Beginner's Guide To Family History Research by desmond Walls Allen and Carolyn earie billingsley    

Congratulations on deciding to learn about a fascinating hobby! Once you begin, you will find family history research interesting, intriguing and addictive. You will become a private investigator and dive into a never-ending, real life puzzle. The pieces of the puzzle will tell you who you are; who the people were who contributed to your genetic makeup; how they lived; what events shaped their lives; and why they did the things they did.

The purpose of this book is to launch you on your quest. It is written in simple terms so you, the beginner, will get a basic grasp of the subject of family history and genealogy. What is the difference between family history and genealogy? Genealogy is the study of your direct ancestors and their families, while family history is a broader topic. It add a historical touch to your research, an understanding of the times in which your ancestors lived.

There are two very important concepts in this book:

• How you know is as important as what you know. We have given examples for you to follow in recording how you know. This concept is called 'citing your sources'.
• The families with whom your ancestors associated in their business social, religious, and extended family groups are very important to your research.

We will remind you of these concepts as we introduce you to sources of information about your ancestors.

Since we cannot tell you everything about family history research, we have included a resource section at the end of this book, giving you sources for more information. In the text, we direct your attention to the resource section with references in square brackets [ ].

Terms specific to genealogy and family history are listed in a glossary preceding the resource section.

Welcome!