Empire State Search Service

Specializing in New York State Records

E-mail: SearchInNY@aol.com

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For Beginners

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Starting Your Search

  1. Start with yourself and work backwards gathering information.
  2. Collect data from living family members and family documents.
  3. For each family member answer: Who? When? and Where?
  4. Choose one family line at a time. For example, begin with your mother's maternal line before researching for your mother's paternal line.

Help Us Help You

  1. Gather together your facts. What do you know and how do you know it?
    1. Which facts do you have evidence (documents) for?
      • certificates
      • letters, diaries, photo albums
      • family bibles, genealogy charts
    2. Evaluate the source of oral history information.
      • Is the source still living? (My grandmother is 93 years old and says she was married in 1930.)
      • Is the source a piece of family legend? (The story goes that my dad's uncle, Joe, came to New York by himself at 16, around 1900.)
  2. Who are you looking for? Be as specific as possible.
    1. Who:
      • provide full name
      • use maiden names for women if possible
      • provide spouse's name if possible
    2. When:
      • birth and death dates, if known
      • date of event searching for
      • if exact dates not known, give date range
    3. Where:
      • state
      • county
      • town
      • address

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