Basic Genealogy - Getting Started - A Few Simple Requirements

• Curiosity - Desire to Know More
• Willingness to Learn
• Traditional Tools - Traditional Genealogy
  • System for Taking Notes
  • Information Sources - Libraries, Courthouses, (Genealogy) Societies,
  • A Filing System - for documents you collect (hard copy) - One Filing Scheme
  • Willingness/Desire to Phone, Write Letters and/or Travel
  • Camera
  • Way to Document Results - Typewriter (or Computer)   A "Good Practice" Hint
  • Way to Distribute Your Results to Others
    Important enough to search out? Then important enough to document and pass on.
• The Computer - A New Tool
  • Now - Only a few hardy souls skip this step.
  • Computer - Invaluable for Cataloging, Transcribing, Organizing Your Research Notes
    Need Search Method for Own Records
  • Computer is effort multiplier - if only for record keeping.
  • Genealogy Application Software
    • Both A Digital Filing System and a Method for Producing Good Documentation   A "Good Practice" Hint
    • Cannot replace (only supplement) Document Filing System
    • Software: • PAF (Personal Ancestry File) • FTM (Family Tree Maker) • The Master Genealogist - Difficult for non-computer oriented, most features
    • I Don't follow my own advice - Have my own system
      • Web based - minimal software required - easy to distribute
      • Downside/Upside - Can't easily integrate other's results
      Common output file format - GEDCOM
    • Also need a computer printer
• The Internet - A New Tool
  • Add to Your Computer
    • Internet Access • Browser • E-Mail • CD Reader
  • Internet Wonderful for Networking with Others
• Some Supplemental Digital Tools
  • Digital Camera - at cemeteries, family photo album
  • CD Burner - Alternate to paper for distribution of results
  • Scanner - Converting photos and documents to images for publication
• To Summarize:
  • Genealogy Still Requires All the Traditional Tools
  • Computer a New Tool - but not absolutely essential
  • Internet a New Source of Information
  • Internet a New Method for Networking - Corresponding
  • Internet Genealogy Not Sufficient in and of Itself
    On occasion just have to write letter or visit a library.
    Just collecting other's GEDCOMs, a big Internet-enabled folly
  • If you don't use a Computer & the Internet your Progress will be much slower

© Prepared by Jay January 9, 2006