Frequently Asked Questions

Sierra Vista Genealogy Club is a group of individuals that have a common interest of learning more about resources to research their own family tree. 

Genealogy is tracing the lines of your ancestors and their descendants. It’s the history of your family. It is the untold stories of your ancestors you've always wanted to know. It adds details and color to your family tree offering insights into your ancestor’s daily lives. And most importantly, it’s the history that makes you, you.

The word genealogy can be broken down into “birth” and “science” in the Greek language. Today, historians, professional genealogists, and anyone interested in their family heritage know the term genealogy as the study of heritage and family origins.

People have been tracking and documenting genealogical records for thousands of years. As a human race, individuals have always had an inherent desire to know their genetic ancestry whether to prove their family lineage or to discover their family origin

A Genealogist can help you uncover valuable information about your family history that may not be easily accessible through online research. We can help you connect with long-lost relatives and discover your family's unique story.

People sometimes use those two concepts as though they were interchangeable, and this adds to the confusion. There are differences between a genealogist and a family historian.

Genealogist is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a person who traces or studies the descent of persons or families.”

Merriam-Webster does not have a definition for family historian. But, it does have a definition for historian: “a writer or compiler of a chronicle.” From this, we can extrapolate that a family historian is a person who writes and compiles stories about their ancestor’s lives.

Here are some things Genealogists do:

* Build a family tree based on information found in vital records
* Search for the original paper record whenever possible
* Use online records found on popular genealogy websites
* Seek out records located in churches and courthouses
* Follow the guidelines set forth in the Genealogical Proof Standard
* Join genealogy societies
* Help new genealogists with their research – individually, as part of service provided by a genealogical society, or when hired as a professional genealogist
* Have a healthy amount of skepticism in the information found in family trees that they have not personally researched

Here are some things Family Historians do:

* Write down birth dates and death dates inside a family bible
* Look for high school yearbooks that may contain photos of their relatives and ancestors
* Record (in text or audio) the family stories that have been handed down from one generation to the next
* Use the family history section of their local genealogy library
* Seek out old letters, diaries, and journals of ancestors
* Organize family reunions
* Transfer VHS tapes of family vacations into digital videos
* Label old family photos

For many people, there is some overlap between the tasks that are typically done by a genealogist and the tasks done by a family historian. A person might start by using vital records to fill in their family tree, and then later, start looking for personal stories about those ancestors.

The club is not for hire, however the members in the group have different levels of experience with their own research and will gladly help you start your journey. 

Start with yourself and work backwards through the generations, recording each person’s major life events on ancestor charts. Interview your relatives – especially the elder ones – and ask them if they have any family documents, photos, baby books, or heirlooms. Don’t forget to enjoy the journey – what you learn about your heritage is more important than how many generations back you can take your family tree.

It may sound cliche, but the best genealogy program basically boils down to finding the one that’s right for you. Almost all family tree software does a good job of letting you enter your family data and view and print it in a wide variety of formats. The differences add up in the features and extras. Try them out before you buy – most genealogy software programs offer free trial versions or a money-back guarantee.

How am I related to so and so is a question that often comes up at family reunions. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and first cousins are easy, but once you get into more distant family relationships most of us get lost in the tangle. The trick to determining the actual relationship between two family members is to start with the ancestor they both have in common. From there, a handy cousin calculator or relationship chart can do the rest.

The following blog from Family Search has a few charts to show your first cousin, twice removed. Cousin Chart Blog

Have you heard that you’re descended from a president or royalty? Or perhaps you suspect a family connection to a movie star or celebrity? Maybe you even share a surname with someone famous, and wonder if you’re somehow related. Just like any other family tree research, you need to start with yourself and work back toward a connection with the famous individual. Many famous family trees can be found online, which can help in making a connection.

Vital records, called such because they record life’s “vital” events, are the building blocks of a family tree. Records of the births, marriages and deaths of your ancestors will generally be civil (government) records back to a certain point in time, which varies by state, parish or country. Prior to that, church or parish registers are the most common source for information on vital records. Tombstone records can also provide clues.

What town or country did your ancestors originally come from? Did they sail across the ocean to America or Australia? Or move down the road from one town to the next? Learning where they came from is the key to a new branch in your family tree. Read up on history to learn about common migration patterns or check with relatives for info on family customs or surname origins. Records of death, marriage and immigration may also hold a clue.