Just starting to research your family? The golden rule with genealogy and family history is to work backwards from what you know to what you do not, obtaining documentary proof of events wherever possible.
The following are some brief guidelines to get you started:
- Talk to family members
- Read one or two ‘How to ...’ guides. These can range from short leaflets to hefty ‘covers all subjects' books.
- Purchase copies of birth, marriage and death certificates as necessary to confirm details of names, dates and places. Do keep in mind that information required for these has changed over the years, and also differs between countries and states/provinces within countries.
- Check for any cemetery transcriptions/databases covering areas where your family are known to have lived, for names and dates of death relating to family members.
- Check library and museum catalogues to see if a history of your family has been deposited with them.
- Check research directories and members’ interests lists for family names and locations as a way of developing contact with others researching the same family. There are a number of websites available that serve a similar purpose.
Talking to family members
Family members can be very helpful as they can often provide names, dates, photographs, and stories. They may also have certificates which you can either transcribe or copy. Record the stories as told, but also check the facts to confirm details. Check our catalogue for guides to recording oral history and recording family biographies.
Read a ‘How to …’ guide on family history
There are many books available that cover the basics of research. Those for New Zealand can be found at 2 NZL AID, while those for other countries can be found in the relevant country section - for example 2 AUS AID for Australia or 4 ENG AID for England. See our information on family history classification for more details.
Obtaining birth, marriage and death certificates
See our
Births, deaths & marriages page to find out how to obtain a birth, death or marriage certificate, or what resources can help you track down the information you will need to obtain certificates.
Cemetery transcriptions and databases
You can search our databases of
cemeteries on the Auckland City website to find information on where people were buried and information about their graves, and find links to other cemeteries in the greater Auckland region and New Zealand.
Library and museum catalogues
Check library and museum catalogues for a history of your family. Many catalogues are now also available on-line.
Research directories and members’ interests lists
The better known directories in New Zealand are the [New Zealand Family Research Directory] and the Genealogical Research Directory. The websites of many family history societies have members' interests lists, where you can search by family name, date range and region to find out who else is researching the same family, and ways of contacting these people.
Generation charts
Record your family tree with generation charts. Buy seven generation or twelve generation charts from our
online shop, or download this
free five generation chart (pdf 56kb).
Note: To view PDF documents you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is available as a free download from the Adobe website.
