Compiling your families history has to be one of the most rewarding things you can do. Many people are simply put off with the amount of time and research needed but with a vast array of online historic information at our fingertips it has never been easier to get started with the revealing of your families historic past.
In the old days it all seemed very daunting when you considered the amount of work that you would have to put into compiling a basic historic document of your family. Time was one of the major issues involved because you would have to travel from place to play and then a lot of time searching through old directories and files. Thankfully the process is now much simpler now that many of these old archives are now indexed online.
Even though the online databases are perfect for revealing historic information you can make the initial steps much easier by speaking to your immediate family so you can gather names and addresses of relations they already know about. This is a great starting point and will save you a lot of time in the initial stages of research. You can double check on the authenticity as you progress so you are following a specific cross referencing process so you are sure everything is factual.
This initial work will give you some wonderful background information and when you start putting it down on paper all of sudden the family tree will start o take shape. Have a look at old postcards that was very popular 100 years ago, old photographs and ephemera such as photographs and newspaper clippings may assist you. The more information you can gather the better because it will provide a bigger picture and will reveal more detailed facts about each family member.
It is advisable to methodically index this information either by date or name so you can easily identify the family tree. Organization is so important so you do not get information overload. What you are trying to do is just give yourself a solid foundation to work from. A solid starting point where you can then progress and start to fill in the gaps. You may not find everything online however so be prepared to do some legwork going from place to place, it's the only way you are going to complete the facts.
Once you start to piece everything together it all gets very exciting and you can't wait to complete the next piece of the puzzle. It is advised to go though generation to generation and not miss areas because they will cause difficulties later on. Take you time and make sure each generation is complete until you move onto the next one. I think you will find that your current family with be fascinated and cannot wait to see the completed results. You may discover some very interesting facts that the family sis not reveal. Maybe you have a connection to royalty or someone famous. You will never know until you start your own family tree.