Here we are again. Just to re-cap, we have discovered why we are doing the family history work, general starting organization, and where we should start. Now we need to research, but where?

If you have done any research, you probably have a couple of go-to sites. Places that you are familiar with like genealogy.com or familysearch.com. Remember that if you actually go into the HQRL library, you can use ancestry.com library edition for free and that if you are a member, myheritage.com library education is available from your own home for free. 

The most important thing, as we said before, is based on your “current level of awareness” what sites are you comfortable enough with to go to every time you sit down to research. Go to those sites and play around with what you are familiar with but also find some new areas to play around in. Have you used the catalog in either site? Have you used Family Search Wiki. All great places to find new information and perhaps break through a brick wall. Ancestry also has a new feature, Ancestry Network that will help you connect your FAN Club.

Oh wait! Do you know what that is? FAN Club is Family – Associates – Neighbors. Sometimes when we can’t find the vitals on say a great-grandparent, we might notice in the census sheets that we keep seeing the same names. That is because people sometimes moved in groups (family, friends from the same homeland, church members, etc.) – FAN Club.  This is really just to point out that even our big sites change and going to new places in them helps us learn more and connect with more people.

Besides going to new areas of our familiar sites, try 1 new site a month. Maybe it is a big site like Findmypast or linkpendium (google them for details) or maybe it is a library or history society or genealogy society in an area your are reaching. Maybe it is NARA, the National Archive. Take an hour to just look around in the site to see what they have to offer before you plug in a name and try to find a long-lost ancestor. Embrace to joy of research. 

You know, family history research is not easy and it is not fast. Our family history didn’t happen overnight, and it won’t unfold overnight. It is a big puzzle with something always waiting to be found. Enjoy the journey.

Another place to start is to take classes, hopefully at HQRL but online, some even free. Find what works for you. Our next ones are about  French-Canadians, Kentucky and another about using indirect evidence (what happens when you can’t find a specific vital record). To me it is the learning and the stories that we discover like finding that a great-grandparent worked for the WT Tubing Company and what that company did.  How did I find it? Playing around on a site and finding an old city directory.

Be a learner and Enjoy!
Heidi Geise, Education Coordinator (education@hqrl.com)