"When we were
young, we weren't really interested in our
roots... but now that we are interested, there
is really no one left to ask." - genealogy
adage |
Everyone has their own reasons for doing genealogy.
Some people like puzzles and consider tracing family
roots as an entertaining pastime. Others do it to
preserve the memories and knowledge of older family
members for future generations. Some people use
genealogy as a means of reestablishing or
reinforcing ties with distant family members. Others
would like to demonstrate their relationship to
famous (or infamous) personages. Some would like to
write a family history. Members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do it for
religious reasons.
No matter what your reasons, doing your family
genealogy will entertain you, bring you personal
rewards and leave a legacy for future generations.
How do you get started doing your family's
genealogy? There are certain basic steps that will
make the process easier, quicker and more rewarding.
These steps will avoid duplication of work, increase
the value of your research, and make doing your
family genealogy more fun. These steps are:
1. Get a genealogical computer program
Using a computer program makes it easy to enter and
organize data. It avoids redrawing charts and
repeating work as you enter additional data. It
makes it easy to get neat reports which you can
distribute immediately to family members to get them
interested in helping you. It facilitates interchange
of data with others in your family that may also be
doing genealogical research. It makes it easy to
determine relationships between family members. It
identifies gaps of information and inconsistencies.
A genealogical computer program is, however, merely
a tool for organizing your data. It will not do the
research for you.
Genealogical computer programs are continually being
improved and new versions are frequently issued.
Rather than recommending any particular ones, we
have compiled some of the factors that you should
consider in our section on Choosing a Genealogical Computer
Program.
2. Start With What You Know
Begin with yourself and your immediate family. Enter
your own family group, father, mother, wife, sons
and daughters, in your computer program. This will
familiarize you with the program's features and
will allow you to explore the different printouts
that can be produced.
After entering your immediate family group, enter
your grandparents, aunts and uncles, their children
and so on. Always begin with someone you have
already entered and make connections outwards from
what you know already.
As you do the data entry, gather information from
your close family. Search for any documents, such as
birth certificates, marriage licenses, passports,
newspaper clippings, obituaries, scrap books, albums
and family memoirs that your family may have stored
away somewhere. Make Xerox or photocopies of the
documents and return the originals as soon as
possible. Do not keep or handle the original
documents unnecessarily to avoid loss or accidental
damage from mishaps such as spilling coffee on them.
When you examine these documents, take advantage of
the fact that Cuban civil and church records are
patterned on the Spanish model and often will
mention not only the parents, but the grandparents
as well. Often these records include information as
to where each of the ancestors was born, whether and
where they were living at the time of the event, and
sometimes even their occupation.
3. Interview Your Family Members
The best sources of information are your older
relatives. Also the children and close friends of
deceased relatives. Grab a notebook (or a small tape
recorder) and ask them about their childhood and
relatives. Do it as soon as possible, don't
leave it for tomorrow. Accidents and illnesses
happen unexpectedly and the information you want may
be suddenly lost forever.
Interview them again and again!
Don't give up after one interview - older people
frequently will remember one day something they
didn't remember the week before. Many times a
question you asked will trigger memories that will
surface hours or days later. Learn to listen for
possible clues to family connections. Often,
mentioning these tidbits to other relatives may gain
you additional information. It also pays to engage
your older relatives in conversation about humorous
events ("family legends") they may have
witnessed or taken part in which they are bound to
remember with pleasure. Above all try to make it fun
for everyone, including yourself.
Often you cannot interview relatives in person and
you must use the telephone or mail. When writing
distant or little known family members, mention
where you learned about them and if possible mention
someone known to them that can vouch for you. I find
it essential to start any such correspondence by
giving them a printout of the information you know
about their branch of the family to excite their
interest as well to demonstrate that you are serious
about exchanging information about the family and
that your letter is not just another junk mail
solicitation. Giving them a descendant chart or a 4
generation pedigree chart, greatly increases the
likelihood that they will reply to your inquiries.
Often they will point out that you missed someone in
your chart and that may open the path for another
entire branch in your family tree. Don't forget
to follow up by sending them updated versions of the
charts as you progress in your research.
4. Record Your Sources as You do Your Research
As you collect information, always record where and when you
obtained it (whether from a written document or an
interview) at the time you enter the information .
At the beginning, this may seem like unnecessary
work, and that such sources will be easy to
remember, but when you have gathered several
hundreds or thousands of facts, believe me you
won't be able to remember exactly the source of
each one. Many times a particular event, such as a
marriage, may have several, sometimes conflicting,
sources. Regard your genealogy work as a legacy that
you will leave for future generations to admire. You
want to document each of the facts that you record
so someone in the future can check your sources and
evaluate the veracity of the information
Genealogists divide sources into two basic
categories, Primary and Secondary sources. Primary
sources are those which were generated in close
proximity to the event, for example a baptism entry
in a parish register or a birth certificate.
Secondary sources are those which were compiled by
someone from primary or other sources, for example a
family history or even the date and place of birth
listed on a person's death certificate, which
might be based on the recollection of someone
present at the latter event. Secondary sources are
more likely to suffer from transcription or research
errors. None are immune, however. My own birth
certificate incorrectly shows as the location of my
birth the home of my parents, rather than
grandfather's home where I was actually born. In
a case of discrepancies like this, it is even more
important to document the sources, such as eye
witnesses, of the facts that you are recording.
5. Identify Promising Leads
During the course of your initial gathering of
information be alert for leads to other potential
sources. If a relative has served in the military,
been a member of a union or professional
organization, applied for a trade or professional
license, received an academic degree, there is
likely to be a paper trail that may have significant
genealogical information such as date and place of
birth, where he or she was a resident at a
particular date, etc. Be alert to the value of such
information and make notes to follow up later.
6. Search national and LDS data bases to fill gaps
and extend your body of knowledge
Only after you have collected all the information
available from your living relatives and family
documents is it time to start researching other open
sources of information. If you are new to genealogy
you may not be aware of all many the sources
available on your Cuban (or other ethnic) heritage.
I have compiled a list of sources where to find information relevant
to Cuban genealogy.
Reading a book on the subject may help you focus
your research and avoid false starts. I have tried
to compile a list of the most relevant Published References on Cuban
Genealogy to help you get started. Also be sure
to check on our on-line Index
to Historias de Familias Cubanas to see if the history of your family has been
compiled in this work.
7. Contact Others Doing Similar Research
Since the publication of the book and TV program
"Roots", genealogy has become a very
popular hobby in the United States. It is very
probable that one or more genealogical societies
exist in your local area. In it you will find other
members who will range in experience from the raw
beginner to the professional genealogist. They are
generally always glad to help out beginners in the
field. Such organizations are of great help in
identifying and guiding you to local sources of
genealogical information.
In addition to local genealogical societies, most of
the larger on-line services such as CompuServe, AOL
and Prodigy have active sections where members get
together in "virtual communities" and
exchange tips and information. Be aware that the
more narrow and specific your question the more
likely it is to receive an answer. Don't expect
others to do your research for you and always be
courteous.
On the Internet, there are several newsgroups and
many web sites dedicated to genealogy. Check out our
list of On-line Sources related to Cuban Genealogy and related topics.
Solving Family Mysteries will take you to an interesting article by Roger Hernandez, published in AARP Segunda Juventud magazine, describing the search for his ancestors.
Good Luck!
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