We’ve had quite a few new genealogists joining us here at ObituariesHelp.org, and I wanted to welcome them with a brief recap on how to formulate a family tree. We as experienced genealogists remember (I hope!) how daunting a task tracing your family history seemed at first. Where do I start? Who do I look for first? Where do I look? These are just a few of the questions that revolve around your brain when first considering a genealogical project. If you are new to genealogical research, or considering a family history project, following these ten steps, and using the many free resources we provide for researchers, will help you to master the basics you need to build your family legacy. Ready? Okay, let’s get started.

1. Gather Resources From Around Your House
You may not know it, but you could already be sitting on top of a genealogical gold mine! Many researchers have found documents, family heirlooms, and other valuable genealogical information from scouring their basements, attics, old boxes stored in garages form their own homes and those of their relatives. Many older relatives may have kept a family bible; I know my grandmother did, and she had birth dates, death dates, marriage and baptism dates (and sometimes accompanying certificates) stored in hers. You could also find diaries, journals, letters, photo books, all of which can contain important genealogical material.

2. Interview Your Relatives
The collective wisdom of your relatives can help to build a firm, fast family tree. But don’t just barrage them with a bunch of questions designed to accumulate data. Facts are important, and do write them down, but rather talk to your relatives, asking them about their own lives and those of the ancestors they know about. A good idea is to record your conversations, that way you can transcribe them later, separating the facts from the family stories. Before you begin your interviews, read some of our tips on Interviewing Family Members to help you prepare. Whatever you do, make sure that any “facts” you record can be backed up by official documentation. This brings us to our next step – writing the information down.

3. Recording the Information
After gathering all of that information, you’ll need to record it in an organized, efficient manner. You can begin with one of our Free Family Tree Templates. We have them beginning at three generations right up to ten or more generations, but we recommend beginning with one of between three and five generations. A three generation chart will include information on you, your parents, and grandparents, while a five generation chart will take you right back to your great-great grandparents. You can download them for FREE, and all the instructions you need can be found in the instructional article located conveniently on the download page.

4. Pick a Target
You will undoubtedly have spaces in your family tree chart the further you go back in time, and once you have recorded all the ancestors you can, it is time to pick one of those empty spaces in your family tree and fill it! This is where your research begins, but to be successful research has to be focused. Choose one ancestor and don’t move on to the next one until you have found the one you’ve selected. There are times when you may reach a dead end, but our Free Insider’s Guide – The Basics of Tracing Family Genealogy can help you to overcome them.

5. Begin Your Search Online
An online search can help you to find out if there are records of your ancestor somewhere; you may even be able to view some of them from the comfort of your own home on your PC. You can search huge databases on many websites, and many are completely FREE! We have recently updated our database, and now have links to 82 Absolutely Free Genealogy Resources and Records you can begin with.

6. Visit Your Local Library
You don’t want to limit your research to online sources; in fact you can’t complete your family history without visiting brick and mortar institutions. One such valuable genealogical repository is your local or state library. Many local libraries are tied into the database of the state or national libraries, and many have subscriptions to the large commercial genealogy websites which you can use if you’re a member. The US Government maintains a large online database of Government and Public Libraries in the United States while Collections Canada has a similar listing for Canadian libraries. Libraries for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales can be found at the UK Public Libraries website.

7. Visit Your Local Family History Center
The LDS Church (Latter-day Saints) has established more than 4,000 Family History Centers around the world, containing the largest genealogical database in existence. Their Online Directory can help you to find the Center nearest you.

8. Copy and Study Genealogical Documents
When you find a record of your ancestor at a library, family history center or online, you’ll want to make or download a copy of it so that you can examine it closely for clues to other ancestors, confirm the existing facts you have, and to preserve it for future use. Locate and make copies of as many birth, death, marriage, and baptism certificates as you can, and then you’ll need to update your Family Tree.

9. Update Your Family Tree
The new information you find will help you to full in those spaces in the family tree chart you began in Step 3. You may need to move on to a bigger chart, but whatever you do, don’t throw away the one you started, Transfer the information from that chart onto your new one, and file it in a folder along with any photos or copies of documents you may have for the ancestors included in it. You may need to refer to that chart again, or make copies of it to give to other relatives who might be interested in your family history.

10. Broaden Your Horizons
As you’re compiling information on your ancestors, you will begin to develop a personal interest in them, or curiosity about them. You might like to visit the land they immigrated from, or the village where they used to live. You will begin to learn of other sources like court records and church records, and may need to visit the repositories at which they are held. This is the stage when you’ll begin to realize just how much fun genealogy can be. As you develop your family tree, you’ll realize that research is not just about gathering facts, but about getting to know your ancestors as people. There’s no better excuse to go for a pint of Guinness in the pub in Ireland your ancestor used to love! You never know, you might meet someone who knew them!

