Collecting Data
Genealogy is about data collection. It is collection of information about your immediate family and those who have passed on.
The basic data needed are birth dates, death dates, marriage dates, ordinance dates, award dates, and school dates.
You should collect primary sources as if you are trying to prove your case. An original copy of anything is best. If possible, get three proofs of everything. For example, an eyewitness account, a certificate, and a newspaper clipping.
Parents
You will need data on your parents. You should record their important dates and hopefully you may have a journal or a book that they wrote.
Siblings
It’s so easy to forget about what your siblings did ten years ago. That’s why it’s important to record what is going on in your sibling’s lives. Try and stay in touch with them and write down the important things that happen to them.
Grandparents
If they are still alive, you might go visit them. You should try and get them to tell stories about their childhood and write them down. Ask them if they have anything for you to put in the box for them and you will find them, at times, offering contributions on their own.
Aunts/Uncles
The extended family is very strong in Latino culture. They all seem to have a lot of cousins and uncles and aunts that they all know. This is a strength of their culture. Caucasian Americans can often lose contact with aunts and uncles. If possible, stay in contact with them and it will be a blessing to your life. Ask them for advice and about things that are important to them. Then, simply record the information in a file box and save it to bless your posterity and the posterity of others.
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