What I Wish I Knew When I Started My Genealogy

Learn the 7 things I wish I knew when I started my family history. We’re talking about Ancestry trees, family trees online websites, getting organized, research notes, talking with family, finding genealogy records, hidden clues, and research strategies.
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🔴 Document Cover Sheets: What's Needed for Your Family History Documents
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🔴 How and Why You Should Keep Good Research Notes, Plans & Logs
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🔴 Research Notes - Episode 6
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TIMING
0:00 Intro
0:10 7 things I wish I knew
0:50 Importing trees
2:00 Don’t select all; Dig into details & sources
4:00 Online research platforms
8:02 Organizing Your Genealogy
10:45 Research Notes
14:56 Asking others
16:48 Finding the records
18:55 Hidden Clues
20:27 Bonus hints - research strategies
23:48 Can you break down your brick walls?
24:00 More learning opportunities
26:00 Getting Started in Genealogy
27:52 Next GTV Academy meeting
I am a fanatic for genealogy, family history and DNA to research my American ancestors. I create the best free genealogy videos and webinars on KZbin. Learn genealogy research skills to help you with your family tree and family origins. I am a professional genealogist; I teach research skills and records research. The best videos on “Genealogy TV” (KZbin) are about learning research notes, logs, staying organized, genetic genealogy, finding missing ancestors, and where to find family history records. Learn genealogy for free and how to research on Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, MyHeritage.com, FindMyPast.com, FamilyTreeDNA, AncestryDNA, 23andMe, WikiTree, Geni, National Genealogical Society, National Archives, National and State Archives, genealogical & historical societies, genealogybank.com, Chronicling America, Newspapers.com, Newspaper Archives.com, Fold3, Archive.org, Internet Archive, Wayback Machine, Digital Public Libraries, Google, Google Books, Google News, Facebook genealogy groups, and the very best genealogy websites and resources.
Best KZbinrs for genealogy are Genealogy TV, The History Guy, Aimee Cross Genealogy Hints, Family History Fanatics, Geneavlogger, Legacy Tree Genealogy, , Ancestry, FamilySearch, Useful Charts, Dear Myrtle, Genealogy with Amy Johnson Crow, and 23andMe.
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[@em4steam896]

I really wish when I started as a teen to had ask older relatives about family members. Because their knowledge is lost when they die. And when I was young , I thought I had more time but you really don't. Best to ask then, then wish you had later. Great video!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you

[@randywdc1]

True Story-In researching my Wood family I was led to Page County, VA. I went to the library in the county seat, Luray,. Upon entering, I asked where there genealogy section was and the librarian said, “Let me guess. You’re researching the Wood family. You look just like them.” LOL- Not only did she help with some research, she was able to connect me with family still in the area. Including extended family who still lived on the original family homestead where my 5th G Grandfather (American Revolutionary War Patriot) and 5G Grandmother are buried. We had a great visit and have since had DNA confirmation that this is indeed my family. It was like hitting the genealogical lottery. Growing up in Tennessee I never knew of my Virginia roots.

[@lizsmith7816]

Just had to share something that I be been working on this week, even though my story is a bit long. One of your videos about the FAN club helped me figure out that I had an NPE in my tree. My second great grandfather, Uriah Williams, who was born in PA seemed to just drop out of the sky into KY. I had lots of DNA matches to his wife, Catherine Garrett, and only one or two matches through Uriah. They had attached impossible parents to him and I was able to prove that we were related through other lines. I had a bunch of DNA matches to a Guy family, but could not figure how they placed in my tree. However, I did not connect the two problems until I just happened to notice that my great grandfather was born 12 years after his youngest sibling. It was then that I put your strategy of looking at neighbors to understand connections. I first checked the 1860 census and right there, 2 doors away from my 2nd great grandparents was a Martin Guy, the son of the family with all the DNA matches. I updated my tree with a strong caveat attached in the suffix field and waited to see what ThruLines would show. Bingo!!! Turns out, one of my matches through this Martin Guy was the daughter of a woman I taught closely with for years. Her husband is a descendant of this Martin Guy and yes, according to her, his family had heard rumors but didn’t realize that I was related to the Williams family. I can’t wait to pick his brain and those of his siblings!

[@lizsmith7816]

Oh, BTW, the place, Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia DOES exist. The Ohio part is the county name. It’s in the upper panhandle of WV.

[@MarkJT1000]

A lot of good advice in there. I can most strongly recommend working collaboratively on your tree with someone else who shares your ancestors. Its great to bounce ideas off each other and two heads are better than one when it comes to breaking down brick walls. And its great to be able to share your thoughts with someone who has a common interest.

