If you’ve been watching “Who Do You Think You Are,” you may be impressed that the expert genealogists find records and trace families back five, six, or seven generations in less than an hour. It can be exciting! But a visit by Joshua Taylor, genealogist and host of the current “Genealogy Roadshow,” let us in on the secret behind the television magic.
He worked on Sarah Jessica Parker’s genealogy and reported that more than 60 hours of research went into the research for her New England ancestors. She had other ancestors who went to the California gold rush and other researchers added to that portion of the research. If you were paying an average of $25 to $50 per hour for expert research, you would find it quite expensive.
There is a cheaper and more exciting way to do research – do it yourself! Nothing is more thrilling than finding your great-grandparents for the first time in a census record. Studying census records can give you an outline of your family that will lead to marriage records, death and burial records, land records, wills, probate and military records.
But you have to educate yourself along the way. As you start to search for your own family history, take the time to learn about records, how they were kept, who kept those records and why. Gather information about your ancestors and record it in family group sheets and written logs. Read books about the period, attend classes and conferences, and become an expert on your own family. It’s a reward you can share with your whole family.
The Colorado Genealogical Society offers free beginning and special interest classes at the downtown Denver Public Library on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays each month. Check the website at www.cogensoc.us.
~ Carol Cooke Darrow is a certified genealogist, writer, and researcher in Denver. She is teaching free Beginning Genealogy classes at the Central Denver Library starting September 10, 10–noon.