CHARLESTON, S.C. - The South Carolina History Room at the Main branch is filled with information, including resources for genealogy research. But with so much information, it can be challenging to know where to start. This holiday season could be a great time to talk to parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles about your family tree.
According to the manager of the South Carolina History Room, Marianne Cawley, the key to genealogy research is to start with yourself and work backward from there. "People come in and say, 'I don't know anything about my family. That's what I want to find out.' Well you know about you, you presumably know where you were born and who your parents are. You may know your grandparents' names and things like that. We often recommend a chart called a Pedigree Chart, like a family tree. Fill that out as best as you can and you can see where you have gaps," she said.
Once you run into roadblocks building your family tree, then it's time to call on your extended family. Whether you are celebrating the season together or virtually, this time of year could be the opportunity to initiate those conversations.
"Don't ask yes or no questions. Try to get a conversation going and be accepting that not everybody wants to talk about the past because for some people the past was not a good place and they don't want to revisit it. If they're willing to talk, ask questions about what they did when they were a kid. What did they do for fun? Where did they go to school? Did they know their grandparents? Did they have a special name for them? What do they remember about them? Anything that will get them talking. Anything that will make them start thinking about that sort of stuff."
She adds prompting them by asking about significant events like wars or natural disasters can be helpful, too.
"You want to know dates. When you're doing genealogy the basic three pieces of information you want to know are: When and where was this person born? When and where was this person married, if they were married? And when and where did they die?" Cawley said.
Once you draw up your family tree, you can begin diving into the resources of the South Carolina History Room. Next week, we'll show you all the genealogy resources available and how to best utilize them in your search.