Now that you have gathered together information from around your home, interviewed your family members and entered your information onto pedigree charts and family group sheets it is time for the fun to begin! You are now ready to fill in some of the blanks on your pedigree charts and family group records. This missing information will become your quest.

I know by now you must be impatient and ready to jump in with both feet, but before you run out to the library or start searching in Internet databases there are a few more things you should do:

1. The first step of your research is to decide which branch of the family you want to begin with. The best place to start is usually with one of your grandparents - your maternal grandmother, your maternal grandfather, your paternal grandmother and your paternal grandfather. You aren't limited to these four branches, of course. You may select a family group or branch even further back in your tree if you have enough information, the point is just to choose a particular section of the family so that you have a defined goal as you start out on your research. There is nothing more discouraging than blindly searching the Internet for information about ALL of your surnames at once. The bits and pieces of info start swimming around in your head making it very easy to miss potential clues. There will be times, such as a trip to a distant library, where it makes sense to research more than one branch at a time but, for the most part, start with a single surname or family group and stick with it for a while.
   
   
2. Once you have selected a family group or surname to research, the next step is to learn a little about the geography and history of the area in which they lived. Having a good understanding of the political and historical events of the time period in which your ancestors lived may give you insight into where to look for records. Geographical and political boundaries as well as place names have also changed over time. For example, several areas which were once in Poland are now a part of Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. You don't need to be an expert, but you will find yourself less frustrated with your search and more fascinated with your ancestors if you have at least a passing familiarity with the area and time period in which they lived.
   
   
3. The final step is to set a research goal - look at the blanks in your family group sheet and decided what you want to learn about your family. Some people stick to just names, dates and places, choosing to collect as many ancestors as possible. My preference, however, is to put the "history" in my family history. Beyond the names and dates, I also look for information which will help me "walk" in my ancestors footsteps. This includes things such as their occupations, their property (land and personal), their friends and neighbors, their religious denomination, military participation, education, recreational activities and more. Basically, my personal goal is to collect every scrap of information I can find on my ancestors. Your personal goal may be either of these two extremes, or somewhere in between.

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