New to Genealogy

If you are just getting started researching your family tree, these suggestions and links will help you in your quest.  In order to stay organized and not repeat your efforts, it will be essential to establish some form of organization and record keeping.  There are countless forms available online that you can download and there are individuals who swear by each type.  You will also be using electronic sources at some time to help you in your search.  Online resources can either be subscription based (you pay to use) or free but they all take major efforts to administer and keep up to date so don't be surprised when you find links that aren't working or that the data you want isn't available.  Hopefully it will be some time in the future.

You may also want to share the interesting facts you find with others or simply want to store it on your computer.  To do this, you may want to investigate specialized software that you can download and use for record keeping.

Finally, as you proceed in your search you will sometime reach a "brickwall" that seems to stop you from getting any further.  It may be real and there is no further data out there.  This could happen due to records being destroyed or simply not being kept.  It could also be the case that you simply need the help from other genealogists.  That is when being a member of a genealogy society or interest group can be invaluable.  Needless to say, the Northwoods Genealogy Society welcomes your interest and invites you to join when you are well and truly smitten by the genealogy bug.

See the subtabs above for each of the following:

Forms for Record Keeping

Organization tools

Online Resources

Genealogy Software

Northwoods Genealogical Society Membership

The first advice to new genealogists is to begin with yourself.  You know the important information and can usually get back to your parents and grandparents fairly easily.  Once you have done this,  it is a good idea to begin talking to older relatives who would be on your family tree.  Unfortunately this step is often skipped until it is too late.  Practically every one doing genealogy has said I wished I would have asked...

This link will take you to a form we often hand out to those starting their research on the types of questions they should be asking.  It can serve as a guide as you develop your own research plan.