Genealogy and History Fan

 This is a great article and an overview of genealogy.  All beginning family history researchers should read this.  I enjoyed it also and I’m not a beginner.

Using Genealogy To Discover Your Past And History
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Mike_Selvon]Mike Selvon

Genealogy satisfies the curiosity of those interested in knowing more about their past and history. Compiling a family tree that depicts much of one’s lineage and ancestors’ personal information, such as birth dates, marriages, children, and all sorts of other types of data can be a wonderful hobby to take on, and it is very popular as a pastime.

In order to obtain the information for a family history record, you will need to do extensive research. How extensive your research will be depends on the purpose of your genealogy project. If you are simply interested in a family tree that covers a few generations, much of your research can be done within your immediate family.

Interview older members of your family to discover the names and important dates connected with their parents and siblings. Also, check family Bibles and other heirlooms for information.

If you want to create a more extensive picture of your family history, you will eventually need to search through genealogy records. Sources that you may use include military records, land records, census records and the social security death index. Each of these types of records can provide information on your ancestors.

Think of a family tree as a mystery waiting to be solved. You will take on the role of a detective, gathering evidence and interviewing those who might be able to provide clues in your quest. Each bit of information that you gather will lead you to new sources and new questions.

Although it is not necessary, genealogy software can assist you in compiling your genealogy. The good ones will often include checklists of hints, tips and tricks that can prove invaluable. Such software may also be linked to research websites that can search a long list of records with a simple click. Some type of automatic family tree maker is usually included as part of the package.

A wide variety of genealogy resources are available online. There are many websites devoted to family history, such as Ancestry.com, and these can be valuable for clues and information for tracing your ancestors back in time.

You’ll also discover community forums, tools, different types of genealogy software, and other types of resources, as well as make friends with many other people devoted to genealogy. What used to be a long process of sifting through old papers in file rooms has become a fast and easy project with most of the information you need available with the click of a mouse.

Genealogy can be an exciting hobby involving playing detective and learning about your family’s past. You’ll discover many other people related to you whose existence you were not aware of or you’ll find new friends who share your passion.

Many people who begin a family tree for fun soon discover that the interest becomes a lifelong passion.

Discover more about how [http://genealogy.micronicherecommends.com/Genealogy.php]genealogy will teach you more about your past and history from Mike Selvon portal where a free gift awaits you. We appreciate your feedback at our [http://www.mynicheportal.com/family/researching-your-history-using-genealogy]Genealogy blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Selvon http://EzineArticles.com/?Using-Genealogy-To-Discover-Your-Past-And-History&id=685713

 You can read this article from Mike’s blog at http://www.mynicheportal.com/family/researching-your-history-using-genealogy. Read his other interesting and informative info there too.

My comment:  Genealogy expands the mind and the heart.  There’s no time like the present to begin your research.  The mystery is waiting to be solved!

While researching family history, it’s always fun to discover a story of love and adventure. The following story was told by Amanda, daughter of Travis and Sarah.

Amanda relates that her mother Sarah was a descendant of English royalty and from a very wealthy family. While she and her family were touring America, young Sarah met Travis. Travis was from Belfast, Ireland, but was in the U.S. racing horses. Sarah and Travis fell in love but Sarah’s mother disapproved of such a match. After returning to Europe she was able to keep them apart for seven years! But eventually Travis arranged for them to runaway to America. They were married aboard ship by the captain. For a time they lived in Kentucky where Travis resumed horse racing. Later they moved to southern Indiana to farm and raise nine children. Hopefully Sarah never regretted giving up her regal life for love. Sarah and Travis are my 3^rd great-grandparents.

It is hard to describe the joy and satisfaction we feel when we finally find an elusive ancestor. It’s what some of us call the genealogy happy dance. We squeal with delight and jump around trying to contain ourselves. But beware - family history can be very addictive. You just might become like me or the Grandma in the following poem:Grandma and the Family Tree

Join me and many others and become a part of a worldwide project to index records. Once indexed there will be free access to them on the Internet. This effort is called Family Search Indexing.

Since 1894, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has been gathering genealogical records. These records are stored in a vault in a mountain above Salt Lake City. This vault contains nearly two and a half million microfilms from 110 countries. Many of your ancestors records are contained in these microfilms! Very little of the information on these films is now on the Internet.

Anyone interested in helping with family history is invited to become a volunteer indexer. People from all faiths, young and old, and with no genealogy experience are signing on for this great work.. You can volunteer online at the FamilySearchIndexing.org Web site. Simply follow the easy instructions to register. Then log in - you can begin indexing right away.

Two volunteer indexers separately index each batch. Later, an arbitrator will check the two versions and reconcile any differences between them.

You can pick the records you want to index or let the program choose for you. I have done 1900 census records and ship passenger records. It’s a good feeling to be a part of this project. You can progress at your own speed with no pressure from anyone. You can make a difference - volunteer today!

Whether you have a small immediate family or a large one you may be surprised how many relatives you have. A chart by Sam Lower in the April 2007 Ensign Magazine shows us the startling numbers just coming from our great-great-grandparents.

We have sixteen g-g-grandparents. If each of those eight sets of g-g-grandparents had five children (most had more!) and so on down the line, we can expect to find 12,496 people. Yes that’s right - 12,496! So in just five generations we have an astounding number of family members. You are a part of something big! Genealogy is fun and exciting and you will never run out of relatives to discover!

While we are speaking of cousins: in the 19th century the term “cousin” could refer to any blood relative except a mother, father, brother or sister.  So Aunt Sarah may have been called cousin Sarah.  And of course close family friends were often called Aunt Jane or Uncle Joe.  Our ancestors did not want our research to be too easy!

“When a society or a civilization perishes, one condition can always be found.  They forgot where they came from.”                               Carl Sandburg  (1878 1967)

About six months ago I seemed to be hitting one brick wall after another when it came to genealogy. So I had to change my way of thinking and I saw my family history with new eyes and a fresh new attitude. Suddenly I was blessed with records and new info from many places. So remember:

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is odd with its twists and turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns.

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won if he’d stuck it out.

Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow -

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a faint and faltering man;

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor’s cup,

And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out -

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are -

It may be near when it seems afar:

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit -

It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

Author Unknown

 From the time I was nine or ten I have loved to read historical novels.   By the time I was thirteen, I had read Gone With The Wind four times.  To this day, nearly fifty years later, one of my favorite pastimes is to read a historical novel.

It’s no wonder that I was drawn, in my teens, to begin genealogical research. My fascination with the lives of former generations has had me on a life-long pursuit.

I have discovered in my research that some of the adventures of my ancestors read like a novel. Everyone loves a good romantic story. My fifth great grandfather, Anthony Lindsay, was a messenger for General George Washington. During one of his relay trips he stayed at the home of a wealthy landholder. This man had a daughter named Rachel who caught Anthony’s eye and heart. Three years later he to returned to their home and made Rachel Dorsey his bride.

For a family drama consider the conflict and dilemma of brothers during the Civil War. My second great grandfather, Calvin Wineinger, and his brother James lived in Indiana and were Union soldiers. Another brother Levi lived in Arkansas. Calvin and James’ military troop was sent to Arkansas to fight. Levi found out his brothers were coming so he hid in a cave because he couldn’t fight against his brothers.

Some might prefer a murder mystery. In the 1850’s my third great uncle, Moore Woodmansee, a prominent merchant in southern Indiana was traveling to Cincinnati with a large amount of cash. Along the way he checked into a leading hotel to spend the night. He was seen retiring to his room in the evening. By morning he had disappeared without a trace. He was never seen or heard of again.

What stories are waiting for you to discover in your family history?