by Abby Glann

By now, you have a great jump on your family research. One important thing to look for or ask for when tracing your family is sources. Sources. Sources. Sources. What’s the big deal?

Sources make all the difference when someone is looking at your research, or YOU are looking at your research later, in telling you how do you know what you know. This may seem like a tedious step but it will help you and those who look at your tree so much.  How do you know that Jim Jones is your grandfather? You know him personally. Put that in a “sources” section whereever you have your research. He was born in 1936 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. How do you know that? He told you and showed you his birth certificate. Put that in the sources section. 
 
We’ll talk more about places to find sources later, but for now, just put down how you know what you know. Don’t let anyone tell you a source isn’t good enough, at least for now 🙂 The most important thing is you know where you found your facts. Later, if you find a different source and want to compare, or find a differing point of view, you’ll be so glad you did and the other folks out there researching their families will be happy you did, too!
 
 

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