Genealogy for Beginners

Ancestry-tracing is fun; it brings history to life and it gives a greater sense of personal identity. Our ancestors become real people; they may have been ordinary, blue-blooded or famous, but whatever they were the search itself is rewarding. Tracing a family history and gradually constructing one's own unique pedigree is an absorbing hobby, a never-ending detective investigation. This book tells the beginner exactly how to set about it: how to collect information from living relatives, how to make full use of all existing clues and traditions, how and where to find written records and what information they can be expected to provide as well as the likely problems that may be encountered and possible ways to solve them. Many books have been written for the would-be genealogist but none has ever equalled the success or popularity of Arthur Willis's Genealogy for Beginners. Since it was first published in 1955, this readable little guide has introduced far more ancestry-tracers to the subject than any other. Now it has been completely revised and re-written by Karin Proudfoot, so that it is once more the most up-to-date book on the subject and the best buy for the beginner of today.