Читать книгу Who Do You Think You Are? Encyclopedia of Genealogy: The definitive reference guide to tracing your family history - Nick Barratt - Страница 11

Who Do You Think You Are? at times can make family history appear to be quite easy – but in reality, it can be anything but! Months of research underpin each programme, and many of the actual steps taken to arrive at a pivotal moment in the storyline aren’t filmed or shown, simply because there isn’t enough time to squeeze them into the programme.

However, one thing that is reflected accurately on screen is the all too real sense of disappointment when a promising line of enquiry comes to an end. You have to be realistic with your initial aims; some families are going to be harder to trace than others, particularly the further back in time you progress. Similarly, if you have a very common surname in your tree, such as Jones or Smith, you will encounter difficulties tracing ancestors along that branch due to the sheer number of people who will share their name.

Equally, if you know very little about your family to start with, it will take that little bit longer to get the ball rolling and you will probably have to purchase more certificates until you can work your way back to the nineteenth century, where the availability of another important set of documents, the census records, helps to speed up the process. Both of these key sources are explained in more detail in Section Two.

It’s important not to be disheartened when you encounter setbacks such as these. You simply have to keep persevering, and you will find that the reward when you do discover that missing link is worth all the additional work. Genealogy is a detective process, and just like any investigation there will be times when you hit a brick wall and can seemingly go no further. There are tips about how to seek help to overcome these obstacles in Chapter 4.