Family Tree Research Don’t Be Discouraged

Sometimes Family Tree research can be very discouraging.

We send out letters, make phone calls trying to find that elusive photo or date.

Everone politely offers to help by sending you a copy or looking up that date in their Family Bible.

But then you wait...and wait...and wait!

Don't be discouraged. People are very busy these days with work, kids, parents, and other family committments.

Keep trying to get their support, but don't be too pushy. Give them a month or more between calls, letters or e-mails.

Otherwise you may lose them forever.

Here's some things you can do to try to minimize the effect of this problem and help you stay on track to uncover as much history as possible about your heritage...for you and your family.

Make a note of every letter, e-mail or phone call that make and record down when the recipient replied
Use a spreadsheet or better still a Research Log to record down specific details about each attempt to get information. Many Genealogy programs, like Family Tree Maker have Task Managers and correspondence logs already as a basic feature of the software. This makes it easy to match people and their correspondence.
Don't use form letters for any of your correspondence. People don't react well to "that obvious form". Make sure that you personalize each letter to ensure that people know you are asking them for help.
Be prepared for people to never respond or politely agree to provide you a photo or document and never deliver. It's easier to say "yes" in person than it is to say "No" directly.
Don't be afraid to ask all the siblings in a family for information. You may think that Mary is the most receptive to your request, only to find that you would have had better success by asking Harold.
Show them what you have so far. If it's a book or even a pedigree chart show it to them so they know that you're serious. The information you already have may be enough to spark their interest and motivate them to help.
Most importantly "Don't give up!"

For more information, visit Search For Family Tree For Free.

About The Author:

Richard Kearns is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.all-about-family-trees.com.