Additional sources of Family history information

In addition to census data, birth marriages and deaths, it’s worth looking for other types of family history sources, for example immigration and naturalization records, divorce papers, medical records, land titles, education registers and obituaries. All of these additional family history sources can be valuable in helping you to open up new avenues of family history research.

Graveyards and cemeteries as sources of family history

Graveyards and cemeteries are a prime place to dig up more information. Visit the cemetery that you know your ancestors are buried in and look for other family members. It’s a good idea to take a record of the info from the tombstones. Taking a note of wider information that isn’t directly related to your blood line may still be useful later if you hit a family history dead-end, giving you another avenue of family history research. You may not get to visit this cemetery frequently or more than once so it pays to have it recorded. You could use a digital camera to save time recording family history information from the headstones.

The basics of Birth records for family history part 2

Birth records are very important to family historians but recent birth records are more difficult to obtain because privacy law often prohibits the public release of such information until it can be confirmed that individuals died or such time has passed that it is not possible for them to still be living. One thing to look out for when you are using birth records for family history is that there are usually three types; original records that are unchanged and were registered at the time of birth, amended birth records which have been modified, corrected or have new family history information added, and Postponed or delayed – These represent family history records that were issued some time after the birth event as the certificate was not created or registered at that time.

Organizing Family history by family member

Each family history life archive takes the place of the traditional family Group Sheet and is a very simple way to keep track of family members and family groups. Take the information that you receive on each ancestor or family member and and make a Family Group and family history entry on each person in your family. Start with yourself, then your parents and their children, your grandparents and their children. As you work back further in time you may contact relatives or other researchers to gather more family history content . Ask them to contribute to your family history research by sending them a family tree or family history archive invite and add any family material they have through arcalife collaborative tools