There’s nothing more satisfying than finding your ancestor in a digital database, archive or other record collection, especially if the document you found is packed with valuable genealogical data. That is indeed cause to celebrate, but some researchers are content to stop there. Many documents and databases have hidden information however, and if only you learn to “turn the page,” you could begin another chapter in your family history. What I mean by turn the page is simply to look deeper into the record collection or index you are researching. This could be as easy as clicking the “next” button in an online index or other database, or turning a document over to see if there are any additional note on the back. There are actually many examples of record collections I have come across that yield that kind of information, both online and off, where simply turning the page I discovered more ancestral information. One such collection is Ship Passenger Lists.

Just because your relative’s information isn’t listed in chronological or alphabetical order doesn’t mean it’s not in the place you’re looking. I have discovered that when researching in Ship Passenger Lists or Manifests, where the first page will show the passengers name, but the second page contains additional information such as deaths or disturbances that may have caused passengers to be “secured” for the duration of the voyage. Always check the second page with Ship or Passenger Manifests, as that is where your ancestor may be hiding.

I was fortunate to learn early in my research that the 1830 Census of the United States contained not one, but two pages. If you are viewing the 1830 Census Online at Ancestry.com, you’ll discover that each name listed is associated with two separate images – one for each page. Make sure that you view both pages; the one containing your relative’s name, and the image associated with it, as the second page contains additional information, as the 1830 Census was the first to include data regarding those who were deaf, dumb or blind. The additional page will also list any “free colored persons” or slaves who were members of the household.

The 1830 census also went farther than previous reports to include a breakdown of the ages of members of the household, as well as to include people who were a hundred years old or more. This helps to illuminate the life spans of people during this period, which can help you to track down death and birth certificates. The additional information regarding those who had hearing, speech or visual impairments allude to the fact that there may be institutional or guardianship records which could reveal further ancestors or information about those you’ve found. The 1830 census also listed foreigners if they were present in the household, and if so, you could do well to search in immigration and naturalization papers.

The above are two major examples of how you can find ancestors by digging a bit deeper, or broadening your genealogical research. The theory holds true of any type of genealogical record, and so it’s good practice to always look for clues to additional records, or search a page or two on either side of the ones you’re researching. Learning how to interpret genealogical data takes time and experience, but experience only comes with practice. If you make such n integral part of your research, you’ll inevitably become a better researcher, but you may also end up finding additional ancestors or at the least additional family facts.

After recently attending the funeral of a friend, I spent some time reflecting and walking amongst the graves looking at tombstone inscriptions. One can’t help but wonder when viewing tombstones what kind of a person the deceased was, what they did for a living, what their family life was like and that sort of thing. At least I can’t anyway, and if you’re even a bit like me, you might also wonder what some of those illegible inscriptions once said. A tombstone inscription can tell you much about a person’s ideals or character, and they can also contain important genealogical information. Many of the tombstones I was seeing also contained various symbols, and of course they got me to thinking about their meaning.

Yes, much information can be deduced from the inscriptions carved on headstones, even the placement of a person’s grave within the cemetery can tell us something about them. But symbols and artwork on our ancestors’ tombstones can tell us even more. Perhaps a symbol’s meaning can shed light on a deeper level of our ancestors beliefs or personality, even reveal if he or she was the member of a particular, or more interestingly, a secret society! Perhaps they may reveal nothing at all, merely that our ancestor liked a particular design or animal. Yes, the interpretation of symbols can be a daunting task, and though many have specific meanings, many do not, and were placed on the headstone simply because the deceased fancied it.

Those that do have a specific meaning however, can reveal a person’s religious affiliation, ethnic identity, membership of an association, or reflect the culture of the era or location. Symbols used in one place might even mean something completely different in another, and so knowing and understanding the history of the area is important. Certain designs and symbols may also be the trademark artwork of the person who fashioned the headstone, so the true meaning may never be known. This is no reason to discount them however, as even if the symbols are merely of an artistic nature; many are a pleasure to admire. Some can reveal information about our ancestors though, and every bit of genealogical information we can glean from them helps to complete the profiles of our relatives.

Some of the Meanings of Gravestone Symbols

I am quite intrigued what specific symbols might mean, as several of my own ancestors have quite elaborate designs on them, and so I started searching for those meanings. I did indeed discover that they could be quite revealing. The tombstone of one of my ancestors was decorated with a type of long staff with some contraption attached to it. The item turned out to be a Cross Staff – a seamen’s navigational instrument from the 16^th century. It turned out my ancestor was a seaman. This revelation inspired me to look for the meanings of additional symbols, and the ones I was able to determine I’ve listed below.