[@lindacarroll6896]

I found that Ancestry based a lot of their early records (trees?) on the records available from LDS Libraries. Including all the mistakes. So, I began early double checking how much was true and how much was someone's wishful thinking. And remember, in the beginning, they (LDS) did not require that you prove it. Members could just turn in their tree as they knew it.

[@theropesofrenovation9352]

For those of us who are computer illiterate. Just learning the computer to do this is daunting, but you are absolutely right!!!

[@GenealogyTV]

I believe you can do this!

[@martylost167]

Thank you for the Family Search tip. I was able to go back to 1100 A.D. by being bad and using other people's work in 1 night. I love Find A Grave and I'm pulling that information along as I check the tree. Luckily most my relatives are in FAG, but I added my grandparents and getting ready to request other graves to update.

[@marywhite8517]

So much information! Thanks!!!

[@robynjohnson5750]

Thank you! I always learn some research tidbit from your videos. 👍

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad to hear it!

[@sharlenesizer9906]

Sooo helpful! Thank you!!

[@GenealogyTV]

TY

[@kaybobbitt7787]

I appreciate the chapter sections(access right after the time at the bottom of the video). They are very helpful & I know they take extra time to create. You cracked me up when you laughed at your own joke about names of the "Does"

[@GenealogyTV]

Hey if we can’t laugh at ourselves…

[@pilkpog7952]

#5 is my only source for my tree. im lucky all my grandparents are still alive

[@Sander-zj3wi]

Creating a record with the exact sources might be helpful for me. I have collected certain documents that are not directly linked to a person, like old maps. I live in The Netherlands and the quality of documents is very high. "Open Archieven" is a good index site, that lets you download a PDF overview (payed subscription) with a direct link to the original. Luckily Napoleon decided in 1811 that he wanted good records of all persons (to choose and pick soldiers more easily). The only real mistake is see is that people trust the transcripts too much. For the rest i work layer by layer and keep a checklist. The checklist (about 50 columns now) was the biggest improvement for me, because i kept re checking for certain information. It also prevented me from thinking i already downloaded certain information. I use a numbering system that also mirrors as a folder structure.

[@rcmnz324]

WV became a state in1863. Before that, most all of current WV was Monongalia Co., VA.

[@rcmnz324]

Not a good example, not two different states. Being 1850 and same dod, I would lean toward them being the same person, then verify sources.

[@paulaseiple336]

In your first example of Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia...Ohio is not the state of Ohio but the county of Ohio. Also, of course, West Virginia didn't become a state until after 1850.

[@GenealogyTV]

Yes... I learned that in the live call. Thank you for setting me straight. WV became a state in 1863.

[@suellenw561]

My ggf fell into that bucket of confusion by being born in VA in 1860 but was living in WV in a few yrs & hadn't moved. There also are census records saying he was born in Ohio. Strange because his birth is recorded in Mercer Co which is as far south as Ohio Co is north. Best advice ... be careful of what you find in those records. Someone once told me to find a fact 3 times before you believe it. W/ this particular ggf, that's not even safe.

[@southernsunshine6154]

i have a couple of observations and would appreciate your reaction and any advice. My mother and I worked on my genealogy (hers and dads) for nearly 20 years before she died in 2010 at 83. She started recording everything in Word and Family Tree Maker beginning with when it came out. She went to Wake Tech at 70 to learn to use a PC. She printed everything including every website she came across that had anything she thought she should save. She never learned how to save a website. Long story short I have copies of her FTM files, her last FTM discs, but I can't get into them. Fortunately I have paper copies of everything. If I didn't have the paper copies of everything, I would have lost a lot of stuff. We proved 32 DAR Patriots, including 14 new ones. One was for my surname Smith. I have multiples through each Grandparent. She and my father traveled interviewing older relatives, wrote letters, collected pictures, visited cemeteries, etc. I went when I could. I want to leave my research for future generations, but no one in my family is interested. Apparently neither is anyone else as we seemed to be the only ones interested in most of these people. Most of the evidence I found was from the NC Archives, VA Archives, family papers or county records and is not currently online since I used a lot of wills, probate and court records that are not digitized. I do not currently have an online tree. I'm about done with genealogical research except to tidy up my records for donation probably to the NC Archives. I used some of their files when I was doing active research. I don't want to pay Ancestry to put a tree on there for others to change when I know mine is right. I am thinking about using Roots Magic which seems easy to use to be able to print it out like my mother. I have only been interested in recording direct ancestors, but can get many lines back to the 1600's using wills and deeds. The last thing I plan to do is upload my Smith information to the Smith DNA website since I can get my Smith line through wills and deeds further back than anyone else in my line. This and having proven the DAR ancestor will preserve the proof. Any comments or suggestions?

