Step 3: After you have exhausted your own memory and that of your relatives, then it is time to start searching for documents. Think in terms of what they documents they might have had to fill out or were filled out for them. Military records? Marriage records? Church records? Death records?

There are so many good resources available to you. Some of these documents are on-line, but many are not. Libraries, cemeteries, and other resources can be like gold to you as a researcher.

There are so many resources available that you will need to choose which ones you think will help you the most. You are doing historical research, so use good historical techniques. Document everything. Get copies of every document you can, and write down the information if you cannot copy the document. Keep a data section of a home computer dedicated only to your family’s history.

As you research, you want to build on what you already know. If you know about someone who was born in 1910, trying to research your where your family was in 1820 is not going to get you very far. If you know your grandparents were born in 1909, try finding them in the 1910 or 1920 census. If you find that census, you will likely find out their parents names and be able to research them in 1900.

If you know that your great grandmother died on a certain date in 1935, try to find her death notice or obituary in the paper in the days that follow. You can also visit or write the cemetery. Death notices and cemetery records can be provide a wealth of information about their lives.

Again, build on what you already know. You are a historian and a detective. Enjoy the search.