Angels – Denote spirituality and watch over the tomb of the deceased.
Bible – The person was a Christian
Crescent – The person was of the Islamic faith
Heart – Represents Christ’s suffering for our sins
Menorah, Star of David – The person was most likely Jewish
Arrow – Mortality
Candle Being Extinguished – Loss of life
Broken Column – Loss of the Family Patriarch or Head
Bowl and Razor – The person was a Barber
Rake and Spade – The person was a farmer
Skull and Crossbones – Represents Death, or the possibility that the person was a pirate
Hourglass – Time has run out
Bird, especially Flying Bird – Eternal Life
Wreath or Garland – Symbols of glory
Flame, Lamp, or Torch – The eternal spirit
Horns – The person believed in the Resurrection
Rooster – Awakening, Resurrection
Ivy – Immortality
Awl – Shoemaker
Hammer and Anvil – Person was a Blacksmith
Butterfly – The person died young
Dog – The person was a good Master and worthy of love
Palm Branch – Stands for Victory and Rejoicing
Rose – Deceased died in the prime of their life
Urn with Flame – Unending Remembrance
Two Joined Hearts – Represents Marriage
Cherub – Signifies Innocence, often found on the graves of children
Laurel – Symbolizes worldly accomplishment and heroism
Lion – The person had great courage
Broken Ring – Represents severing of the family circle

These are just a sampling of the many symbols I have come across in graveyards or in Photographs of tombstones. They more often than not have something to say about the person who is buried there, and methinks, are well worth considering. If you are ever visiting your ancestor’s cemetery, take the time to photograph their tombstone, especially if it contains some symbols in the artwork. That way you can do some investigation when you get back home, and perhaps get to know your ancestor on a deeper level.

I was recently informed of an exciting and interesting historical publication called The Belvedere Book. It has been published by the Belvedere College with assistance in its creation being given by Eneclann, the renowned Irish Genealogy experts. The book was commissioned in mid 2005 by the college, as the Belvedere College Board was scheduled to assume responsibility foe running the school from the organization that has been in charge since 1832 – the Jesuits, and wanted to commemorate the contribution the Jesuits have had to education. Eneclann was requested to assist in managing the project that would create the manuscript book that now contains the records of every Jesuit associated with the school since the 1840’s. It is quite a comprehensive publication, and it has been constructed so as to be suitable for long term archival preservation.

Belvedere College is also known as St. Francis Xavier’s College, and has a total around 1,000 students on full time enrolment. There are also some famous alumni of Belvedere, James Joyce the famous writer being the most notable, along with Jimmy O’Dea, star of the popular film Darby O’Gill and the Little People, John O’Conor – former head of the Royal Irish Academy of Music and Beethoven master, and Sam Stephenson, famous architect of the Central Bank of Ireland on Dame St, in Dublin to name a few.

Formerly the information on the Jesuits was recorded in Latin within the Annual Catalogues of Jesus in Ireland, which have been published since 1821 right up until present day. Information in the earlier catalogues is minimal, but since 1851 they have been quite comprehensive, giving full details of the Jesuit Priests employed there. The team from Eneclann has done a superb job in translating the Latin into English, the result being a wonderful leather bound manuscript book drawing on Celtic calligraphy and traditional Irish book binding.

The information contained in the new manuscript book is easy to access and follow, a page designated for every year containing the full names of the priests, scholastics, and brothers along with their professional positions and duties within the school. If your ancestor was a Jesuit priest in Ireland from the mid nineteenth century, you are pretty much guaranteed to find them here. By looking through the entries for the various years, you are able to easily identify the priests involved with the school during that time, the subjects they taught (you can even browse by subject), even the school doorkeepers are named.

Two expert calligraphers extracted and copied the information from the Latin catalogues over a two year period, using traditional inks made from natural pigments that were ground from minerals. The paper used was hand-manufactured into individual folios of four sheets of paper, then sewn together by hand. As modern paper is made from wood pulp, it decays at a faster rate, so the traditional hand manufactured version will be easier to conserve. The book was then bound in fine leather (made from goat, pig, and calf skin), and a linen presentation box made to hold it. It has truly received the attention that a historical treasure deserves.

Due to its delicate nature and historical value, the Belvedere Book can only be viewed in person and by appointment, but it is well worth doing if you combine a trip to Ireland with some genealogical research. If you’re interested in researching a Jesuit ancestor who may be entered in the book, you can contact the Jesuits in Ireland.