Genealogy

Now that you're retired--or even while you're considering retirement--think about studying your family's genealogy. Do the study before you lose any more older members of the family--and before you forget what you know about your family.
Start with yourself and what you know about your family. Then with permission, tape record interviews with the older generation and younger ones who remember family facts and stories. Prepare questions in advance, but let their answers guide your subsequent questions.
Also take notes during the interview. (For example: What was the interviewees reactions to certain questions? What unfamiliar names and places were mentioned during the interview?
Take a class or attend workshops on genealogy. Join a genealogy group to gain insight into achieving success in your research. Learn to organize your findings immediately. Make copies of all documents and make a computer back-up of the written data. Decide how you want to display the results. Will you produce a printed book or do you prefer a folder with room in the back for adding future generations?
My genealogy study was very haphazard in the beginning because I had no idea what I was doing. After attending several workshops and classes and joining a genealogy society, I did things differently. My research has helped me go back four generations on one side of the family and five generations on the other side. My research is not yet complete but I'm enjoying the findings. I'm even making plans to visit the states where my paternal and maternal parents and grandparents were born. Hopefully my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will take an interest in our genealogy and continue my work.