What I Wish I Knew Before Starting Genealogy: 7 Lessons From a Professional
Now that I’m a professional genealogist with hundreds of hours of educational courses and study under my belt along with triple that in research time, I look back at my early genealogy work as a hobbyist and cringe a little. Unfortunately, some of my errors are requiring untangling years later, when in an ideal world, most of my personal family research would be quite far along given the time I’ve spent on it. To help you learn from my mistakes, here are seven lessons I wish I knew before I took on genealogy as a hobby.
Talking to Family Members About Their History
For many people, genealogy feels like it begins with records. In reality, it often begins with a conversation. I know when I was getting started, the first person I reached out to was my mom. Even though we had often talked about family stories so I knew she would have lots of details for me, I was surprised to learn she also had some documents about family history on both her side and my dad’s side. The information she provided was a big help when I was getting started.
Family members—especially older relatives—carry stories that never appear in official documents. These stories provide context, personality, and direction for your research, helping you understand not just who your ancestors were, but how they lived.