4 out of 4 stars
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Want to make your own family tree but don’t know where to start? What kind of information should you look for? What documents will provide you with this information?
All?In?One Basic to Advanced Guide to Genealogy & Ancestry History Research is a non-fiction guidebook that aims to help aspiring genealogists in tracing their family history and lineages. Using her experience in researching her own family history, Kimberly L. Berry shows some useful tips for productive genealogy research. She also provides exhaustive lists of resources which anyone can use to conduct one’s own research.
In the book, the author guides the reader by tackling what particular information and documents one should look for. The author recommends starting with the information the reader knows about his family. From there, the reader must trace the lineage backward, starting from himself, next to his parents, then to the grandparents, afterward to the great grandparents, and so on. To do this, the reader must know the right questions in asking family members and relatives. In addition, the reader must learn how to obtain relevant information from documents such as birth certificates, tax records, marriage contracts, census records, DNA tests, and many more.
I am impressed with the author’s extensive list of resources in the book. The resources range from places to obtain divorce contracts to websites to access international archives. Not only does the author provide a lot of resources, but she also gives thorough descriptions of how to acquire the documents from the resources. These make the book a convenient all-in-one guide to genealogy research.
The title of the book accurately reflects its content. The book is truly a basic to advanced guide to genealogy research. The author makes the book understandable by explaining concepts and how they can be applied, such as how DNA testing works. She builds upon these basic concepts to provide a more in-depth information to help extract accurate information for one’s genealogy research.
Usually, informative books tend to focus only on dry facts; thus, such books risk of being too dull to read. In this book, the author does a great job at putting life in the texts. She does this by presenting her ancestry history not as a list of facts, but as a story unfolding. Her experience in her own research acts not as an accessory in the book, but as a source of wisdom in researching one’s genealogy. Such wisdom includes being prudent in one’s research, as it is possible for a researcher to commit a mistake. The author also includes some information about American and world history, which she uses to explain why some documents are only available for particular years. An example of this is the availability of bounty land warrant applications from 1775?1855, which existed due to lands occupied during the wars in the Americas that time, such as the Indian Wars.
Unfortunately, the book is not meant to be read for leisure. The book is loaded with information about genealogy research, that most information in the book is tedious to read unless the reader has the intention of doing a genealogy research. Nevertheless, the book is helpful, understandable, and fascinating in its own manner. After considering all the factors, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The book is intended for American genealogists, but even a non-American genealogist can pick up some useful tips and information from the book. All?In?One Basic to Advanced Guide to Genealogy & Ancestry History Research is probably the only guide that you’ll ever need.
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All-In-One Basic to Advanced Guide to Genealogy & Ancestry History Research
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