Scan and Enlarge Hard to Read Documents

Before writing any genealogical inquiry that is going to be turned into any official place, such as the Census bureau or the Bureau of Indian Affairs, it is best to make sure you have all your chickens in a row so to speak.  You need to make sure beyond a doubt that the information you give them is completely true to the best of your knowledge.  This is to make sure you get the correct information back.  Many marriage certificates, death certificates, wills, birth certificates, and many other official documents may have been hand written or typed depending on how old they are.  Either way the ink may have run, may be hard to read, or be very small.  Enlarging them using a copy machine with an enlarge function will help clear up a lot.  Making it easier to see will reduce your mistakes.

“Name Drop”

Another good way to get some information is to learn to drop names.  There are many genealogical societies and publications.  If you can strike a conversation with a member of these groups, you may be able to milk them for a ton of useful information.  You can drop names and usually you can get a host of information.  Sometimes they may know a thing or two about the name you dropped, but most of the time they can tell you about a place to look for information.  They can in most cases lead you in directions you never even considered.  Genealogical societies are known for their ability to locate information about ancestry that the average person can not locate themselves.  They can tell you about forums to join, websites, computer programs, clubs, groups, publications, people, and places that will be useful in your search.

Ask Someone Who Knows the Area

If your search brings you to a certain location, ask around and see if anyone knows the area.  If your research dates back a couple generations, look for a church or a school or something that looks like it has been around that long or longer.  You can usually find a church member or priest or teacher or someone that has been there a long time.  They may remember something or know something that can guide you in some direction.  If you have pictures or something to help jog their memory, that is even better.  The more information you can show them, the better chance you have of them remembering something. 

Look for Events Close to Home

Usually if you live near a large city or town, there will be genealogical lectures, seminars, and conventions.  Genealogy societies all over the country attend these and they are a pool of knowledge all in one location.  Many societies and companies have booths set up to help you.  There are companies that locate information for you.  There are societies and investigators and so many other options for you to explore.  You can also learn all about how to do your investigations to locate your long lost history.  This option is one of the best options for a novice ancestral researcher, but it is one of the most overlooked.  Do some research online and see when the next convention, seminar, or lecture is coming to your town.

These are just four tips to help you on your journey to discovering what your family has in its history.  Do some research on the internet and do some reading on genealogical publications.  You will find that there are a ton of options to consider.  There are so many options and ideas and techniques.  You just have to find one that works best for you and stick with it.  Remember that this is a very time consuming task and it will take lots of work and lots of patience.  Don’t let dead ends get to you.  Just keep in mind that this all takes a lot of time.  Once you get done, you will look back at your family tree and feel proud at all the work you did and all the knowledge you have gained through the sweat tears and aggravation.  You will have something you can pass down from generation to generation that will be valued for generations to come. 

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