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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: Gary West on Saturday 13 July 24 20:16 BST (UK)
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Hi all,
I am a recently retired chap with more time on my hands than I know what to do with and would very much like to start to trace my family roots.
I could do with some advice on starting out please.
1- I would appreciate suggestions for a family tree template to use. Ideally, I think I would like one that I can download onto my laptop rather than online - or am I wrong?
2- Whilst I don't mind spending a couple of bob, I believe that a lot of information is free. Again suggestions for best UK sites to access free information please?
I'll leave it there for now.
Thanks for any help.
Gary
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Start with the basics -- put your family tree down on paper. Work backwards from what you already know (e.g. your parents and grandparents).
Write down and keep track of all surname spelling variations. Avoid guessing about dates and places. Instead, take time to verify things you are unsure about.
Also, be prepared for discovering facts vs fiction. Most of us have that scenario in our family trees.
Example: Being told an ancestor was an orphan, a war hero, related to royalty -- when none of it is true. Embrace contradictions and discrepancies by acknowledging and analyzing them.
TIP: Don't jump between your families before finishing most of the research on the family you've started.
How to start a family tree
https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/getting-started/starting-your-family-tree
The best free genealogy websites
https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/getting-started/best-free-genealogy-websites
What is the best family history website?
https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/getting-started/choosing-the-best-genealogy-subscription-website
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Assuming that you are in England, then most local libraries have free access to Ancestry and Findmypast.
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Do a search for your local Family History Society, contact the nearest and pay them a visit.
Look for a local U3A and see if they have a Family History Group, there will be probably about 60 other interest Groups with the local U3A.
Find your nearest County Archives and if they are handy join them as they often have courses.
Now I am good at spending others hard earned cash & so I suggest subscribing to Ancestry, yes you can do free searches but it is so much easier when you can have easy access to so many resources.
Next its software, if you do subscribe to Ancestry then there is Roots Magic and Family Tree Maker that have an Ancestry sync feature inbuilt into each of them. I find this very useful.
You can have your prime tree within the software and search Ancestry and the other sites from within the software.
At present Ancestry has my prime tree and the software is there as backup.
Once you have gone back to each Great Grandparent or Great Great Grandparent I would then expand your tree sideways with their siblings and bring each one as up to date as you can.
Next up its a DNA test, plus a DNA test for a Maternal Cousin and a Paternal Cousin.
I cannot stress enough that without DNA validating each branch of a family tree said tree is a Genealogical Tree, that is one based on a paper trail. A DNA validated family tree is a Biological Tree where each line is a proven bloodline.
Many of us have a NPE (not parent expexted) in our trees or maybe an illegitimate ancestor made their way into existance and DNA can help solve the mystery.
Certificates are not necessarily correct, I have a Birth Certificate where a Father is George William yet on his Marriage Cert he is listed as John, plus my GGM was illegitimate and her Granddad is listed as her Father on her Marriage Cert.
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I have been using RootsMagic for quite a few years now.
There is a free version available, RootsMagic Essentials - this can be upgraded to the full version.
Start with your parents and grandparents.
Work back a generation at a time.
Use sites such as FreeBMD.org.uk to find births, marriages and deaths.
Following my own advice, I have traced back to mid-1500's
And I don't use DNA!! ;)
Finally, post questions here on RootsChat!
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Welcome to this site. The members are very helpful and can offer some advice on a variety of family history queries.
I would say that it helps to keep an open mind when it comes to looking in your ancestors. I have found that, for example, age can be flexible between census as well as spelling of names.
Good luck with your research,
Jackie
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Thank you so much for your replies, much appreciated đź‘Ť
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I don't think anyone has yet mentioned familysearch
https://www.familysearch.org
Free to search though you need to sign up
And FreeReg:
https://www.freereg.org.uk/
And FreeCen:
https://www.freecen.org.uk/
Both of which are being added to all the time.
Also, newspaper articles are a great way of fleshing out family history - from birth, marriage and death notices to trouble with the law, or often fascinating snippets of our ancestors' lives.
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Nobody seems to have mentioned other people's trees found online. Do not copy them many of them are purely fictional. They can be useful if you find someone in a tree that you think maybe who you are looking for, or one of your relations, but research them yourself to verify that the facts are correct.
A lot of people copy other trees and end up with a collection of names that have absolutely no connection to their family. You need to treble check everything. Good luck.
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I have been using RootsMagic for quite a few years now.
There is a free version available, RootsMagic Essentials - this can be upgraded to the full version.
Start with your parents and grandparents.
Work back a generation at a time.
Use sites such as FreeBMD.org.uk to find births, marriages and deaths.
Following my own advice, I have traced back to mid-1500's
And I don't use DNA!! ;)
Finally, post questions here on RootsChat!
I spent 15 years building my family tree before I took a DNA test.
The result of the DNA test is that one branch of it is NOT my biological family.
In the BBC Sounds series The Gift, one guy spent 30 years researching his family tree before taking a DNA test. He could not link any DNA matches into his tree, then his “parents” owned up that he was adopted.
So without DNA validating each branch of any family tree said tree is potentially a work of fiction.
Do not waste time researching on “paper” alone, take a DNA test and use the results in your research.
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Welcome to rootschat, lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here.
Can't see these tips mentioned above but
- KEEP A RECORD of where and how you found each piece of information - the website address, reference number etc. If you don't I can guarantee it will come back to bite you.
- And if you post a query here on rootschat, do tell us what you already know so we don't chase duplicate material.
- Keep copies on your own device [laptop or similar] of any documents you find online, then you have control of it and can see it when offline or when subscriptions have lapsed
- Keep records filed clearly on your laptop in [say] family name sub folders in a main family history folder.
- my advice is to use standalone software [I use Rootsmagic] to build and keep tree; back it up regularly to a standalone disk or cloud as a .gedcom [the standard format for FH files which makes them transferrable between different softwares] and upload a .gedcom to ancestry if you have a subs [this makes people in the tree findable by others who may be looking for the same people].
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Don’t hesitate to come back on here with any questions or just reassurance that you are on the right lines, just don’t ask the same question in two different threads :) :)
Mike
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You might find this book helpful:
https://www.familyhistorybooksonline.com/how-to-discover-your-family-history-using-free-resources-by-anthony-e-trice-372
See if your local library has it.
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Assuming that you are in England, then most local libraries have free access to Ancestry and Findmypast.
As a beginner I got very excited about that but then I found that my local library limits you to one hour per day and doesn't have access to find my past.
Jessit
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I don't think anyone has yet mentioned familysearch
And FreeReg
And FreeCen
They were mentioned in the WDYTYA tutorial links provided in Reply #1. ;D
Specifically, the The best free genealogy websites link
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If you do decide to splash the cash on an Ancestry sub there are links to a cheap deal on this thread
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=832955.279
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Hi Gary, welcome. Lots of super good advice already posted. I would add Wikitree.com as both a resource and to build a tree. Trees are somewhat more validated and require sources where many other systems don't. It is a bit US centric but there is a huge active UK scene.
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Good evening Mr West. I am a West so where was your father born? I see your emblem is a RAF badge so when were you in the mob?
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It seems a good idea if information like this was put in a prominent place so that new people, like me would find it quite easily. I hope it's not inappropriate to make a suggestion like this.
JessiT