Getting Started...
Years ago, I'd written down some of our family tree in a book I'd intended on giving my children. I had a fairly good start, but nothing very substantial.
Shortly after I got the Family Tree Maker program, I started looking through a box of my mother's photos and found a baby book my grandmother had filled out with information about my father. It had his weight and length at birth, some photos, firsts, and low and behold she had handwritten a family tree! This gave me a really good start on the Beiswenger side.
Now I had names but I didn't really know "who" these people were. That information came from my Aunt Ruth. She told me so many stories that I will need to go back to her house soon so I can confirm the ones I remember and write down some more!
Why We Do It..
A BRIDGE ACROSS TIME
She calls to me from long ago;
Through sunlit skies; through drifts of snow.
In clouds that dance upon the sea
I call to her and she to me.
So real was she. She laughed. She cried.
She loved; she lost. She lived; she died.
She hoped and dreamed; so real was she.
She lived a life that I may be.
The blood through which my veins does flow
is the same as hers from long ago.
So it will be that when I'm gone
in an unborn child it will flow on.
I'll live my life and when it's done
I'll live again in those to come
For I'm a bridge from she to me;
From those that were to those to be.
(I don't know who the author is)
Tips to help you conduct genealogy research...
- Talk to your family members.
- Find out where they grew up. (city, state)
- Birth and death dates of their father and mother
- Their marriage date and location. (ask for a copy)
- Ask relatives the name of cemetaries family members are buried.
- Ask if any aunts, uncles or other relatives have previously done any research.
- Visit or write to your oldest living relatives for the above information.
- Search the internet for the surnames you have found. Message boards may possibly have others looking for the same relatives.
- Your local library should be able to point you in the right direction to research areas that you have found. Many have subscriptions to heritageonline.com or ancestry.com for your use.
bravenet.com