Genealogy 101: Oral History Every researcher should begin documenting their family history by interviewing parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends of the family. When I began my research years ago I interviewed family members and closest friends with a list of questions much like the following. Full name? When and where were you born, married? Where did you live? Why did you choose to live where you did? What did you do for a living? Did you or your parents come to the United States from another country and when and why? What are their earliest childhood memories? What are your religious and church affiliations? School memories? What do you think of the modern world? (morality, education, transportation, etc.) What memories would you like to share with future generations? Did any war affect you personally? Were there any cataclysmic weather events in your lifetime? Comments on Presidents or political figures in your lifetime? What were your happiest/saddest moments in your life? Give this or a similar list to them ahead of time. This will give them time to think and find materials of interest like letters and photographs to share.

This "Oral History" will yield interesting stories and add insight into the lives of your loved ones. I began my research after my grandparents died, too late to ask them important questions about their lives. My "Oral History" began with relatives. I knew my grandmother had a child that died at a year old. The interviews I did with immediate relatives matched the stories I had heard. My last interview was with a close friend of my grandmothers and the story changed dramatically. Hers was the only correct account of his death and could be proven with the death certificate.

Many family charts are available for researchers to use. These enable you and others to follow your ancestry backwards. Pick a pedigree chart that has spaces for these facts: date born; when and where; married; when and where; death date; when and where. These facts are the skeleton upon which we attempt to form the 'whole life' picture of an ancestor. Remember to document EVERY source.

Genealogy 101: Pedigree/Family Charts are necessary to keep family research organized. Organization is the key to success. Computer programs such as Family Tree Maker and the PDA (personal digital assistant or hand held computer) are wonderful but I like charts. There are charts for every aspect of your search. Some of these charts include generation and fan charts, family heritage charts and family group sheets that include children and their spouses. Deed search and last will and testament forms are available for researching and abstracting deeds. Census forms for all census years making reading the title of columns easier to read and many, many more.

Document every source and know the difference between primary evidence and secondary evidence. Primary Evidence is sometimes called "best evidence." It is the best evidence available to prove the fact in question, usually in an original document or record. The so-called "best evidence rule" says that the highest possible degree of proof must be produced. Secondary Evidence is harder to define. It is all that evidence which is inferior in its origin to primary evidence, i.e., not the best evidence. That does not mean the evidence is always in error, but there is a greater chance of error. A copy of an original record provides secondary evidence, as does oral testimony of the records contents. Published genealogies and family histories provide secondary evidence. In some cases secondary evidence might be of even greater worth than primary evidence if the creator has carefully collected information from many sources (actually working with the primary evidence) into one place, such as a good family history.

Classifying Evidence as either primary or secondary does not tell us anything about its accuracy or its ultimate value. This is especially true of secondary evidence. Ask yourself the following questions: How far from the original is it (when is it a copy)? What was the reason for the creation of the source containing this evidence? Who was responsible for creating this secondary evidence and what interest did he have in its accuracy?

Is a death certificate primary or secondary evidence? It is confusing to classify it as primary evidence, as is usually done, because this one document contains both types of evidence. It has the primary evidence of the individuals death, but secondary evidence of birth and parentage. The information could be either primary or secondary evidence, depending on the decedents age and the relationship between him and the informant.

The written word is only as accurate as the person who wrote it; so use the Internet, Church of Latter-day Saints records, genealogies and histories with care.