"Gale S." wrote: > > TX-GALVES listers, > > I have been searching the web, talking and talking and talking to relatives, > and have gotten a pretty nice chart of my ancestors, a few brick walls as > many have I am sure. > > I know my next step is to go to a FHL. Well, I went and they were very nice > but very busy there. They suggested that I need to document everything I > had first through a genealogy library, then come back. > > For the terrified of new things kind of person of which I am, could you give > me some advice on when I go to a library like this what do I do first? And > then what do I do second. I would never have more than an hour per week to > devote to this and I am afraid that I will do nothing but waste my time > because I will be totally lost. If I could just walk right in and go to > work, it would really boost my confidence. Anybody have a favorite game > plan for this? > > Thanks for any advise. > > Gale Gale, Since you don't have much time to spend at each visit, you may want to use the first visit just to get acquainted with the library. They have printed handouts showing the floor plan and where everything is. Go upstairs and look over the cabinets where the census and other records on microfilm are kept. Ask questions of the staff and volunteers who are always available to help. Pick up one of their helpful worksheets on the census Soundex system. Then go back home and get organized. With just an hour to spend on a visit, you can't do too much. Select a particular ancestor or family to research. The census is always a good place to start. Write down the census records you will need to look at(state, county, town, census year). Another thing you can do ahead of time is look at the Library's card catalog online. Pick out references that look promising and make note of the exact title, author and call number. The URL for the catalog is: http://www.hpl.lib.tx.us/hpl/catalog.html or access it through the link on the USGenWeb Galveston County Genealogy Web Page at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~txgalves/index.htm By the time you do all this, you will have a pretty good feeling for what you can find and do at Clayton. Good luck! Jim Turner