Researching your family genealogy can be both rewarding and time consuming. To accurately record your family history, there are a few key points to remember. Take notes and stay organized when gathering information. If researching online or researching from media, write everything down including where the information was found and the date it was found. Recording dates are important especially in cases where family history is updated or corrected. When speaking to someone, use a voice recorder to record the information and speak clearly. While taking notes, don’t use made up abbreviations. Once you go back to reread your information you may not remember what the abbreviations mean.

Record all information sources. Knowing the information source is helpful if you have to go back and fill in missing information. After gathering the information, determine its accuracy. Double check the important date such as birthdays, death dates and weddings. Ask more than one family member about the information. Everyone remembers things differently but the facts never change.

Keep track of all correspondence and place the information in one central location. Label all pictures and notes with a name and date. Preserving old photos is an important part of recording your family history.