Get Back on Track



Track-research--aYes, it happens you have been away from actively doing your family tree and now you want to kick start the research. Or you have been working on the family history and are running into road blocks. Here are a few suggestions to ‘get back on track’ and have success.

If you haven’t already, go to the closest Family History Center (Church of the Latter-Day Saints) in your area. Even if you went years ago, return as if it was the first time, there is much to learn and new resources are always available.

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Also see if your community has a genealogy society. By talking to other local family researchers, you will learn new techniques and databases that WORK!

Organize what you have already, those family branches and see where you need to concentrate by putting in additional time and effort. That would be refocusing.

Spend more time expanding you search of the collateral lines — those aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. It can truly prove to be an excellent method to actually gather additional information on your own direct lines. There could be data on that sibling of your grandfather that leads to previously unknown information on your direct relative.

Look back over documents, notes, records you have not reviewed in a year or more. Read each carefully and keep the family lineage outline handy. There now just might appear a name, place or date you had overlooked – yet it was there all along.

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Do some traveling if you can. Try to get to the family hometown and especially if there is a local genealogy society, library or museum. Any or all of these could hold a wealth of information on your family line. If you can’t travel, send an email or written letter – it is worth the try.

Related FamilyTree.com genealogy blogs:

Someone Missed in 1940 Census

Basic Ideas on Research

Think Outside the Box

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