Genealogy has been a passion of mine for many years. It didn’t start with a grand mystery or a historical connection to royalty—it began with a simple curiosity about where I came from. But what started as an interest quickly turned into a deeply personal journey of discovery, research, and connection across time.

As I dove deeper, I realized that to do genealogy well, you need more than just names and dates. You have to become a detective. Over time, I became a natural-born sleuth. And for any sleuth worth their salt, the first place to start is the library.

The Library: My First Research Lab

Before the internet was overflowing with genealogy sites and digitized records, the local library was the beating heart of historical research. In my hometown, the library had a treasure trove that I came to rely on: local newspapers archived on microfiche. For those unfamiliar, microfiche is like a time machine. It’s a small, flat sheet of film that stores pages of newspapers, often dating back decades—or even a century or more.

I spent countless hours hunched over a microfiche reader, slowly scrolling through page after page, headline after headline. Obituaries, wedding announcements, birth notices, and the occasional bit of local gossip—all of it was useful. Even small details could provide crucial clues: a middle name, a maiden name, a street address, or the name of a previously unknown sibling.

Learning to Ask Questions and Who to Ask

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned through genealogy is that information often lives in people, not just documents.

Because I’m naturally outgoing when I’m in research mode, I learned to ask questions—lots of them. That led me to places most people wouldn’t think to explore: funeral homes, cemeteries, and local historical societies. These places, and the people who work in them, are often overlooked, but they hold valuable insight.

Funeral home records can go back decades and sometimes contain details not found in public death certificates. Cemeteries offer not just gravestones, but caretakers who know the history of plots and families. And historical societies? They’re a goldmine. Volunteers are often passionate local historians who know the backstory to every family name in town.

A little tip I learned from all the newspapers and records is that sometimes names are transcribed incorrectly or spelled differently. Something else that’s equally important is to network, network, network. Connect with people, send messages to others also researching the family, don’t be afraid, you never know what you might find out.

Piecing It All Together

Every clue led to another. A name on a gravestone matched a name in a microfiche obituary, which mentioned a church, which led me to baptismal records stored in a parish office. It’s like solving a giant, multi-generational puzzle—and when a piece clicks into place, it’s magic.

I’ve come to realize that genealogy isn’t just about tracing bloodlines. It’s about understanding the lives, struggles, and stories of the people who came before us. It teaches patience, persistence, and respect for the past.

How Technology Helped

The first genealogy software I remember using was Family Tree Maker. It felt revolutionary. It came with CDs packed with U.S. census records, Social Security indexes, and military databases. Suddenly, I could organize everything I had collected and access even more from home.

As the internet evolved, so did genealogy. Websites like Ancestry, FamilySearch, and MyHeritage opened up vast digital archives. I could now search newspaper clippings, view original census scans, or even connect with people across the country—or the world—who were researching the same family line. With a few clicks, what once took me days in the library could now be discovered in minutes online.

And yet, all that modern technology didn’t make the old ways obsolete. If anything, it enhanced them. Libraries, cemeteries, and funeral homes are still essential. But now, they’re part of a bigger, interconnected research network. What used to be a solitary pursuit became a shared experience, supported by online communities, collaborative family trees, and even DNA testing.

Tips for Aspiring Genealogists

If you’re just getting started with genealogy, here are a few tips from someone who’s spent more than a few afternoons squinting at microfilm:

1. Start with what you know – Interview family members while you can. Write down names, dates, places, and stories.
2. Visit your local library – Ask if they have local newspaper archives, city directories, or microfiche. Librarians are your friends.
3. Check with funeral homes and cemeteries – Many keep detailed records, especially older, family-run operations.
4. Don’t skip the historical society – They often have rare local documents and a deep knowledge of the area’s families.
5. Be curious and persistent – Not every clue leads somewhere, but every dead end teaches you something.

Suggested Hyperlinks (Copy-Paste Friendly)

Site/Tool	Suggested Anchor Text	Hyperlink
Family Tree Maker	Family Tree Maker	https://www.familytreemaker.com
Ancestry	Ancestry	https://www.ancestry.com
FamilySearch	FamilySearch	https://www.familysearch.org
MyHeritage	MyHeritage	https://www.myheritage.com
Find a Grave	Find a Grave	https://www.findagrave.com
USGenWeb Project	USGenWeb Project	http://usgenweb.org
Newspapers.com	Newspapers.com	https://www.newspapers.com
National Archives	National Archives	https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy
RootsWeb	RootsWeb	https://home.rootsweb.com
GEDmatch (DNA)	GEDmatch	https://www.gedmatch.com

Why It Matters

For me, genealogy is more than a hobby—it’s a way to honor the lives that came before mine. It’s a reminder that every person has a story, and sometimes, it just takes a little digging to find it.