Making a start on the family tree - start with what you know

Every Christmas we were reunited with some relatives of my mother’s. There were older uncles and aunties, cousins and much discussion about second cousins once removed. That was us the young ones. I had no idea how we all fitted together. My Mum and her cousins are always referred to as “cousin” as in cousin  Marlene(my mother), cousin Wendy, cousin Bet etc. What confused me was when my dad was called Uncle Alf and cousin Bet’s husband was called Uncle Ray.

One day when I was about 12, I asked my mum how it all fitted together and who were these Aunties, cousins etc. She drew me a little tree which I kept for future reference. 

In 1988 my husband did Mum a Family Tree print out on our first computer. That dot matrix family tree was the start of Mum’s genealogy interest and subsequently a good start for me. We have a video of that printout been passed around at a party gathering information from all the grown up cousins. That printout survived which is a good thing as Mum died four years later. 

When my husband and I eventually decided to record our trees seriously my husband found a similar printout he had supplied to his mother in 1988 with copious hand written details.  

Before he died Dad had asked me to finish his family tree – are they ever finished? I was putting it off. For his part he had done some haphazard research and not a lot was recorded. After a discussion with my Dad shortly before he died he had shown me two James Kerr families and stated how he liked the look of one rather more fortunate family than another. He thought he’d take that one! Actually, can you see why I was a bit skeptical about the process? 

Six years ago we fronted up to the Kiama Family History Centre and asked how you “started”.  “Start with what you know dear” the volunteer replied.

Armed with the tree from my mother and my great grandparent’s names the volunteer quickly found them in the newly released 1911 English census which showed Mum’s information when I was 12 was remarkably correct. We were hooked. Hook, line and started…. never to finish.

With time on our hands we’ve built the tree, taken and explored DNA tests, We’ve visited places and cemeteries, poured over newspapers, postulated and researched.  Our database on Family tree maker expands daily and it’s a powerful tool for reporting and recording. But to put all this to good use I’ve loved writing up my people, exploring their lives and times and recording it to share with others.

It's a great hobby one I suspect I had a talent for from the age of 12 when I asked my mother about the family.  Technology tempted us with the earliest genealogy programs and the early printouts of two-three generations were a novelty.

Genealogy became really popular in the Bicentennial Year in Australia as people searched for a First or Second Fleet convicts- our Australian Royalty. It seemed there should be a start and finish. There never is. When someone says  an old Aunty “did” our family history in the 1980s- they are dreaming .It’s 40 years out of date and a lot has changed. Besides the new records available online there’s new generations with  births, deaths and marriages that happen in every family. It’s only a start –it’s never finished.

Starting your family history research:

1. Gather relevant information from living relatives sooner rather than later.
2. Bring out the family photo albums at your next function. Record what is said.
3. Find any records from personal files that might be available such as birth, marriage, death certificates, news clippings, family papers etc
4. Start looking for online information from BDM data bases, Trove digital newspaper resources, National Archives of Australia and historical resources about your district.
5. Make time to email or contact relatives who might have more information.
6. Download some family tree templates and start recording your findings.

#52ancestors  Some of my blogs this year will be following the 52 Ancestors hints.