家族淵源歷史入門

Family History: Getting Started

Source : BBC By Dr Nick Barratt
Last updated 2011-04-26

If you're tackling your family tree for the first time, this guide will help you get organised and direct you towards great resources both online and offline.

如果你是第一次著手處理你的族譜,這份指引會幫助你進行彙整組織在線或離線的龐大資源並給予方向

Introduction

介紹

No doubt you will know someone who has traced their family tree, or seen one of the episodes of 'Who Do You Think You Are?' and been inspired to begin delving into your own roots. Yet for the uninitiated beginner, starting to research one's ancestors can be a daunting, difficult and confusing task. The aim of this guide is to take you on the first stages of your journey of discovery, starting with the basic preparatory steps. By sticking to this initial route map, you will quickly gain both relevant information and confidence to embark on the next stage of the process - working online and in archives.

毫無疑問，你將知道已有人追溯他們的族譜，或辨識”你認為你是誰?”的之一情節，“以開始啟發鑽研自己的根源。然而，對於外行的初學者，開始研究先祖可說是一項艱鉅，困難和混亂的任務。本指南的目的是採取您開始籌備第一階段的發現之旅之基本步驟。藉由堅持這個最初的路線圖，你會很快獲得相關信息和信心，走上進程的下一階段 – 線上聯機作業和檔案管理。

First steps

第一個步驟

So what's the first step you need to take? Actually, it's very easy - write down everything you know about yourself and your family! Focus on full names, dates of birth, marriage and death, and where these events occurred - geography will play an important part in your research as you attempt to locate relatives who may not be familiar to you.

那麼什麼是你需要採取的第一步驟？實際上，它是很容易的 – 將你所知道自己和家人的一切寫下來！關注於全名，出生，結婚和死亡這些事件發生的日期地點，在你試圖找出可能不熟悉的親戚時地理位置在您的研究將扮演重要組成部分。

Once you have exhausted your own personal store of knowledge, it's time to talk to the family. Start with parents, uncles and aunts and then work back a generation if you can, remembering to exercise diplomacy and tact when you 'interview' them. The aim is always to find out names, dates and places, and if you're lucky you might be able to compile information about your grandparents' grandparents, people you are unlikely to have met. It might also be worthwhile taping, recording of even filming your interviews, though of course you should always seek permission first. If your relatives agree to it, the recording will make an important family heirloom that can be passed on from generation to generation. You may find some of your relatives are reluctant to talk about aspects of their lives, and this is when you have to remember that there are some things that will be off limits. Whilst we are naturally curious about things that have happened to our nearest and dearest, we can easily forget that these events may bring back painful memories. One way round this problem is to tactfully request that your relative writes down their memories so that they can be read after they have left us.

一旦你已經用盡了自己個人的知識範疇，即可和家庭成員討論。如果可以，可先與父母，叔叔，阿姨們等上一個世代開始討論，當你的拜訪他們前記得要先練習手腕和得體性。宗旨是找出姓名，日期和地點，如果你幸運，你也許可以編譯你的祖父母，祖祖父母的信息，即你不太可能遇見的人。雖然你的採訪可能值得紀錄，錄音甚至拍攝，但你應該先獲得允許。如果你的親屬同意，錄製將作出重要的，可以成為連結世代的傳家寶。你可能會發現你的一些親戚都不願意談論他們生活的各個方面，這是你要記住，有一些事情將是不受限制的。雖然我們很自然的對我們最親近的人所發生的事情感到好奇，但我們可能很容易忘記，這些事件可能會對他們帶來痛苦的回憶。有一個方式去運作這個問題是婉轉的請求你的親戚寫下自己的記憶，在他們離開了我們後可以被讀取。

Dates and events can often get muddled with the passing of time, and the use of pet names can cause great confusion.


日期和事件，常常隨著時間的推移而被混淆，使用寵物的名字，可以造成更大的混亂。

Of course, you can't simply take what you have been told at face value - an important part of the research process will be to verify what you have heard. Dates and events can often get muddled with the passing of time, and the use of pet names can cause great confusion. For example, Uncle Jack Smith may well have been born Michael John Smith; and non-relatives are often accorded 'uncle' or 'aunt' status, so be prepared to do a bit of pruning of your family tree. The same applies to stories you might hear during your conversations, and where possible try to compare as many different versions of an event as you can - where tales start to overlap, there is likely to be a grain of truth, and it will be your task to investigate later on.

當然，你不能很簡單地採取被告知的面值 - 一個研究過程中的重要組成部分將是驗證你所聽到的。日期和事件，隨著時間的推移被攪混，而使用寵物的名字，可以造成很大的混亂。例如，傑克·史密斯叔叔可能已經生出邁克爾·約翰·史密斯和非親屬往往給予“叔叔”或“阿姨”的狀態，所以要準備修剪你的族譜。同樣的故事，可能會在你的談話聽到，並在可能的情況下嘗試比較許多不同版本的事件，可以 – 將故事開始在重疊的地方，有可能是一個事件的本質，它會是你後來的調查任務。

Look for physical clues

尋找物種線索

Once you have obtained as much oral history about your family as you can, it's time to widen the search to include physical objects. You will be amazed at the amount of documentation you can uncover simply by asking to look through widens, boxes and files - one person's 'rubbish' is another's treasure trove! In particular, keep an eye out for personal documents - certificates of births, marriages and deaths, wills, employment records, pension payments, military service papers and other miscellanea. ... family heirlooms such as bibles sometimes have entire family trees inscribed inside the cover.

