Gloucestershire Family History Society, Forest of Dean Branch

Starting Your Family History Research

• Start with what you know, the full names and birth dates of your close family.
• Any copies of certificates, whether births, marriages or deaths, will become invaluable as you progress with your research, for instance a birth certificate will give the mother’s maiden name.
• Talk to your family, it can often yield valuable information, especially from older relatives, have your notepad handy! You may find someone has a family bible, or an old diary or maybe a Parish magazine all are often a source of much information of past generations. Involve your relatives and don’t forget to inform them of your progress, involvement often encourages participation and may mean that more memories are shared.
• As your information grows you will need files to store all your certificates, photocopies etc. Maybe you want to start charting your family tree, the modern way is via a computer, there are many companies marketing family history software and it is easily available for purchase.
• Many official records are now available on the internet, but eventually you will need to visit a record office or library, many local family history societies hold copies of census and transcripts of parish records etc.

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