[@GenealogyTV]

1) Donate your research to the NC State Library's genealogical collection. They will be happy to take the paper version and the digital version. I don't think they'll take the records. See my video on NC State Archives kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3yakpmdYrqBpLs 2) You can set up a free guest account at Ancestry and you will never be charged. You just can't access some of the records. No one can change it. This is different than a free trial. It's totally free. support.ancestry.com/s/article/Free-Registered-Guest-Accounts 3) Scan those pages of your mothers into a PDF reader that has OCR. That way it is searchable for others to look for surnames long after we're gone.

[@suzannemcclendon]

I remember those days of sitting for hours with the microfilm/fiche machines. I would get dizzy, and sometimes nauseous, watching the print whiz by. I sure miss those days. haha I love your timeline idea! I have a question about your Academy. I see that the Zoom call sessions are also recorded. Would a student be able to just watch the recorded sessions rather than participate in a Zoom call? I am my husband's caregiver and never know one minute to the next what I will be able to do. There's no guarantee that I could make it for the Zoom calls. But, at some point down the road I would love to take some of your classes. Thanks for another great video.

[@TeresaDorey]

Also, Ohio and Indiana is another example.

[@suzannemcclendon]

@@TeresaDorey My edit and your comment must have happened about the same time. :) There are quite a few that's for sure. I haven't noticed if Texas does it with state names, but there are many town names here that are repeated from other states. Atlanta (GA), Anderson and Greenville (SC), Boston (MA)...many, many more.

[@GenealogyTV]

Suzanne… absolutely you can watch the the recorded sessions. That’s why they are recorded, a lot of people work and can’t make it during the live sessions.

[@suzannemcclendon]

@@GenealogyTV Thank you, Connie. I look forward to hopefully joining your Academy, probably after the first of the year. :)

[@avenstrand8432]

I'm a new member here, how do I find the handouts, do I have to change my membership status? Thank you

[@GenealogyTV]

If your are at the Info Access level of channel membership you’ll see the handout links in the post on the community tab at KZbin.com/ genealogytv/community

[@lindacole8956]

Trying to sign up for the 40% off, is there a Code to get the discount? Thank You for the discount, you have revived my interest in my Tree.

[@TammyEmerson]

I was just looking for that also.

[@GenealogyTV]

Contact me through the contact link at genealogytv.org and we’ll get you set up.

[@Dgirl2]

FYI: there is an OHIO county in WEST VIRGINIA. It can show up as Ohio,West Virginia, USA. I also thought it was two states. Just thought you would like to know for future reference. 😊

[@GenealogyTV]

Yes I learned that in the live call. Thanks.

[@julieroyce8945]

I got sort of lucky, in the fact that most of my ancestors have been around here since Europeans started colonization. I only have one line of immigrants from the 1900s, Italy, that makes records a little harder to find. My question is, how far back can we realistically expect to go? I would love to know more about ancestors from Ireland and Scotland, but we’re talking the 1600s and 1700s. I’m probably never going to find definitive info on them online somewhere, and I can’t afford the trip to Europe right now, as much as I would love that.

[@joefromravenna]

I’m Slovak and a bit Moravian. The cutoff differs from parish to parish. One parish in Slovakia cuts off at 1753 another at 1675 … I’m going to go out on a limb and say you might find something similar in Italy. Big cities records on average go back further than small rural ones.

[@deborahleroy5323]

I just located my 4xs great-grandfather through a marriage certificate. Thank you NYC for opening up your archives records.

[@GenealogyTV]

Amen

[@cefcat5733]

Ominous to try to manage things in this life and manage all of that. Research is time-consuming. Do you limit yourself to an amount of hours per day? Can't burn detective candles on both ends, like before, but genealogy makes that tempting. Health is important too. How do you find a balance? Thanks. It is too enticing!

[@GenealogyTV]

I spend more time putting together genealogy videos, then I do research these days. But I do make an effort to get up and move around. I do a little bit of exercise every few hours. You are absolutely right. Sitting too long is not good for your health.

[@cefcat5733]

@@GenealogyTV Yes, chairs are an ouch. Physiotherapy helps too. Once I get started to find the ol ancestors, the passion doesn't allow for a good night's sleep. I don't even start to look now, due to that. I am still at the Notebooks of info phase. Thanks for the tips. Had loads of computers in the workplaces but not at home. One is coming. Thanks for the tips about sources and organizations.

[@mttaylor129]

I’d like to take advantage of the 40% discount you mentioned when talking about your August 3 zoom session. I will be driving to help family and may not be able to work zoom while I drive. The prices I saw in the show notes didn’t seem to match what I thought I heard you say in the video, and I don’t know how to sign up. I hope you can reply to me here, maybe delete later if that helps.

[@GenealogyTV]

The price with the discount is $35.40. I may have misspoken in the video. Use discount code GTVA40 at checkout. Sale ends tonight. Use the contact link at genealogyTv.org if you have questions. All sessions are recorded for later viewing.

