Focus Your Research Effort
How do you cope with a large family tree? Well, for starters, you have to be selective in your research. You can either take one branch of your family tree and try to follow it back as far as possible, or you can go sideways and try to record all the known branches of your family tree that are still alive today (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.). The choice of which path you decide to take is dependant on where you come from, the structure of your family and how much time and resources you have at your disposal. If your family is from England or one of the former English colonies (such as the United States, Canada, Australia or New Zealand) then you are fortunate in that it is possible to find official records that go back more than 150 years. This makes it easier to trace your family tree vertically backwards through time. If your ancestors come from somewhere else, then you may or may not have access to old official records. This would suggest that you should start building your family tree horizontally and first try to record details of all your known living relatives.
In practice, most people tend to do both by tracing their family tree horizontally and vertically at the same time. Just remember to be selective (especially if you are just starting out), and pick which branches of your family tree you want to do first. As a general rule of thumb, go for the branches where it is easier, faster and cheaper to get the information you need. This usually means putting off (at least initially) research on the older branches of your family tree. A major advantage of this approach is that it forces you to first collect information on your living relatives, many of whom know a wealth of information about your family. As well, they might not be living for many more years, so don’t lose your opportunity to interview them while they are still alive. Genealogy In Time™ has prepared a simple interview form (in pdf format) that will assist you in this process.
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