1. Identify all
ancestors who lived in the area. Collect
birth, marriage, and death dates and places.
The spreadsheet I made of this info was handy to take into research
locations.
2. Get a map of
the area and mark county boundaries.
3. Find as many
records as you can online. I researched
as many ancestors as I could. Don’t use your valuable trip time on records you
can find online. Find the state digital
archives.
4. Decide which
counties you will go to.
5. Locate places
you can visit: historical societies, genealogical libraries, public libraries,
courthouses, county museums, churches, Family History Centers. Google these institutions for each possible
county. Get contact info, open days and
times, and rules you must follow.
6. Find out which
records and years are stored at the county and which are at the state archives.
7. Set
achievable goals. Two of my goals were
1) find out what the area was like when my grandmother lived there and 2) learn
to plan and conduct a research trip.
Your goal may be to solve a certain brick wall.
8. Make an
itinerary. Plan what you hope to
accomplish at each stop and have the information you need handy. It’s a plan but be flexible. Finding cemeteries took a lot longer than I
planned.
9. Determine the
travel times between destinations using Google or Mapquest.
10. Contact DNA
cousins. Do you live in the state or do
you have relatives there? Meeting these
people might be the most fun you will have.
11. Contact
genealogists (usgenweb). Ask about local people who know about your family or
cemeteries.
12. Contact
librarians, county records department, and museum directors. Tell them when you will be coming and what
you hope to accomplish. Email detailed
information about your family and follow up with a phone call. Ask if there are local newspapers on
microfilm.
13. Consider
whether you can go to the State Archives.
Their rules are especially important and you can find them online.
14. Arrange for
airline tickets, rental car, hotel, and possible restaurants.
15. Decide what
to take: PC, tablet, chargers, camera, GPS, scanner. Practice using new technologies, especially
if you will be using a microfilm reader.
Many locations will not allow computers.
Plan to do research with as little baggage as possible. You may not have a place to sit down or leave
things.
16. Be
prepared. Professionals will be
impressed and more willing to help you.
17. A little
extra time? Go to lunch at the Senior
Center.
18. Have fun.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ArticlePrint/10-tips-for-planning-a-genealogy-research-trip by Lisa Alzo
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