Cathy C. Schrack - Genealogy Simplified: How to Make a Family Tree, Do Ancestry Search, & Trace Family Heritage Like a Genealogist. 75 Free Websites & Resources Included

Cathy C. Schrack

Copyright 2013 by Cathy C. Schrack

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved.

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The Publisher has strived to be as accurateand complete as possible in the creation of this book. While allattempts have been made to verify information provided in thispublication, the Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors,omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein.Any perceived slights of specific persons, peoples, ororganizations are unintentional.

This book is not intended for use as a sourceof legal, business, accounting or financial advice. All readers areadvised to seek services of competent professionals in the legal,business, accounting, and finance fields.

Welcome to Genealogy Simplified, acrash course in mapping your family tree from a practicalperspective.

Genealogy is the study of your unique familyhistory. It is a personal record of your heritage and ancestors.Such study uncovers where and when your ancestors were born, wherethey lived, who their children were, who they married and wherethey belong in relationship to you within your family tree. In caseyou are wondering just what a family tree is, its a hierarchy ortraceable path through time back to your ancestors, where youoriginated from.

This book is designed to be utilized as aguide to getting you well under way to tracing your heritage and tohelp you discover family roots you may not know you had. You willlearn the basics of how to begin gathering information, where tolook, how to assemble a family tree as well as the dos and donots about genealogy in a non-invasive understandable way.

When most people hear the term genealogy,they jump to conclusions telling themselves its too difficult andcomplex. But it does not have to be a daunting chore. Tracing yourgenealogy begins with you. It can be as easy or as difficult as youwish to make it and as brief or as detailed as you desire.

The more information you collect the betterthe success you will have in discovering your real ancestors.Sometimes ancestors are easily discovered while others may take youlong periods of time to discover or for you to decide if you havethe correct ancestor or not. The beauty in tracing family lineageis there are no deadlines. You can collect lots of information andtake rest periods or collect tidbits continually throughout yourlifetime.

Genealogy can be such a fun, exciting andrewarding experience. And sharing the information you gather withfriends and family members will give you a feeling like no other.As you make new discoveries, the drive to discover more becomesvery intense like adding fuel to a fire, at least this has been myexperience.

In the midst of new discoveries comes timesof frustration as well. Sometimes it is difficult to uncover newinformation and often pieces of the puzzle just do not fittogether. This can prove frustrating but pressing on and persistingwill inevitably lead to new historical information being uncoveredand will eventually lead you down the correct path.

It is important to keep in mind as you areventuring into genealogy, that when learning how to go aboutuncovering members contained within your family, there is noconcrete or set way to do so. The tools and principles you willlearn in this book can be tailored and utilized in unique ways tomeet your own individual needs.

Combining personal flair with your criticalthinking skills will help in your genealogic process. It allows youto not only evaluate the viability and reliability of theinformation you will uncover but will also help to get you thinkingoutside the box which will ultimately yield more and betterinformation.

This book will walk you step by step inthinking about genealogy, where to begin your searches, buildingyour very own family tree, devising a plan, keeping proper records,analyzing data quality, what to do when you get stuck and mostimportantly how to have fun learning about where you came from.

Ready to get started? Let's begin!

You may or may not have asked yourself yetwhy ancestry is important to you. Perhaps you are merely interestedin knowing who make up the members of your distant and ancientfamily.

Some people use genealogy as a hobby or as aprofession. It is fun to learn about family, gather information anduncover mysteries sealed deep in the past. For others genealogy hassignificant sentimental meaning, maybe there are heirloompossessions that have been passed down through your family thatmake your history important.

The truth is, ancestry plays a much moreimportant role than meets the eye. While it is comforting to knowwhere you originated from, knowing heritage alone can be powerfuland even financially lucrative if lineage can be proven.

There are a multitude of underling reasonsexactly why individuals might seek their genealogy. Below are someexamples you may be able to relate to. While this list is not acomplete comprehensive collection, hopefully it will help to getyou thinking about the vast scope of genealogy itself and sparkyour interest in lifelong learning about your family history.

Family Legacy Perhaps you have adesire to fulfill or pass on your legacy to future generations.

Tracing Medical Aliments Maybe youwish to assess your level of risk in certain medical conditionsthat thrive in families.

Historical Studies Providing orseeking information about history through studying famousfamilies.

Family Traditions Preservingknowledge about your ancestors who founded or contributed totraditions contained within your family.

Establishing Paternity Determiningyour biological father.

Famous People You might wish to findout if you are related to any celebrities.

Heritage Societies Providingdocumented proof of lineage so you can join a heritage society.

Solidifying Family Stories Determining whether family stories about your ancestors are true ornot.

Mapping Family Inheritance -Determining a genealogical connection for your heirs.

Community History Determininghistory of your community by understanding the founders andfamilies who most influenced it.

Historical Significance Establishingan understanding of your ancestors involvement in historical andcommunity events.

Preserving Family Culture Allowingfamilies who have migrated or immigrated to another country thechance to preserve and realize some culture from your originalcountry or origin.

Searching For Birth Parents Determining your birth parents if you are adopted or attempting tofind children whom you have given up for adoption.

Religious Reasons Satisfying yourreligious tenets. Mormonism is most well-known for thispractice.

Reconnecting With Family Finding andreconnecting with your living relatives.

When beginning your research on familyhistory you should begin by thinking about yourself first. Startingyour search for ancestors will be basic and an easy process atfirst and will become more and more complex as information becomesincreasingly scarce or buried in records.