Beginning to research your family tree

Well, someone asked me recently how they should go about researching their family's background. As I typed up what I recommend as the starting point for aspiring genealogists, I realized that I have quite a bit of advice on the topic. Since it's already written up, why not blog it?

Just so you understand the background for this, I began working on my family tree as when I was about 12-13. I'm still working on it, although with varying degrees of diligence due to time and resource limitations. Thus, from that experience, here are my suggestions for starting your own look at your family origins.


Related to the family tree question, I have traced or helped trace several other people's family trees with pretty good success. First, you need to be able to identify positively your great-grandparents generation*. In other words, if you know their name, date of birth, anniversary, and date of death (or at least 3 of the 4), that's good enough. Or, if you know their name, their parents' name, their children's names, and the state they lived in, that will normally work as well.



The primary difficulty will come depending on how common the last names that you are searching for are. Secondary difficulties will arise depending on when your ancestors arrived in America: the more recent it is, the less you will be able to trace probably. It is very difficult to trace more than one generation beyond the generation that crossed to America.
The two best research sites are Ancestry.com and familysearch.org. Ancestry is interested in the money, has more records, and will cost you. (You can get an excellent, two-week, free trial however, but you must remember to cancel the order if you don't want to be billed, and you have to call them to do that.) Familysearch.org is run by the Mormons, and they are not in it for the money; thus, it is free. However, I don't think they are quite as convenient or helpful, and they don't have nearly as many records. I recommend using the two sites complementarily if possible.


There is a learning curve/gaining instinct on which records and names to pursue; expect to spend some time in trial and error. If your family has been in the States for a couple or several hundred years, your task is tremendously simplified, because by the time you go 2-3 generations beyond your great-grandparents you will usually find people who have already done the research, and you can gain from their information (although at times it will conflict).


Another seemingly obvious source of information is extended family. One of my great-grandfather's wrote an autobiography; two of my (other) grandmother's siblings were researching their family lines. A couple of my mom's second cousins were doing research; and so on, the more connections the better. These may be able to give you copies of actual legal documents and family lore, which is one of the most interesting parts of the entire process.**



If you have relatively rare names that you are researching, you could come up with exact results and fun facts within 10 minutes. If the names are more common, it will be more difficult. Just get as much specific information as you can and jump in. You'll probably get captivated by the search. Have fun.


* "Great-grandparents' generation" - the ancestors born shortly prior to 1915
** I highly recommend quizzing all surviving "old" relatives. Most of the time their memory of people is pretty good if they say it is. And, the stories that they tell you are what will add color to the names and dates you are researching. RECORD THESE STORIES!

The God Who is There, Section 1

Well, I have just finished Section 1 (of 6) of The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer. So, far this book is by far the most thought-provoking book I've read in a really long time. I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants to minister to real people in a real way. It deals with our current culture from root causes to major manifestations.
  Schaeffer deals with the despair that has gripped our culture in every facet. And while he is philosophical and traces the roots of the "new" mindset back to Hegel, Schaeffer manages to be quite readable. While being a philosopher, he never loses the pastor's heart of compassion; indeed, he is continually calling out to the believer to see and respond to the desperation which drives the modern man.
  One of the most fascinating aspects of this in my mind is the fact that the Hegelian thought which is the basis of "postmodernism" is quite similar to the dualism that is inherent in Islam. I posted a link to an article back in February which spoke of this Islamic dualism. And I think that this is particularly relevant to what Schaeffer says.
   The world we live in lacks absolutes (or as Schaeffer calls it "antithesis"). And so, I'll end with a this thought, "To the extent that anyone gives up the mentality of antithesis, he has moved over to the other side, even if he still tries to defend orthodoxy or evangelicalism." (pg. 47)
  When we give up the MENTALITY of absolutes, we have given up real Christianity!

Iraq still needs us

An excellent article about staying in Iraq: by a former British defense minister, to a British audience. Some outstanding observations, and a strong overall presentation.

Jeremiah against Judah

The message of Jeremiah is one of incredible faithfulness in declaring God's Word. As I have been reading through it, the tone has been one continually of judgment upon rebellion. The Lord would send Jeremiah with a message for Judah, and Judah would ignore it and/or attack Jeremiah. This went on until Jerusalem was sacked and utterly destroyed, and the people were carried to Babylon. And of those who were left, their governor was murdered, and virtually every remaining Jew fled to Egypt. And in chapter 44, Jeremiah brings them a message of more judgment if there was still no repentance. And the people say to Jeremiah, "We will not listen to you" (vs. 16). Then, they detail how they will continue to worship the queen of heaven.
Yet Jeremiah continues to speak the Word of the Lord to them faithfully. God grant us that kind of faithfulness to His Word, in the face of everything that is thrown against us, to say every word that He has given.

Current Politics

Well, since I've started to blog for the evening, I might as well continue. And I've been doing some reading and thinking about politics recently, so I guess I'll post about that, since I haven't for a while.

Two big issues in US political news right now (there could be others (like Iraq), but these are the ones I feel like mentioning.) :)
1. Immigration - Is the current bill any good? Well, do you mean the old current bill or the new one? This is just my opinion, but: close the border tight; set up penalties that must be paid by the illegals; have them learn English; and then let them be citizens. Amnesty happens every time someone new sneaks over the border and we don't stop them. The issue is not amnesty per se; it is whether we are willing to close the border. I don't think any of the "anti-amnesty" crowd REALLY think that we can ship 12-20 million people out of our country. Just think about what percentage of our workforce that is, and then decide that we need those workers. However, we have to close the border and keep it that way, including backing the Border Patrol agents when they enforce the border.
2. November 2008 - The '08 campaign is already on, unfortunately.
Regarding the Democrats, I've been quite surprised how popular Barrack Obama has been. I don't know if he can keep it up (Howard Dean, anyone?), but if he can, he can beat the other Democrat candidates.
Regarding the Republicans, I've been disappointed in those who are officially running. I think the most I can say is that I would think about voting for some of them. However, former Senator Fred Thompson will most likely announce his candidacy soon, and he seems to be a true conservative. He talks conservative at every level that I've heard; he is a thinker; and he is electable. Plus, he has a career in law and government before his time in acting. So, for now, I think he's the best choice, and here's his website. Maybe third-party won't be the best choice after all.

Email security

Quote of the Week:

"Email is equivalent in security to a postcard."

Next time you send an email, think about the fact that the whole world can read it, if they really wanted to. :)