Free Family History Reports – Researching Free Family History Reports Reports

Free family history reports are best made when you have a clear idea of who, what, when and where you want to research. Setting clear goals for your research and working out the resources you’ll need to complete them is a necessary step that will maximize the results of your genealogy project. You may have already collected some information, in which case you’ll need to study it carefully to decide what you want to tackle first. Doing so will help you to draw up clear and accurate free family tree reports.

Free Family History Reports Step 1 – Verify Your Data

Although there is so exact method set in stone, we strongly advise that you begin free family history reports by verifying any biographical data that you collect. This includes birth dates and places, marriage and baptismal records, death certificates, and information found in census reports. You may need to order copies of these various reports, especially where there are gaps in your family tree. Much of this verification can be done from the comfort of your own home by consulting online sources. Many of the archives necessary to verify genealogical data are accessible on the internet and can be invaluable in confirming the accuracy of free family history reports.

FAMILY TREE TEMPLATES: Free, professionally designed, high quality family tree templates
BUILD FAMILY TREES ONLINE: What everyone needs to know about building family trees online

It is vital that you also use traditional methods for this process, as a large amount of the data you’ll need are located in archives and libraries. Learning how to spot clues that can confirm or dismiss a line of research is part of the total genealogy experience, and the more you develop this skill, the more enjoyable searching ancestors will be.

Free Family History Reports Step 2 – Working Further Back in Time

After verifying your initial data as much as possible through the use of civil registration records (BDM certificates), you may want to select a particular line of your ancestry to trace further back in time. Consulting other sources such as census reports, parish registers, and wills and probate documents are vital to successfully completing free family history reports. You may discover other branches of your family tree that it will be tempting to follow, but its best to note these and return to them after completing the lineage you’re currently researching. Once you’ve become more adept at research, you can begin to branch out and trace several lines of your family at once.

Free Family History Reports Step 3 – Focus on a Single Story or Branch

Start with one side of the family, and research it until you’ve either hit an obstacle in your research or when you feel you’d like a change. Then switch to the other side of the family or another branch of the family tree. This will help keep your notes organized, your research relevant and keep you on track.

FREE FAMILY TREE REPORTS: See how easy it is to get free family tree reports
FREE GENEALOGY FORMS DOWNLOADS: You don’t have to be a professional genealogist to use these free professional genealogy forms.

If you’re particularly enterprising, you may decide to stick to one particular family story to research for your free family history reports. Depending on whether a certain period or geographical location is involved, this may involve tackling more complicated sources of genealogical records. Perhaps you wish to investigate the stories of your grandfather’s involvement in an historical event, or a rumour of relation to royalty. This will involve following more complex lines of research in your free family history reports, but the results can be extremely satisfying.

Free Family History Reports Step 4 – Take Accurate Notes

The worth of your free family history reports will depend largely on the accuracy of the notes you take along the way. Spending an entire day in an archive and failing to write down some of the valid details of your search could find you wasting your time completely. Record what indexes you search in while compiling your free family history reports, note what information you find in them, recording the volumes of any books or manuscripts you investigate.

Take your laptop with you if you have one, and create a folder for each line of research that you take. Some establishments don’t allow laptops, but if so, they are a vital tool. If you have to take notes for your free family history reports by hand, make sure you write legibly so you’re not confused or totally lost when you consult back to it. Again, it would be a shame to take valuable notes only to not be able to read them after because of bad handwriting.

Researching for free family history reports can sometimes be a long and arduous process. Make sure that you also schedule adequate breaks for yourself so that you don’t suffer from genealogy burn-out! Remember that building free family history reports, although a serious undertaking, should also be fun and enjoyable. Set your plan of action, once you do you’ll have a clear understanding of exactly what you wish to accomplish in your free family history reports.