Courtney Cannon Scott Genealogy Columnist

  What is it that every person has, yet no two are alike?  Yes, it’s a family!  Everyone also has a valuable family history.  Tracing that family history, also called genealogy, is very easy.  Genealogy or the study of [family] heritage / history is one of the most popular pastimes of people the world over.

  Your heritage begins with you.  To start documenting your heritage, begin by writing down facts about yourself and your immediate family members such as parents and grandparents. If you are unable to get any information about parents or grandparents directly from them or another relative, do not be discouraged. You are still in luck and may be able to find out what you want to know elsewhere.  The facts you are looking for are a matter of public record.  Names, birthdates and birth places or dates and places of death are available in records such as wills, marriage papers, deeds, birth or death certificates, police reports, military service records, the census, and state or local histories.

  Some of this is available on the internet, but may not be accurate and will still have to be verified by comparison with an original document.  If you do not have access to the internet, you can request the information needed by postal mail, just as people did before the internet and e-mail was used.  It will take longer to get the information, but at least you can still get it. 

  For locations of neighborhood Mormon family history centers, look in the white pages of your local telephone directory under the Church of  Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or call them toll-free at 1-800-240-2331.

  There are nineteen regional NARA records facilities plus on-line resources.  NARA stands for National Archives and Records Administration. To learn what (U.S.) federal census information and records are open to the public, ask for General Information Leaflets:  #22, CFF 4, CFF 5, and CFF 18 by writing to the Director, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233 or by viewing the NARA website at www.nara.gov/regional. The federal census has been taken every ten years since 1790.  Due to a 72-year privacy restriction, the 1930 census is the most current one available for public viewing.

  There are many ways to collect family history data.  Once you start gathering names of ancestors, look in history books for information on the times in which they lived. This makes history understandable and then, when it becomes ‘personal,’ history will also be more interesting and memorable.  I know this for a fact.  I disliked history in high school.  Now, I am re-discovering with great pleasure and eagerness, many of the things I should have learned back in the day!