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Exploring your family history can be a daunting project and we often don't know where to start. An important step in professional research is to start with what you know. Sketch out a family tree with what you know.  Interview your family and jot down any stories, anecdotes, myths, legends or rumors. Most stories have a grain of truth at their origin.  

We are very fortunate today to have access to many online records. Over the past ten years, genealogy has changed dramatically. With a search at the computer we can now access records which would have previously required a visit to an archive in a distant city or we had to wait weeks for a paper copy to arrive by mail.  That being said, digitization has only scratched the surface of what is available to us. For example, the National Library of Scotland has over 2 million maps in its collection and only a fraction are available on its online map viewer.  Genealogy is not an armchair activity. Don’t limit your research to online searches on the big genealogy sites. Visit an archive. Talk to the archivists. There is a wealth of information and knowledge available to those who put in the effort.

The internet is the great enabler of collaboration in genealogy. We can learn from the research and family stories of others, share family photographs and seek coaching on how to improve our research skills. There are, however, some pitfalls to be aware of. Not all family trees are created equally. The big commercial family history websites are wonderful search and collaboration tools. They allow you to quickly create and expand family trees. You can create many trees, each for a different purpose. They allow us to copy or inherit trees or sub-trees from other people. And, with that, comes the problem where a single error can infect hundreds of trees on that platform. Proceed with caution and always check where a fact comes from. We call this checking the sources. Every fact that you add to your family tree should come from a reputable and verifiable source. Ensuring the quality of your tree is key to preserving your work for future generations.  

Research without an aim is busy work and we can lose hours of time if we don't know where to look and what to look for. One of the first things we learn in genealogical training is that all research should begin with a research plan or outline. A good outline will identify the aim of your work, the known information, resources to search and when will know that my research is done. A good research project is not considered done until the results are written out. Give your work the respect it deserves and write out your results and, better yet, publish it somewhere for others to benefit from it. Publishing it has a far greater chance of preservation than your work sitting on your computer behind a password where no one will be able to access it when you’ve moved on. 

Genealogy is now a recognized and accredited profession. A profession comes with standards, guidelines and best-practices. You don't need to be a fully trained professional genealogist, but why not learn some of the basics and save yourself hours of working with faulty trees or spending hours researching without an end in sight? Don’t reinvent the wheel. It will be worth spending a little time up front to learn some basics. Reach out to other researchers. Many well-trained people volunteer to offer tips and more in-depth coaching.  

At some point we will all hit brick walls in our trees. For some of us, drawing our family tree back to 1850 will be a struggle. For others, they can be blessed with detailed records back to the 1600s. Fortunately, we can use DNA testing and analysis to break through these brick walls and discover new family connections.  

Men and women can each take an autosomal (atDNA) or mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test. Men uniquely have a Y-chromosome which can also be specifically tested using a Y-DNA test. At this time, only FamilyTreeDNA offers Y-DNA testing. Y-DNA testing is a useful tool for identifying common ancestors between matches along the patrilineal line. Y-DNA testing is very helpful in surname research projects where surnames are passed down the patrilineal line.   

Autosomal DNA testing is offered by all of the major genealogy research websites and can help you find living relatives. Each website will offer you a list of DNA matches, ranked by probability of a relationship. These matches can help you identify common ancestors within roughly the past 200 years or so. The test is a simple and painless saliva test. Autosomal testing is the cheapest test available and is a great way to get started or to give to someone as gift. Once your sample is on file, it’s often possible to buy other tests in the future without having to send in a new sample. 

Mitochondrial DNA testing is currently provided by one testing company, FamilyTreeDNA. Mitochondrial DNA is passed down to both men and women by their mothers. The nature of mtDNA over the centuries is such that it is possible to identify common ancestors between matches going back thousand of years along the matrilineal line (your mother, her mother, her mothers mother, etc). This is a very powerful tool to help you understand your matrilineal origins beyond the genealogical period (where records exist).  

One of the most rewarding experiences you can have in your family history journey is to join a collaborative research project with WikiTree. WikiTree is a collaborative, global family tree site for genealogists of every level from every part of the world. Well-trained volunteers are available to help answer your questions or coach you through your research project. 

Helping others is one of the many fulfilling rewards of family history research. We need each other to break through the brick walls we have in our histories.  Many solutions exist today for collaborating, printing and publishing. Family history research is a long term project. Look for economical solutions which make sense over 10, 20 or 30 years. While a subscription to a big name genealogy site has its usefulness as a discovery tool, it is unreasonable for most of us to consider keeping a paid subscription active for the next 30 years. Most of our family members won't pay to access our trees.

1. Will this tool help me advance my current research problem? The research phase is where we typically spend money. The big-name family research websites are excellent search and discovery tools. Time-bound your work to be more cost effective.

2. Will this tool help me preserve and share my work? Software and standards can help with creating and editing your trees. Standards exist to help us communicate, collaborate and preserve our projects for the future. All genealogy software tools support the GEDCOM standard, which is a file format that allows us to preserve and share our family trees. Backup all your work to a GEDCOM file.  There are many free GEDCOM viewers available. 

3. Does this tool make financial sense over the years? I look for free long-term-viability solutions. Printed paper is still the best way to archive and share your work with others.  If you back up your tree to a standard GEDCOM format, you can publish these online with free tools such as viewers or a wiki. A wiki is a website that allows collaborative editing of its content and structure by its users. Wiki-based websites such as WikiTree are free for everyone and are designed for long-term preservation.

Yes! We can guide you to key resources based on your specific needs. We can guide you how to set up your research plan and through the decisions you will need to make to approach your research. We also offer online tutorials and webinars for the beginner or more advanced researchers.