When beginning your genealogy journey, start by gathering information you already know about your family. Sit down with older relatives and ask them questions about names, dates, places, stories – anything that comes to mind about your extended family members both past and present. Transcribe these precious family stories word-for-word to save for future generations. Not only will this oral history provide clues to guide your research, but it will also help you preserve your family’s legacy.

Next, sort through any family documents, photos, letters, diaries, certificates, bibles, scrapbooks, or artifacts you may already possess. See if anything contains additional details that can act as breadcrumbs to lead you down the trail of your ancestry. Organize everything chronologically and by family line or surname. This will give you a solid foundation before you begin searching records.

Set a Google Alert for your uncommon surnames so you can stay on top of any newly indexed records or family trees that may aide your search. Join mailing lists, message boards, Facebook groups, and subreddits focused on genealogy research as well as ones centered specifically around your ancestral surnames or geographical locations. This is a fantastic way to connect with extended relatives and share research.

Once you’ve tapped your home sources, there are a myriad of online databases and offline archives to comb through in search of your ancestors. Some top sites to utilize in your initial searches include:

– Ancestry – The largest, most comprehensive genealogical database available online with over 20 billion searchable records including census data, BMD certificates, immigration/travel records, military collections, directories, and more spanning the globe.

– FamilySearch – Entirely free resource managed by the LDS church with over 3 billion global historical records searchable including census returns and probates along with access to digitized microfilm from the Family History Library.

– MyHeritage – Similar to Ancestry with a collection of over 13 billion records as well as extensive DNA testing and matching capabilities.

– Findmypast – Boasts the largest online collection of British and Irish records with over 8 billion searchable documents including parish records beyond what’s available on other sites.

– Local/state archives – Don’t overlook location-specific physical archives and genealogical/historical societies which house one-of-a-kind manuscripts not yet digitized.

When searching these repositories, less is more in the beginning. Start with full names, precise dates/years, and locations of just your most recent generations to trace backwards. Widening your parameters too much can make records impossible to decipher between individuals with common names.