Serendipity Saturday: Family Tree Magazine--Just for me???

The spacebar on my darling MacBook broke...off. So, Saturday, after work, while my kids were having a Father's Day/Birthday picnic with their dad and new step-mom (that's a post for another day) I drove down to Milwaukee to Bay Shore Mall to visit the Genius Bar at the Apple Store. I got really, really good service. Which is why, even though genealogy is a little less convenient on Mac, I still love Apple. 

Anyway, Barnes and Noble (my other place of worship) is conveniently kiddy-corner to the Apple Store so I had to go in. I picked up the July 2011 issue of Family Tree Magazine. In the sealed plastic wrapper there was a copy of Family Tree Builder 5.0 (this is of no use to me, I have Mac, see above--if you want it, it's yours). On the cover, the featured articles got me excited. Not only did they have articles about the state census and top 40 genealogy blogs (so I can check out how to do this right), there is an article on 

research tips for Detroit!

This article alone is worth the price of the magazine, the drive down to Milwaukee, the broken spacebar...and the order of Mushroom Stroganoff with Braised Beef at Noodles & Co. 

My family came from the various old countries (England, Germany, Switzerland and Romania) and settled in Detroit between 1832 and 1923. My nuclear family moved to Wisconsin in 1971, but aunts, uncles and cousins remain in Detroit. 

I was thinking that I was just going to have to take a trip to Detroit to visit family and to raid the courthouse. Good thing I picked up this issue of Family Tree Magazine. Now I have a wealth of resources to try online before making a trip. This also gives me a new angle to use when reconnecting with my cousins: "I saw this article about genealogy in Detroit and so naturally that made me think of you and how long it's been since we talked." I'd totally go for that if the shoe were on the other foot.

So, all because Family Tree Magazine was publishing an article on Detroit research tips, God arranged for my spacebar to break, so I'd be near the bookstore and of course go in and buy the magazine, thereby opening the path for finding more dead people to write to you about. That's Serendipity.

Newbie Tuesday: Learn from My Mistakes

When I was just starting out doing family history research, I flitted. I was a flitter. I duplicated a lot of effort. I didn't keep track of any of my sources. I made unfounded assumptions. I bounced from name to name and from search to search. You know that crazy blonde chick in the "Safety Dance" video? That's what I looked like doing genealogy.

Then, like a lot of folks who've had a conversion experience, I went gung-ho the opposite direction. I deleted everything off my hard drive and started over. I didn't even record my own name without making sure I had personally examined my birth certificate first.

To all beginners out there, allow me to quote my mother: "Do as I say, not as I do."

Prime Directive-- LIGHTEN UP!!! There are no Genealogy Police. If you're not having fun, what's the point?

I'm going to assume you know absolutely nothing and you are starting absolutely from scratch. I'm going to help you get started right and proceed in a reasonably orderly fashion. To my friends who are much, much more experienced and adept at Family History than I, please feel free to add any corrections or rebuttals in the comments below.

Before you begin your family history quest, you're going to need some tools.

1. Paper and pen--25 cents.
2. Some sort of dedicated Family History receptacle-like a 3-ring binder, banker's box, milk crate, section of filing cabinet.
3. Pedigree Chart--download one free here: http://familytreemagazine.com/upload/images/PDF/ancestor.pdf
4. Family Group Sheet download one free here: http://familytreemagazine.com/upload/images/PDF/familygroup.pdf
5. It is also extremely helpful to have some sort of genealogy software. There are lots of free and trial options available. Just Google "genealogy software" and you'll get loads of reviews and links to downloadables. My advice is to hold off on spending money. Try some freeware options first. http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/ or http://www.familysearch.org/eng/paf/ are great for PC. Mac users...good luck...I coughed up $99 for Reunions 9. There are some cheaper options. See item 1 above. Do not get stalled at this step. Remember the Prime Directive???
6. Your Christmas Card Address list.

OK? Good.

Now, starting with yourself as person 1 on the pedigree chart, fill in what you know and work backwards.

Parting thoughts on conventions: Females always get listed by their maiden names. To avoid confusion between dates like May 11th and November 5th, dates are listed like this: 11 May 1920 (four digit years please--centuries fly by).

Do you have your full name, birthdate, birthplace, and if applicable, marriage date and place down? Hooray! That's one generation done! Now go call your mother, she misses you.