SUGGESTIONS FOR THE BEGINNING GENEALOGIST

The first step toward establishing your genealogy is to find
out as much as you can from your living relatives. For each
ancestor you want to learn:

When and where they were born?
Who were their parents?
Who did they marry, and when and where?
When and where did they die?

This information will provide the beginning point for your historical
research. For an ancestor in America after the Civil War, there is
an abundance of records available. I recommend a book entitled, 
"The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy," edited by Arlene 
Eakle and Johni Cerny, published by Ancestry, Inc., 1984.
If your local library doesn't have it, they should be able to borrow 
it from another library for you.

If you are lucky, you may find that someone else has has already done
genealogical research on some of your ancestors. The Mormon Church
compiles an index of genealogical research on a CD ROM. This computer
program is available at genealogy libraries of the Mormon Church
(Family History Centers), and at some major public libraries. 
The Mormon Church has also assembled many historical documents of 
use in genealogical research. They provide an index of these documents 
and microfiche copies to the public.


John R. Mattox
10/20/1996