> Well, this is a good start, if you have family in the Wilson County = > area. > First, collect all the info you can on your living family, plus any info = > on the names, dates, places of birth, death, marriage, etc. for each = > member, then to your parents, then grandparents, as far as you can go. = > Dates and places are important, and document where you get your = > information. > Family bibles can be a big asset, but are not available to all families. = > Birth and death records are kept in the county courthouse (if they = > occurred after 1914). Marriage records often go back longer periods, but = > may not be complete. Birth and death records often contain other = > information that might be useful (name and age of parents for birth = > records, often names of parents on death records). Suggest you go to the = > Archives in Raleigh (if you are local), or to the county courthouse = > where the records are located. Collect all the info you can on known = > family members, and any that might be related. > Then, start with the Census records for the county of record. Many = > counties have changed borders over the years, so you have to know a = > little about when and how the county was formed. All this information is = > readily available at research rooms, libraries, etc. Census records are = > from 1790 to present, every 10 years...I think the most recent that you = > can research is the 1920 census. These can be found at the Archives in = > Raleigh, or through Family Centers of the Church of LDS. > Going child to parent, track the family through the census reports, = > using land deeds, wills, and marriage records to establish = > relationships. No detail is insignificant, no fact can be accepted with = > secondary proof from another source. Visit cemeteries that might be in = > the area, looking for family members. Visit the county genealogy = > research center, often found in the county library, if your county has = > one. Learn about the surrounding counties, especially if your ancestors = > lived near the border, and may have moved around. Watch for different = > spellings of your family name in the records, and record any records = > that might later be connected. Send out inquiries on the web (such as = > this message) to contact other family members who may already have = > significant research on your family. > Don't try to connect your family to Kings, the Mayflower, or any other = > "blue-blood" lines, just document the facts, be complete and as accurate = > as possible, make note when you do not have definite proof for an event, = > and think of your research as multi-generational. If you do a good job, = > and document the family history with sufficient dates, places, etc., = > someone will add to your research and increase the scope and value of = > it. Remember that a family history is not an AKC pedigree, it is a = > history of your family, good or bad, fair or foul, rich or poor, world = > shakers or the ones getting shaken, every family history has a value. = > Every family tree has a few branches that someone wishes they could trim = > off, but if you stick to the facts, collect all the info you can, your = > efforts will be appreciated by those that come after you. > Do this and more, spending a lot of your time and money traveling, = > requesting copies, researching in the Archives, going to county = > courthouses, visiting local cemeteries, checking the web, signing up on = > mailing lists for counties or surnames, reading about genealogy, = > learning the history of the state and county of your ancestry, and do = > this consistently and relentlessly for 20 or 30 years, and pretty soon, = > you'll have a good basis for your family history. > Ray Hunt > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [SMTP:[email protected]] > Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 1999 12:56 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [NCWILSON-L] Lamm's of Wilson Co. > how do a person get started researching their tree