| The first thing you should do is talk to family
members about your family history. Some of them may have documents
or recorded conversations that could give you a good start. When I
did this, I ran across several documents written by my great-aunt that provided
me with a lot of information.
Begin by recording the family members you have information
for and work backwards. If you know where your ancestors settled when
they came to America, check with the courthouse in that county for records
of your family. You can fill in missing birth and death dates by visiting
the cemeteries where your ancestors are buried.
Borrow books from your public library on genealogical
research. These will help you determine what records are available
and where they can be found. One valuable book is The Genealogist's
Address Book by Elizabeth Petty Bentley. This one provides
the names and addresses of genealogical societies. It can be helpful
to join one of these in your state and in the state(s) where your ancestors
lived. Membership is usually between $5 and $50. Check out the
National Genealogical Society
as well. Most societies publish newsletters that can provide you with valuable
information, often including actual transcripts and records.
The National Archives
and Records Administration (NARA) has many records useful for genealogical
research such as the Federal population censuses, military records, ship
passenger arrival lists and naturalization records.
Keep in mind that you won't be able to actually "do"
most of your research on the Web. Most records are on paper
or microfilm and, since it is very costly to convert these
to an electronic format, they usually stay that way - although, as time goes
on, more and more data is being made available for searching on the web.
Also, the Web is a great place to learn what others have done,
find resources, locate libraries and government records repositories,
etc.
Good luck...and don't give up too easily!
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