  

一旦你盡可能獲得關於你家人的口述歷史，就可以擴大搜索範圍，包括物種對象。你會驚訝於文件的數量。你可以很簡單的藉由翻看抽屜，箱子和文件來揭露- 一個人的“垃圾”可是另一個人的寶庫！尤其是關注在個人證件 - 出生證明書，婚姻和死亡，遺囑，就業記錄，養老金支付，兵役文件和其他雜貨等物件。諸如聖經的家族傳家寶，有時整個族譜會涵蓋在內。

  

These items will allow you to piece together the outline of your ancestors' lives, as well as provide clues as to what they did and where they did it! Certificates are particularly important, as they are essentially the 'building blocks' of your family tree. Since 1837, every birth, marriage and death in England and Wales had to be registered - though it took many decades for compliance to reach anything like 100% - and a copy of each certificate was handed to the informant. Certificates began in Scotland in 1855 and in Ireland largely in 1864. This means that all your ancestors who were born, married and died should have generated this paperwork, and the documents are often retained in families, alongside other official papers such as wills. Wills are particularly poignant, as they reveal what your ancestor's last wishes were, how their possessions were to be distributed and who their closest friends and family were.

這些項目將使你拼湊你的祖先生活的輪廓，以及提供線索，並了解他們做了及在哪做了什麼！證書尤為重要，因為他們基本上是建構你的族譜的區塊。自1837年以來，每個在英格蘭和威爾士出生，婚姻和死亡都會進行登記 - 儘管它花了幾十的承諾以達到100％- 每個證書的副本會交給提供者。在愛爾蘭證書開始於1855年，在蘇格蘭主要是1864年。這意味著祖先所有的人出生，結婚和死亡，應該產生這種文書形式，文件往往保留在家庭，以及其他官方文件，如遺囑。遺囑是特別尖銳，因為他們揭示你的祖先的遺願是什麼，他們的財產是如何分配和誰是他們最親密的朋友和家人。

But this will be only part of the picture, so to speak, as you should also keep an eye out for photographs. It is worth talking to your relatives to see if they can name any of the people, and make sure you then note down who the people are - either on the back of a copy in pencil, or by scanning the photo into your computer and labelling it. Letters are another incredibly personal source of information, so once again use your diplomatic skills when asking about family correspondence. Keep an eye out for other objects of interest - family heirlooms such as bibles sometimes have entire family trees inscribed inside the cover. All of these items are part of your personal heritage, and will have their own story to tell about their former owners.

但是，這將是只有圖片的一部分，可以這麼說，你也應該關注照片的部份。親人可以唸出名的任何人都值得你去交談看看，並確保你記錄下來此人是誰 - 無論是在草擬副本的背面，或將照片掃描到您的電腦並和註記標籤。信件是另一個令人極度隱私的個人信息，詢問有關家族保證時使用你的外交手腕。並關心其他感興趣的對象 - 傳家寶，諸如聖經，有時將整個族譜涵蓋在內。所有這些項目都是您的個人遺產的一部分，對他的前任擁有者將有他們自己的故事可講述。

Organise the data

整理數據

Once you have gathered together as much information as you can, it's time to arrange it into a family tree. Essentially, this is a map of your roots, a diagram that shows at a glance how your family are related to one another. Start with a large, blank sheet of paper and write your name, including all relevant biographical details, such as date of birth. If you are married, your husband / wife sits alongside you on the tree, linked with either 'm' or '=', standard symbols that denote marriage. Any children go underneath you, connected to you with a line; include their dates of birth as well, marked 'b' for born. They are the generation below you. Above you go the names and relevant dates of your parents, and above them go your grandparents. As you work up the tree, you are going back in time, generation by generation, and doubling the number of direct ancestors you find. Therefore you have four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, sixteen great-great grandparents, and so on. You may be surprised how little information you know about some of these people, and may simply know a name and possibly a date of death (marked 'd'). This is the whole point of drawing up a family tree, as it makes you realise where the gaps in your knowledge lie, and this will help you to develop a research plan.

