The desire to connect with your family heritage strikes most people at some point in their lives. Maybe it happens coincident to the passing of a dear family member, maybe at the birth of another child. Whatever the reason, that hunger, as Alex Haley called it, leads you to start. But, how do you start well?
Genealogist Gena Philibert-Ortega has a great answer to this fundamental question.
“You’ve enjoyed watching recent genealogy television shows where celebrities or even everyday people make exciting discoveries about their family history. Now you are ready to research your own family history. Maybe you’ve begun doing some family history research but need some guidance. Great! Family history is a wonderful pursuit, and there’s nothing like the feeling of uncovering the stories of your family’s place in history.
“But you might be thinking: ‘Now what?’ Well, one of the first things you should do is to start with the here and now. There’s a funny saying that genealogy is about tracing yourself back to better people. Well, that’s partly true; it’s all about tracing your family back in time, but in order to do that you need to start with you.”
Read the rest of Gena’s article at GenealogyBank.
