Blank Family Tree

Imagine this: Your grandmother's dying request was that you compile a family history. You promised you would but have successfully managed to avoid getting started. But now that the funeral is over and the kids have gone back to school, you can't put it off another day. Now you're staring at your blank family tree and have no idea where to start. Sound familiar? Heirlines Family History and Genealogy, a professional genealogical research company, provides some tips to help you get started and move forward.

Getting Started
The very first step to successful genealogy work is to get organized. If you aren't organized, you'll end up with something a lot worse than a blank family tree: lots of partially filled genealogical trees.

The best place to start your family history work is with the person you know best: yourself. Record all of the information that you already know about yourself, your parents, your siblings, your grandparents. Get as much information as you can from the most easily accessible resources available to you: your immediate and extended family. You'll soon find that your once blank family tree is already looking pretty full.

The Next Step
If you're unsure how to progress once you've done the preliminary work, now may be the time for a professional research service. Heirlines provides a Survey and Analysis service which helps you determine the potential for future research on your family lines. This survey lets you know what useful record sources are available and gives you a recommendation about the direction to take your research.

If you decide to continue filling in the now no longer blank family tree on your own, you'll need to start searching records census records, immigration and naturalization records, probate records, military records and more.

Family History and the Internet
The Internet is an excellent resource for genealogists because it has tons of information. However, because there is so much of information in so many places, it's not uncommon to find records that disagree. Similarly, you may find that some of the information you got from your great aunt Edna conflicts with information from your second cousin Walter. So which source do you trust?

At times like these, having a blank family tree almost seems preferable to reconciling the conflicting information. Heirlines understands the potential frustration this can cause. That's why they offer an evaluation of prior research. Their professional genealogists know the right places to look and the sources to trust, so they can evaluate research that's already been done and help you determine which information is the most correct. They'll also recommend a direction for further research.

Additional Services
If looking at the documents you have gives you as much information as a blank family tree because you can't read them, you may be interested in Heirlines' Paleography and Translation services. They will transcribe old documents or translate foreign documents for you.

Contact Heirlines today for information on other services.

• For getting your genealogy work organized: Books, Binders, Articles and Publications.
• For getting your family together so you can collect as much information as possible from some of the best sources: Family Organizations and Reunions.
• For prominently displaying your heritage (and the results of your hard work): Elegant Hand-Written Pedigree Wall Chart.