GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH Hiring a Researcher

If you wish to hire a researcher, write to the following organization that will provide you a list: Board for Certification of Genealogists, P.O. Box 14291, Washington, D.C., 20044.

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION National Archives and Records Service Washington, D.C. 10408

• HOW TO BEGIN
• Unless you are a king or a president or other notable, finding your ancestors and making sure a "family tree" is kept for future generations may be up to you. The federal government does not do family research, nor does its National Archives collect or preserve family trees. Books on family history and genealogy are collected, complied, and published by private individuals who do so because they are interested descendants.
• As the depository of the federal government's records deemed of permanent value for historical purposes, the National Archives houses many records that can be helpful to persons who wish to trace their ancestry. The search, however, cannot be completed at the National Archives alone. Many other depositories should be consulted. Following are suggestions about things to do and ways to go about getting a start at finding your ancestors:
• START WITH YOURSELF
• You are the beginning "twig" on the vast family tree. Start with yourself, the known, and work toward the unknown. You should find out all the vital information you can about your parents, write it down, then find out about your grandparents, great- grandparents, etc.
• NAMES, DATES, PLACES, RELATIONSHIPS
• You will be concerned with pulling from the many and varied documents of recorded history's four key items - "names, places, dates, and relationships." These are the tools of the family researcher. People can be identified in records by their names, the dates of events in their lives (birth, marriage, death), the places they lived, and the relationships to others either stated or implied in the records.
• HOME SOURCES
• The first place to begin is at home. You can find much information in family bibles, newspaper clippings, military certificates, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, diaries, letters, scrapbooks, backs of pictures, baby books, etc.
• RELATIVES AS SOURCE
• Visit or write those in your family who may have information, particularly older relatives. More often than not others before you have gathered data about the families in which you are interested. You should write a letter, make a personal visit, or conduct a telephone survey to find out about such persons and what information is already collected.
• FINDING DISTANT RELATIVES
• Before launching your research program in libraries and archives, search for distant relatives who may have already performed research. Advertise in the local genealogical bulletins (city, county, or state) where your ancestors lived. The most widely circulated genealogical magazine (which also specializes in getting people together who are working on the same families) is The Genealogical Helper, Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, Logan, UT 84321.
• BIRTH, MARRIAGE, AND DEATH RECORDS
• Some states began to keep records of birth and death earlier, but for most of the United States, birth and death registration because a requirement around the turn of the century, about 1890- 1915. Before that time these events will be found recorded generally in church records and family bibles. Marriages will be found recorded in most counties, dating often as early as the establishment of the county.
• CHURCH RECORDS
• A few churches have records of important events in the lives of members but many do not. Investigate the possibility of finding genealogical data in the records of the church to which your ancestor belonged.
• DEEDS AND WILLS
• Records of property acquisition and disposition can be good sources of genealogical data. Such records are normally in the county courthouses. Often the earliest county records or copies of them are also available in state archives.
• FEDERAL RECORDS
• The National Archives in Washington, D.C., has records of use in genealogical research. The federal census made every 10 years since 1790 is a good source. The census records are also available on microfilm in the National Archives' regional branches located in 11 metropolitan areas throughout the country (description leaflet available upon request). The National Archives also has military service and related records, passenger arrival records, and others. See the free leaflet, Genealogical Records in the National Archives.
• LIBRARIES, SOCIETIES, ARCHIVES
• Visit the state, regional, local institutions in your area. Libraries, historical and genealogical societies, and archival depositories are all good sources for genealogical and family history data.