South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society Hazel Crest, Illinois Serving south Cook and east Will counties, Illinois     including Chicago's Roseland/Pullman neighborhoods Established 1968

Beginners Hints

New to family history? Some things you should know...

Start with yourself, and work backward. You must prove even your own name and birth date. Gather
"home sources" for yourself and your family, such as vital records (copies of birth, marriage and death
certificates), school, health, employment, religious or other records. When you have completed this information
for yourself and your family, work backwards one generation at a time.

Arm yourself with knowledge before diving into family history and available sources! Family history research
has its own terminology. You may have greater success if you are familiar with the terms, records, and methods
of genealogy. Read a basic beginners' genealogy guide; take classes; join a society; attend seminars.

              Basic beginners' books include:

• Family History Made Easy by Loretto Dennis Szucs (Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Inc., 1998)

• Finding Your Roots: How to Trace Your Ancestors at Home and Abroad by Jeane Eddy Westin
  (New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1998)

• First Steps in Genealogy: A Beginner's Guide to Researching Your Family History by
  Desmond Walls Allen (Cincinnati: Betterway Books, 1998) 

• Unpuzzling Your Past: A Basic Guide to Genealogy by Emily Anne Croom (Cincinnati:
  Betterway Books, 1995. Now in its third edition)

Several others are available in bookstores or at your local library.

Classes, Conferences and Seminars

Classes are offered at libraries, colleges, park districts or through local Family History Centers (operated by the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Genealogical societies offer meetings and classes.
Conferences and seminars are sponsored by many local societies and almost all state societies. These may run anywhere from one to four days. For instance, the week-long Genealogical Institute of Mid-America is offered
by the Illinois State Genealogical Society and the University of Illinois-Springfield.
National conferences are presented by the National Genealogical Society, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, GENTECH, Palatines to America and other organizations. These are hosted in different cities each year.
Online classes, as well as a home study course, are offered by the National Genealogical Society. RootsWeb
also offers online genealogy lessons. Check our page of Internet links for addresses of many of these groups.

Genealogical Societies

Which society should you join? That depends on your preferences and research needs. Do you want a society...
 

• NEARBY: You can attend society meetings and use its facilities
• ANCESTOR ORIGIN: You may find your ancestors in that society's facilities or publications
• ETHNIC/RELIGIOUS GROUP: These sometimes offer maps and sources not widely available.
• SURNAME: If your surname is uncommon, you may link up with someone searching your name
• COUNTY OR STATE: If you have ancestors in many counties of a state, or if the society offers benefits
  useful to you, or if there is no society in the geographic area you are interested in..

How do you find these groups?

• ONLINE SOURCES: Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet <www.cyndislist.com> and
  Juliana's Links, accessed through <www.ancestry.com>.
• BEGINNER'S BOOKS or GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINES (see below).
• HANDBOOKS: The Handy Book for Genealogists (Logan, UT: Everton Publishers); The Ancestry Family Historian's Address Book by Juliana S. Smith (Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry) Elizabeth Petty Bentley's The Genealogist's Address Book (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co.) and several others.

Magazines and Periodicals

NEWSLETTERS and PERIODICALS : often published by societies; feature news, records, research hints, etc. Sometimes restricted to society members; sometimes available by subscription.
GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINES: These are commercially published and offer information on records, sources, technological and Internet research, etc. Some examples are:

• Ancestry (published by Ancestry.com)
• Everton's Genealogical Helper (published by Everton Publishers)
• Family Chronicle (published by Moorshead Magazines Ltd.)
• Family Tree Magazine (published by F&W Publications)
• Heritage Quest (published by Heritage Quest)

More General Hints

• Don't skip generations. Record information in a genealogical software program or on forms designed for that purpose. These methods help you pinpoint inconsistencies which could lead you down a wrong ancestral line.
• Find out what sources contain information you seek. A basic beginners' guide shows what records are available and what records you will probably not find. You can find information from libraries or genealogical societies, but you must do your homework before contacting these sources. You cannot walk into a society or library to ask "Do you have a book with my family tree?" Family history research doesn't work like that!
• What is expected when you call, write or visit? Is a fee required? Can you pay by cash, charge or personal check, or is a money order required? Must you pay in advance? Must you include an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope, required with most correspondence)? When in doubt, include the SASE.
• Exhaust all local sources first before traveling to the ancestral village. Local repositories may have records on microfilm or in book form. Sources may be online or via interlibrary loan. Read beginners' books for more hints.
• Offer to share. When contacting someone who may have information, do you have photos that you could copy? Could you look up information in your library or society? Can you submit a query to a periodical, or write an article for publication? Genealogists are known for sharing expertise and information. However, don't expect "everything you have on the Smith family" from one who has painstakingly compiled research for two decades.
• Be considerate. We're pleased that you are interested in family history, and look forward to assisting you. Remember that millions of others are also interested. Library and archives staff are usually not able to perform research or provide personal assistance. Genealogical societies are usually volunteer, have varying levels of expertise and limited time. Know what to expect , follow these hints, and you'll receive a warm welcome.

How SSGHS Can Help

• QUERIES may be submitted to our publication and website. Please see our "queries" page.

• RESEARCH is done by library volunteers for a donation to our Book Fund. See our "research policy" page.

• MEETINGS, CLASSES & CONFERENCES provide instruction. See our "Calendar of Events" page.

• OUR PUBLICATIONS include a monthly newsletter, a quarterly journal, Where the Trails Cross, and other publications. Our "publications" page has information.