Berks County Genealogical Society
Preserving the Past to Enrich the Lives of the Present.

Before the days of the Internet, genealogists may have started a family tree by interviewing older members of their family and asking for copies of family documents and old photos. This may include phone calls or letter writing. They most likely spent time traveling to local historical societies and browsing page after page of historical documents for clues to their ancestry. Local libraries may have microfilm copies of old newspapers and census records for researchers to analyze. Don’t forget about the long walks through cemeteries looking for an ancestor’s headstone.

Starting a family tree today may involve some of these tasks as well. Fortunately, previous genealogists took the time to catalog and index information including church records, newspaper obituaries, and cemetery headstones.  Census records, vital records, military records, and other documents are now digitized and searchable. Because of the popularity of the Internet, many of these documents are available to view at research sites online.  Although it may be easier to research one’s family tree, it still can be an overwhelming amount of information.