or adding a journaling section for my grandchildren and future generations to know anything about who I am, where they came from, who their ancestors were and what type of people they were.

I hope to inspire others to take a few minutes of time and write your family stories down.  If you are interested, then I will bet you a dollar that someone else in your family will be interested too and so VERY grateful that you have helped them when they begin their family history research.

Okay, so my short “elevator pitch” turned out to be a bit longer than I intended but I will shorten it and add it to the “About Me” page.