Beginning Your Family History

Step 4. Begin at home (preliminary oral interviews, records in attics, drawers, basements, etc.)

Use the research materials that are most accessible to you. These are items found in your attic, basement, desk or dresser drawers, trunks or boxes. Talk to your parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. Use a tape or video recorder. Record the information on your family group sheets and pedigree charts. Always document the source from which you found the information.