Start with yourself and your immediate family and work backwards to your grandparents, making a note of all the names, dates and facts you are certain of.
Talk to the members of your family and ask for their recollections. Keep a separate record of what each person tells you so that you can compare notes.
Try and find as many family documents as you can – birth/marriage/death certificates, correspondence, receipts, photographs. Search your cupboards and the attic. Ask other family members to do the same.
Show what you find to older members of the family – it may jog their memories.
Always record where you find your information so that you can find it again. You think you will remember, but you never do!
Using the information you have found, start making up a family tree – this will help you to identify any gaps.
Make a list of questions arising from your researches so far. This will be the starting point for the of your research.
TIP:
Make a tree to your grandparents with dates of birth/marriage/death if known, refer this back to family members to see if information is correct.
