How to Do Family History Research

There are an estimated 8 million people in the United States that are interested in and actively working on their family histories.  With the wide-spread use of the Internet, this hobby is growing by leaps and bounds.

You too can search out your own family, even if everyone who "could have told you things" are gone.  All that is needed is a little knowledge and perseverance.

Listed here are general manuals on how to conduct family research, specialized manuals (ethnic genealogy, use of photos, etc), and books to interest youth in the subject.  Finally, there are instructional guides for writing your memoirs and several fun reads.  These often-humorous family histories are written in a narrative style, rather than in the traditional form.

Most of the items listed below are available to borrow unless otherwise noted.  When browsing the shelves at the Ashtabula or Geneva Libraries, Family History and Genealogical material can usually be found in the 929 shelves of our nonfiction sections.  There are also many other closely related works in our system, plus those available through inter-library loan.  So, click on the titles below to explore our online catalog and begin a journey into your own history!