How to Find Genealogy Records for Beginners

When you’re first starting out in your genealogy research it can sometimes be overwhelming to know where to go to find what you’re looking for. This is especially true when you have multiple people or multiple goals to search for. Beginners sometimes have a hard time organizing their research.

You first have to decide what you want to look for. In general, you want to start searching for the low-hanging fruit first. This means finding the easiest records first such as census records. Family Search and Ancestry are great places to find the easiest records. They usually have done all the leg work for you so that’s why it’s easy for you.

So what are the easy records for Beginners

• Census records
• Birth, Marriage, Death records
• Immigration Records
• Military Records

I say these are easy records for beginners because usually they have already been digitized and cataloged for easy searching. Many times when you type in your ancestor’s name, the website will pull up these records that has that name associated with it. Then you can view it and see if it’s a match for your ancestor. You then gather all of those records and attach them to your ancestor. That way when you come back to this ancestor you know where to start on your next leg of the journey.

What if the record isn’t there?

When you’ve searched all that Ancestry and Family Search have on your ancestor or on your record, then it’s time to broaden your search into other areas both online and local.

Birth, marriage, and death records can be found with the State Vital Statistics department or the State Historical Society. You can also check with the churches in the area if they kept copies of the records. Also, you may have to go to the State government website to see where these records are located in that state.

Other records are located in other websites such as Fold3.com for military records, StatueofLiberty.org for immigration records through Ellis Island, FindaGrave.com for burial records, etc. So a Google search is a good idea if you’re trying to find a specific record.

I also like to send beginners to the Family Search Wiki to see where other records are located. This is much the same as a Google search, but within the Family History Library in Utah. Not all of their records are digitized so be prepared for that. In addition, they have links to other websites for specific records. The Wiki also tells you the history of your ancestor’s area and when the records were kept on the government level and when it was kept on the church level.

Sometimes you just have to do the old fashioned way and order paper copies of your ancestor’s records from the place it’s located. Not everything is online especially on a state level. So be prepared to wait as they search for your record and snail mail it.

Conclusion

These tools help beginners get started with most American records. As you get used to researching don’t forget to write everything down on your research log and stay focused on completing your goal before moving on to a different one. Also, as you research, the records will tell you where to go next.

For example, if you found a census record that lists your ancestor’s birth year and place, then you’ll want to look for their birth record. next. If you see that they immigrated, then you would look for immigration records next. So follow the trail as best you can.

If you get stuck that’s where I come in as a genealogist. I would love to get you unstuck. So contact me when you’re ready to go further with your genealogy journey.

And as always…good luck and happy hunting!

Tiffany

P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for my weekly email and get a free list of all of my favorite American and Scandinavian websites for your genealogy journey.

P.P.S. Related Reads…

• What’s New at Family Search for Connecting Families
• How to Find the Whole Family Using Census Records
• Effective Tips When Stuck on a Family Member