[@4380midcenturymom]

Don't even believe your family:) My MIL wants to know who GGrandmother is/was. She gave me a family tree which she got from a "paid genealogist in the family." Ten- years of looking off and on,before I finally came across a fact proving the GGrandparents' names were wrong along with their entire "family." The wrong info keeps getting copied by others. Anyway, I had to disprove it before I finally found the correct family to trace ( with DNA proof.) Still don't know what happened to her but I know so much more and expect to find more.

[@pilkpog7952]

my dad jokes my grandfather may have made up some names lol

[@bv2858]

Just started watching this. Maybe you knew this. West Virginia didn't become a state until 1863. I apologize if you already knew this.

[@GenealogyTV]

Yes... right in the middle of the Civil War. I can't imagine what that was like.

[@cindypack5110]

Is there anyway that i can start my tree all over without deleting the original one. I have a feeling that I have some wrong information and its preventing me from moving forward,

[@GenealogyTV]

You can have multiple trees on your account. However I recommend starting with yourself and work backwards generation after generation looking at every piece of evidence and every connection to make sure what you have is right. As you go, use tree tags and mark them as verified. It’s kind of like doing your tree over again but without having to do all the work over again. All you’re doing is verifying each generation. You did a lot of work, don’t throw it away.

[@cindypack5110]

@@GenealogyTV Ancestry algorithms won't automatically fill the tree in will it?

[@GenealogyTV]

No. And for good reason. You need to verify with records and DNA what you’re putting together.

[@cindypack5110]

@@GenealogyTV Great, thank you for the advice.

[@Vector_Ze]

I had tests run for myself and for my mother, and I've been building my family tree on Ancestry for a couple of months. In a couple lines, I've gone back 8-generations. After watching your videos all evening, I've just about come to the conclusion that I should nip off everything beyond my grandparents and start over again from that point. I should've known things were going too well. :-( Better to learn the folly of my methods now than later, I suppose. What may be worse is other people using my probably flawed 'research' to build their own trees. Should I procede as I suggested, remove everything beyond my personal knowledge?

[@GenealogyTV]

I would not delete anything. Instead verify each link starting with you parents and look at the records as you go back and mark each one as verified with tree tags. You’ve done too much work to start over. If you get to a point in the tree where you’re not sure of the connection, merl them as unverified until you resolve the situation.

[@paulaseiple336]

Do you know when findagrave started?

[@GenealogyTV]

1995 according to Google.

[@Kiezik]

Wikitree Has two disadvantage. 1. My copy from my Heritage is too large to add to Wikitree 2. Tree is odd created its not intuitive likie Wikipedia for example. Historian. Even Family Serch more better organised

[@vondashelton3321]

You should have known that Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia, Ohio is the county that Wheeling is in.

[@GenealogyTV]

You’re right.

[@pamelaspooner8335]

I suggest you consider having paper copies AND digital. It's pretty easy to keep notebooks on different lines. Does this sound old school? Maybe, but as we all know, technology changes, passwords get lost, upgrades mean your old records may not work because they were created 20 years ago, and without question, You Will Die. Your family can lose all your research because: they have no interest right now, they lose your passwords even if you provide them a list, technology changes by the time your relatives have time to pick it up again, ....do I need to continue? 6 notebooks are going to last, perhaps get someone's attention, and will always be accessible to anyone who can read. And that might be a grandchild 20 years after you are gone. How sad would it be that all this history was lost because your technology isn't accessible by your descendants? Just have both paper and digital records......a belt and suspenders approach.

[@GenealogyTV]

Excellent points!

[@elletee]

But Connie, you failed to mention that Find My Past has online trees. Or maybe you left that out intentionally. It’s all pretty dreadful - very basic, no reports and if you are given a hint from another member tree it doesn’t give you sources or whose tree it is. There is a way of contacting the member though. I use the tree on my account as a means of gathering hints to review. It’s not public as it does contain some wild theories sometimes to see if that gathers hints. As most of my research is done at home I’m still relying on hints. And then visits to the genealogical society have huge shopping lists of all the birth, marriage and burial hints that I want to locate the original records for.

[@domesdaytoamericaproject5268]

I started in 1996 and was lucky to find a couple of distant aunts on rootsweb who had already done a lot of leg work back to our immigrants to Maryland in 1664. However, I quickly learned the pitfalls of modern research on the Internet. Even Ancestry and other services are full of incorrect or disproven information. I ultimately stopped using it all except for record and well-known historical works. My Google books library is fantastic. Though I also have a respectable collection of cherished books. My mistake was not understanding the software features well enough to organize and link people together as they’re found in records. Here I am 20 years later going through a huge tree back to the 13th-century and having to go through all of those notes and enter them into individual events and create those important links now.