Welcome
To Genealogy Assistance
Updated; April 29, 2001
Page maintained by Arthur R. Wood Sr.
Don't lose sight of the fact that although there may be only ONE of you and you may
have only had 2 parents and 4 grandparents, you had 8 great grandparents, 16 gg grandparents, 32 ggg grandparents, 64 gggg
grandparents 128 ggggg grandparents etc.
Before you do anything, bring a tape recorder, sheets of paper talk to the older family
members and ask them to relate anything at all that they can remember about the family. Record every detail, ask for pictures,
newspaper clippings, school lists. You may need several visits to some of the older relations as they tend not to remember
details until after you have left and they continue to think and recall.
Find out if there are any birth, christening or baptismal certificates, or marriage
or death certificates anywhere within the family. To make a start on your research you really need your grandparent's birth
certificates and marriage certificates. If the marriage certificate is not in your family's possession, as long as your parents
know the names of their parents and the marriage date, the certificate is easily obtained from the Office of the Registrar
of Births Deaths & Marriages. A Marriage Certificate is your link to the next generation, as it usually gives the names
of the father of both the bride and groom.
It is best to work backwards, from known information about already-identified ancestors.
i.e. your parents or grandparents.
Never ASSUME. Document everything. Keep a careful record of every
search you make even if you find nothing. It will save you from searching the same records again at a later stage.
