Your Complete Beginner's Guide to Genealogy

Before You Begin: Setting Expectations

Genealogy is a lifelong pursuit, not a project with a finish line. Some family lines are richly documented going back centuries; others hit walls within a few generations due to destroyed records, immigration name changes, or enslaved ancestors whose legal identities were never separately recorded. Understanding this at the outset helps you approach the research as a detective solving a puzzle rather than a shopper filling a catalog.

The good news for US researchers is that an extraordinary volume of records has been digitized and made accessible online, much of it freely available. You can make significant progress from your computer before spending a dollar on subscriptions or record requests. And modern DNA testing provides a powerful complement to traditional paper research, often breaking through walls that seemed permanent.

Step-by-Step Research Process

• Step 1: Document What You Already KnowWrite down all names, dates, places, and relationships you already know — from memory, family conversations, or documents at home. Include birth, marriage, and death information for every relative you are aware of. Note any maiden names, nicknames, or alternate spellings you have heard.
• Step 2: Gather Documents at HomeSearch family files, boxes, and albums for birth and death certificates, marriage records, military discharge papers, immigration documents, naturalization certificates, old photographs, letters, diaries, and school records. Scan or photograph everything — these documents are irreplaceable.
• Step 3: Interview Living RelativesElderly relatives are the keepers of family memory. Record audio or video interviews with grandparents, great-aunts and uncles, and older parents. Ask about full names of ancestors, places of origin, family stories, and where old documents might be stored. Ask to photograph or borrow any documents or photographs they have.
• Step 4: Create a Research PlanBased on what you know, identify specific questions to answer — "When did great-grandmother Maria arrive in the US?" or "Who were my great-great-grandparents on my father's side?" Research one question at a time, one generation at a time, working backward from what is proven.
• Step 5: Search Online RecordsStart with free resources: FamilySearch.org offers billions of records at no charge. State vital records indexes, census records, and newspaper archives are also often freely accessible. Subscription platforms offer additional records and research tools if you need them.
• Step 6: Take a DNA TestAfter gathering as much paper evidence as possible, a consumer autosomal DNA test can confirm family connections, break down brick walls, and connect you with previously unknown relatives who share your ancestry. Coordinate testing across multiple family members for maximum benefit.

Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid