Starting your family tree

Step 1: Yourself

Begin with yourself in the present and work progressively backwards in time through the past. Omit any steps that do not apply to you or your ancestors.

1. If you are (or have been) married, record the details of any historically significant events in your married life, and
2. Record the details from your marriage certificate(s).
3. Record the details of any historically significant events in your single life.
4. Be sure to include any migration details.
5. Record the details from your baptism and birth certificates including the names of your parents.
6. Make sure that you also record the source of each item of your information.
   See our article on source accuracy.
   Also see our family tree software directory to help select software for the recording and display of your information.

Step 2: Your parents

1. If they are deceased, record the details from any obituaries and their death certificates.
2. Record the details of events in your parents' married lives.
3. Record the details from their marriage certificate.
4. Record the details of events in their single lives.
5. Be sure to include any migration details.
6. Record the details from their baptism and birth certificates including the names of their parents (your grandparents).
7. If your parents are deceased, talk to your siblings to expand on your own recollections. But if still living, interview them to obtain extra events and more details.
8. Ask them about their parents (your grandparents).
9. Interview their living siblings (your aunts & uncles) for more information.

Step 3: Earlier generations

1. If deceased, record the details from their obituaries and death certificates.
2. Record the details of events in their married lives.
3. Record the details from their marriage certificate.
4. Record the details of events in their single lives.
5. Be sure to include any migration details.
6. Record the details from their baptism and birth certificates including the names of their parents.
7. Check other documents such as a family bible, diaries and photo albums for relevant information.
8. Interview relatives to obtain extra events and more details.
9. Repeat steps i to viii for each previous generation.

Your family tree

The information you have gathered will allow you to begin creating your pedigree chart, something like:-

                         1.Yourself
                              |
                              |
         2.Your father ------ = ------ 3.Your mother
               |                             |
               |                             |
     4.Your -- = -- 5.Your         6.Your -- = -- 7.Your
    father's       father's       mother's       mother's
     father         mother         father         mother
        |              |              |              |
        |              |              |              |
                                 12 - = - 13

South Australian resources

• State Library of South Australia
  NE corner of North Terrace and Kintore Avenue
  Adelaide SA 5000
• State Records of South Australia
  26 Leigh Street
  Adelaide SA 5000, and
  115 Cavan Road
  Gepps Cross SA 5094
• National Archives of Australia - SA Reading Room
  26 Leigh Street
  Adelaide SA 5000
• Your local genealogy society or family history group
• Web sites & other South Australian resources
• South Australian family trees
• Early SA shipping database
• Early SA births database
• Early SA marriages database
• Early SA deaths database

Worldwide resources

• Australia
• New Zealand
• British Isles (UK)
• Germanic countries
• Other overseas