Governments of all persuasions
have documented a variety of events over the centuries. Not all are of interest
to the family historian, but many provide the sort of information
available nowhere else. Way back in the dim past of course it was the churches that were the main record keepers, and genealogists everywhere will be eternally grateful for that!
Some governments were more diligent than others in the amount of information recorded. In my home state of Victoria in Australia for instance, we are fortunate in that the detail on vital records is very extensive. But in my wifes' state of South Australia, it is minimal. Nowadays of course there is a unified standard across all states but that was not the case prior to federation in 1901.
As a genealogy super sleuth you need clues to help you find that elusive 'needle in a haystack'. You can find almost anything, certainly on the internet, if you know where to look. So limber up your mouse clicking finger and 'do some people search'.
Records are the life blood of genealogical research and they come in all shapes and sizes - and usefulness. Except for the English Timeline, the information here is NOT country specific but of a general nature relevant to most democratic countries, and will give you an idea as to what resources are available and the details that they may contain.
Clue #4 - Always keep a record of your sources of information.
Caution
I've mentioned this elsewhere, but please cite your sources, otherwise this could happen to you:
I have been researching my family ancestors since 1981, when I was doing all my research by snail mail. I didn't realize how large my files would get and how important the source of the information I collected was. Well folks, let me tell a little bit of what has happened to me, in not documenting my sources. Someone contacted me with information to share and wanting more on some of our ancestors. Would you believe I had people in the wrong places and dates out of place? What a mess I had. I am now cleaning it up, but had already donated to Ancestry with all the mistakes. Not realizing my mistake of not documenting or asking for the source. Is my face red! I took the word of another researcher that the information was genuine.
Whatever you do, now or in the future, get the source. I have had to delete so many ancestors because of this mistake and no sources. I am now going over all 6,250 entries to make sure there are sources to back up my findings.
A Fellow Researcher
Access these other pages from here:
Be sure to browse the rest of the site.......
