In this article you will find answers to the following questions: where to start drawing up your own family tree, what steps should be taken for a productive study of the genealogy of your family, why to study the family archive and what are the ways of drawing up a family history.
How does one begin to compile one’s own family tree?
Start by interviewing your closest circle of relatives. They are the ones who can provide the initial information on which you will build the foundation for future research. Full name, place of residence, date of birth and death – this and other important information within two or three generations, you can learn without actually leaving home and just asking your parents, grandparents. The value of such memories also lies in the fact that often only your relatives can name facts that are absent from official documents: habits, appearance and distinctive character traits of an ancestor.
However, in order to make an objective picture of the genealogy of his family, not enough to limit themselves to oral information of their relatives. The next step is the analysis of family archives. It is necessary to find and study letters, diaries, old photographs, various certificates (marriage, birth and death), employment records and certificates. Particular attention should be paid to documents from civil registry offices. Often these family papers and certificates of the past are folded up in boxes and sent to gather dust on a far shelf – while with careful consideration they can provide information about who were and what kind of life your predecessors led.
Keep a file on every relative you find in your research to preserve and organize the data
The third step is to apply to regional and state archives, where a person can obtain data about themselves and their closest relatives within 75 years (the period of protection of personal secrets). First, ask the employees of the archive to issue your parents’ birth and marriage certificates, then look for a similar certificate about your grandparents. This way, step by step, you will move deep into the centuries. One request to the archive may be processed within 2-3 months, but they do not have the right to refuse you at all. In order to understand which archive to apply for information you should know the place where your ancestor lived. It is also necessary to specify certain chronological frames of the requested information as it is not reasonable to demand to find all the owners of your name in the archives.
In addition to personal history, official archives contain information that will help you get a better idea of the history of the region where your ancestors lived. This is data on the history of towns and villages, the composition of the population, the activities and the most famous representatives of the region. With a bit of luck you may also find some rare pictures, documentaries and audio recordings in the archives, which will only supplement your genealogical research with colorful proofs.