It is sometimes difficult to know where to start when you become interested in doing family history work.  These helpful tips are from  Findmypast which is one of The Family History Guide Partners.  The following categories are included in the drop-down menu for the Findmypast learning path (see tabs on the main page): 1. Account 2. Family Tree 3. Docs/Photos 4. Research 5. Help 6. Technology.  Each of these categories offers projects and goals to help use Findmypast to guide and assist you in your family history efforts. Using the information found in these categories in conjunction with some tips from findmypast (click this link for the full article  Ten Tips to Start Your Family History), will make getting started even easier! Also, using The Family History Guide Tracker System is a great way to monitor your progress with skills and knowledge on an ongoing basis.

Start your family tree

Your immediate family often holds the key to starting your family history research. Record the memories of your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and cousins as you start exploring your family tree online. Ask each relative about specific individuals and gather details surrounding their lives including nicknames, places they lived, vital information (including birth, marriage, and death dates), occupations, and other important clues. Enjoy a free questionnaire below to get started with your family history.

Download a questionnaire to interview your relatives.

Start with the family history basics

Use your initial research for your first searches and then analyze your results to achieve a personal success strategy. Following the family history golden rules will help you become a more efficient researcher and hopefully lead to greater rewards in your family search. We discuss how the Census records can help you in Step 7.

Start your online family tree

Build your online family tree to organize your results. Keeping your research and records organized is important as you continue to find new details related to your family. Enter important information, including names, dates, and places to build a solid foundation as you continue exploring your family history.

Build your family tree with our online family tree builder

Start with a family story

When building your family tree, identify a potential story about family that you are interested to begin exploring.  Aim to uncover both newspaper archives and records relating to your family’s stories in your research.

Stories can include military service (such as exploring World War I military service records), occupational stories (memories of a first paycheck or time spent as a Merchant Marine), educational memories (attending high school or college) or a family legend (being descendant from a prominent individual in American history or confirm stories of a renegade ancestor with detailed criminal records).

Join the family history conversation

Join a network of family historians both experienced and new on social networking resources (like findmypast’s Facebook and Twitter) to make new connections and gain insight on how to expand your family history resources.

Staying tuned to the findmypast.com blog for latest record updates and podcasts to help expand your family history search. Read genealogy articles and watch youtube videos related to family history to start building your knowledge base of records and methods for tracing your family tree.

Search the U.S. census

The U.S. Federal census is the largest resource for family history and is a solid starting place for examining your family tree. Starting with the newly released 1940 US census, trace parents and grandparents through the census, recording their names, ages, birthplaces, immigration details, occupations, and residences as your build out your family tree.

Search the US Census starting in 1790.

Gather materials from relatives

Your relatives will likely have important resources in their homes that can assist your search. Family bibles, letters, certifications, and other important materials might be only a phone call away. Some family members might have old genealogical information from other relatives who have also worked on the family history that can help jumpstart your search.

Note: for more information on The Family history Guide’s findmypast learning path, see the following:

• A: Findmypast Overview
• V: Findmypast (8:49)
• V: Findmypast, by Joyce Whiting (17:57)
• A: Overview of Findmypast
• A: Getting Started on Findmypast
• V: Making the Most of Findmypast.com (36:04)