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Step 1 - What You Know
Start at the beginning ... with yourself. Move from the known toward
the unknown as you journey down your genealogical path.
Print a 4-Generation
Ancestor Chart and write your name on line 1. You might also want
to print the Ancestor
Chart Guide to help complete your chart.
An Ancestor Chart is a lineage-linked
diagram genealogists use for entering direct-line ancestors. This
form is used by all genealogists and is particularly useful to beginning
researchers to capture a snapshot of several generations. It is useful
in planning and setting goals because missing information becomes
evident quickly. An Ancestor Chart is essential to the success of
your genealogy journey.
Write the names of your parents in the next spaces to the right (line
2 for your father and line 3 for your mother)
Note: All women are entered using their maiden names.
Do you know who your four grandparents are? Write their names in the
next spaces to the right (lines 4 and 5 are your father's parents while
lines 6 and 7 are your mother's parents).
The remaining spaces (lines 8 through 15) are for your eight great-grandparents.
Do you know their names?
Fill in as many names as you can from memory, then go back and enter
any dates (birth, marriage, death) that you know.
That's a beginning, you're on your
way to building a family tree.
There are probably many empty spaces on your Ancestor Chart. Don't be
concerned if there are more blank spaces than filled ones. Following this
tutorial, step-by-step, will guide you through the process of uncovering
that missing information. You will learn about your parents, grandparents,
and great-grandparents. In doing so, you will also learn more about yourself.
Get ready for an exciting journey. You will quickly discover why millions
of Americans are "hooked" on genealogy.
Continue with Step 2 - Interview and
Gather
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