1. Be scientific. Write down your sources of information: Who told you what? Where did you read it? (Ask yourself, “Where can I find it again if I need it?”)

2. Be thorough. Ask your subject many different kinds of questions. Write down as much information as you can. Evaluate all your information.

3. Be resourceful. Investigate many sources. You may have to examine numerous documents to determine a correct date, place, name, or relationship.

4. Be cautious. Do not jump to conclusions. Be ready to question what you are told and what you read. Even primary sources can make mistakes.

5. Be systematic. Keep all information about one family together. Organize your search before you go on an interview or look at public records.

6. Be considerate. When conducting interviews, be on time, tactful, polite, to the point, and appreciative, and don’t stay too long. Observe the rules as well as common courtesies in libraries and public buildings.

7. Use a cluster approach. Study each ancestor as part of a cluster of friends, relatives, and neighbors.
 
 
 

From the book Unpuzzling Your Past by Emily Anne Croom (Cincinnati: Betterway Books, 1995).