Make 2020 the year you learn more and do more with your family history!

Learn little and often

Most of us juggle our hobbies with many other commitments but being busy doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to enjoy family history. It’s possible to achieve lots in small chunks of time. Even if you have just ten or fifteen minutes a day there are plenty of tasks you can so, such as:

• Attach a record to an existing ancestor’s file
• Scan a few photos or documents
• Contact a DNA match or another researcher researching the same family name
• Explore a new online collection

Make yourself a to-do list of little tasks that need tackling and enjoy the satisfaction of ticking them off as you go through the year.

Review those shaky branches

Get the New Year off to a great start by making it your mission to review one or more branches of your tree that you’re unsure about. Most of us will have one or more ancestor whose details might be described as ‘shaky’.

Perhaps you’ve added a census record to your tree that might not relate to the correct family. Or there may be some dates of marriage, childbirth or death that don’t really add up. Go back to basics and review all your notes and then make any necessary amendments and proceed along that branch with confidence!

Work with a research buddy

Of course, Family history can be enjoyed as a solitary pursuit but sometimes it’s nice to work alongside someone else – whether virtually or in real life. If you know of someone researching the same family or surname as you, why not ask them if they’d like to work on a joint project – perhaps researching a particular ancestor or the town or village of your forebear? Often someone else can see ways of working that wouldn’t occur to us – and with two of you working on the same puzzle you may well see results quickly.

Take a DNA test – or test a relative!

Make 2020 the year you really make DNA matter within your family history research. You can take a DNA test and enjoy finding out about your ethnic origins – and making contact with DNA matches around the world. If you’ve already tested, why not ask a parent or relative to do a test? Find out more about the benefits of this here.

Learn from the experts

Come along to Family Tree Live on 17 and 18 April and enjoy a day at Alexandra Palace in London, learning from the experts. We have a huge range of lectures and workshops that you can book now to secure your place – exceptional value as these are included within the price of your ticket! Categories include:

• DNA
• Beginners
• Records
• Research skills
• Online research

Book the lectures here and the workshops here.

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