你一旦儘可能收集到信息，就可安排到一個族譜裡。從本質上講，這是你的路徑地圖，一目了然顯示您的家庭是彼此如何相關。從一張大白紙開始，寫你的名字，其中包括所有相關的履歷資料，如出生日期。如果你已婚，你的丈夫/妻子與你位等，與“M”或“=”，表示婚姻的標準符號鏈接。若有兒童，則用一條線連接下方，包括他們的出生日期，標記'B'表示出生。他們是你的下一代。上方則是你父母的姓名及有關的日期，更上方則是你的祖父母。當你運作整理你的族譜工作，你回朔過去的時間，通過一代又一代，回溯你找到的直系祖先。因此，你有四個祖父母，八個曾祖父母，16個曾祖祖父母，等等。如此你可能會感到驚訝，你對這些人的資料了解很少，僅只是知道一個名字和可能的死亡日期（標有“D”）。但這是制訂一個族譜的重點，因為它使你認識到其中您不知情的差距位置，這也將幫助您制定一個研究計劃。

It is important to keep an accurate master copy of your family tree ...

重要的是要保持你的族譜精確的主本複印...

It is important to keep an accurate master copy of your family tree, on which you update all research results at the end of each trip to the archives or library, and after each online search. Date the tree each time you amend it, and keep previous copies, just in case you make a mistake in your research - that way you can go back to an accurate version and start again. It's also useful to make copies of sections of your family tree to take with you when you venture on a research trip - it's easy to get confused when you start working in archives for the first time, or even to look at the wrong family, so your family tree can help focus your mind on the task in hand.

重要的是保持你的族譜準確的主本複印，在所有研究成果結束和每次上網搜索後更新每個檔案或圖書檔案。到目前為止，每次你修改族譜，保持以前的副本，以防萬一你犯了錯誤 - 這樣在您的研究，你可以回到一個準確的版本，並重新啟動。當你做研究之旅隨身攜帶正確的族譜囑本也是很有用處 -當您開始第一次在檔案工作時，它很容易混淆，或者甚至尋找出錯誤的家庭，所以你的族譜可以幫助你的思想集中在手頭的任務。

Developing a research strategy

發展研究戰略

It's up to you to decide what you do next, but most people concentrate on filling some of the gaps in their family tree. First, though, it is always sensible to double check the information you've already been given, so you should ensure that all the names, dates and places are correct by checking the information against official records - particularly the indexes to birth, marriage and death certificates. Many indexes to these certificates, and in the case of Scotland many of the actual certificates, can be found online - see 'Elsewhere on the Web'. You can sometimes also find indexes at your nearest county archive or local studies centre. The next step is to work back in time and use the information contained in certificates and census returns (1841-1911) to discover previously unknown relatives. However, this is not the only way to proceed; you may have heard an interesting story about a particular ancestor, or want to concentrate on only a couple of people in more detail. This may mean a trip to a more specialist archive or institution. Either way, both routes will keep you busy and you will soon see why family history is so addictive!

由你來決定你下一步的行動，但大多數人集中在填滿他們族譜的某些差距。第一，還是，仔細檢查你已經得到的信息始終是明智的，所以你應該確保所有的名字，日期和地點是正確的 - 特別是檢查對官方記錄的信息指標，出生，婚姻，死亡證明書。有很多證書的索引，至於在蘇格蘭的許多實際證書指標，可以在網上找到 - 見“在網絡上的其他地方”。有時也可以在離您最近的縣市存檔室或本地研究中心指標找到。下一步就是及時回溯和使用證書中所載的資料和普查回報（1841年至1911年）發現以前未知的親屬。然而，這是不是唯一的方式來進行，你可能已經聽說一個特定的祖先有趣的故事，或想只集中在更詳細的幾個人身上。這可能意味著以更專業的歸檔或機構。無論哪種方式，兩條路線將讓你忙碌，你很快就會明白為什麼家庭歷史是很容易讓人著迷的！

Getting Help

獲得幫助

There will be time when you grind to a halt and hit the dreaded brick wall in your research. Don't despair! There are plenty of ways to get assistance. For a start, there are numerous books, magazines and trade journals in circulation that offer advice and practical tips about all aspects of family history. Most can be bought in major bookstores and newsagents. You can also access the research library of the Society of Genealogists in London, where you may even discover that someone has already done some research on a branch of your family! It is also a sensible idea to join a family history society, which often run courses and talks in aspects of family history and provide a local support group. You should also join a society that is close to where your ancestors came from, as members might know of relevant records, or even have research notes that can help. Finally, many archives provide lists of independent researchers, who can save you time and money by undertaking specialist research for a fee. This is particularly useful if the collections are hard to understand, or are a long way from where you live.

當你的研究陷於停頓或碰壁時。不要絕望！有許多方式獲得援助。一旦開始，有眾多的書籍，雜誌和行業期刊，提供諮詢和家庭歷史的各個方面的實用技巧。可以在各大書店和報攤購買。您還可以訪問在倫敦的研究系譜學家協會，在那裡你甚至會發現，有人已經對你的家庭的一個分支庫做了一些研究！加入家族歷史學社團也是一個明智的想法，這往往有運作家族史等方面的課程和會談，並提供本地支持小組。你也應該加入一個接近你祖先的社會組織，這些成員可能知道有關記錄，甚至有研究可以幫助。最後，許多檔案館提供的獨立研究人員的名單，可付費進行專門研究，為您節省時間和金錢。這是當如果蒐集是很難理解時，或你去的地方有很長的路要走時是特別有用的。