Being Overwhelmed

I have been given so much information from family and online information regarding my family history. I remember being so overwhelmed and not knowing how best to organize this information so that my children would understand what all this is. So I found a way that has worked for me in organizing my records so it made sense.

My desire is to create books for my posterity to know their past family. The thing I had to remember was that I needed to concentrate on my direct blood line first, the rest would come later. I needed to start with a pedigree chart and write the names of each person who is my direct line to as far back as I could go. Actually, I am going back to the first person who entered the U.S. as an immigrant then move on to the next line. After I completed that I could focus on where we originated from overseas. This works for me.

I have found lots of interesting stuff. Once I have done this I go back and research the info and I have to verify if it is correct then move on to the next until I have finished my U.S. relatives. To me this is the best way to begin.

I love coming across pictures of my ancestors. I love to see what they looked like and they just become so real to me as I view their faces. I try to see if I can find family resemblances; it's fun. I plan to take all this information, photos, documents and stories and create books for everyone else to get to know and learn to love their ancestors, too.

I love research and the satisfaction of finding the answer to your questions, as an accountant I do this all the time. It is no wonder that I love family history research because as I dig deeper, I find those treasures that can bring true joy to my soul. you can have that too, so get digging by starting with what you know and recording it on your pedigree chart then get all the documentation you can find as back up to your research and find how you can best store that information for your posterity. Good luck, don't wait any longer, get started now.