Today’s Genealogy Tip—Use old newspapers. Many newspapers now have their historic archives available online. Finding an issue from your ancestor’s town during the time he lived there can produce a wide variety of genealogical gems, from obituaries and wedding announcements to business advertisements and even complete stories about any incidents your ancestor was involved in.

Try looking for your ancestors in records you may not have considered. Here’s a good example—U.S. Military Records. The U.S. government keeps detailed records on every person who has served in every war the U.S. has fought from the Revolution onward. These records contain valuable genealogical information, such as dates of service, unit or regiment, battles fought and injuries received. You can piece together your ancestor’s entire military experience from these records.

Today’s Genealogy Tip—To take your family back even further into the past, look for vital records such as wills, probate records, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and land records, all of which are usually found in county courthouses or state vital record departments. You may find the names of relatives you never knew about listed in these records!

Today’s Genealogy Tip—Use the U.S. Federal census records to help take you back even further. Once you’ve exhausted all of the family information you can glean from relatives, look into the census to find the parents, grandparents, and more of your earliest known ancestors. Census records are available in many librari…es, at LDS family history centers, and on Ancestry.com.

Today’s Genealogy Tip—Start with who you know. Think of the earliest ancestor you know. Is it your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents? Begin your ancestor search with them, using what you know about them to find their parents, their grandparents, etc., as far back as you can go. Even if YOU are the on…ly ancestor you know, then start with yourself. Every genealogical journey has to start somewhere.

Today’s Genealogy Tip—Get organized! You have a lot of different branches on your family tree. It helps to keep track of them all if you organize your research into different three-ring binders, with each binder made for keeping information on one particular branch. Be sure to label each binder on the front and side to keep track of your branches easily.

Today’s genealogy tip—Start your genealogy journey by talking to the oldest relatives in your family. Ask them abou their childhoods and get the names of relatives they knew back then. Don’t interrupt them. Just let them talk, and try to get it all audio recorded. This is the best place from which to begin learning about your family history.