Genealogy supplies

The kinds of supplies that you need for genealogy and family history research are very different from the supplies you need with most other hobbies.  Genealogy is really just the gathering and organizing of information.  So the tools and supplies you need are those which help you to gather, archive and organize all the information that you collect.  That’s right – you basically need office supplies!

Gathering Information

Genealogy research begins with old-fashioned word of mouth – just picking up the phone or sitting down with a family member and asking them questions.  By talking with your relatives, you can gather a lot of information which may not exist in any other recorded format. You probably wouldn’t think you need supplies just to talk to someone about their family history, but having the right supplies close at hand can really be helpful to you.

Get A Notebook or Dictation Device

You need to keep accurate notes of what you discover during the information gathering stage of your family history project.  So your most basic and needed supply is a good notebook or 3-ring binder with divider tabs.  If your notebook has sections in it, you can divide it into families or generations.  If you don’t like to write, you can use a digital dictation device and send the files to someone for dictation. Regardless of whether you write the stories or record audio, make sure you collect the stories – that is the most important thing!

Use A File Folder System

Since you’ll be gathering so much information, you will need some way to collect it all and organize it for reference later on.  You will be collecting documents and photos as well as dictated stories and various other items. The easiest thing to do is put these things into file folders and keep the folders in a file cabinet or briefcase.  When you label the files, the most obvious method is to alphabetize by name.  The bottom line is: you need to keep your documents organized and separated.

Paper Clips and Scrap Paper – Have Plenty Available

It may not be immediately obvious to you but paper clips and scrap paper are essential supplies to keep on hand.  Remember you need to keep track of things such as the people in the photos you’ve collected, or which documents belong to whom.  So make sure you always have scrap paper (not “sticky” notes!) and paperclips on hand.

“Sticky notes” are not recommended because the glue which makes them sticky could possibly damage your photos and other old documents.  By using paperclips you can write the information about the document or photo and keep them together.

A Digital Scanner (and Camera) Is A Helpful Tool

You may need to make copies of the information you collect.  In fact, it is a very good idea to do so and then to give the original document back to the owner as soon as possible.  A scanner for your computer is a valuable resource because you can permanently store the document on your computer and you can also print the document (since many scanners are all-in-one printer combinations).  Photo-copied documents are an alternative to use in family tree scrapbooks so that the original document does not get ruined.

Software Supplies

The supplies needed for the first part of your research are basically just standard office supplies.  But at some point, after talking to as many family members as you can, you will need to pursue other sources of information.  Most people turn to the internet for this.

You may not think of a website as a supply or tool, but with genealogy it is.  Many of the websites that are easy to use (and the ones you’ll probably want to use) charge a fee – so be prepared to make an investment!  Investing into these websites can make your family history project so much easier!

With the right genealogy software you can store and organize all of the pictures and documents you have scanned onto your computer.  If you’re serious about your family history project, then software is an important tool you will not want to ignore.  Use it and save yourself a lot of time and frustration!

Other Supplies

Another helpful item to add to your genealogy supplies are templates of family trees.  You will probably find out that trying to create a family tree all by yourself from scratch is a bit tricky.

A pre-built template is just the right thing to help you out!  You might want to hand out these templates to family and friends before you interview them.  But be warned – it gets difficult trying to fit all of the names and information of your relatives onto these templates.  It also gets tricky trying to figure out who you should include.

Your great grandfather may have had five brothers or sisters, and each of his siblings may have had five children.  That makes 25 more people to add to your family tree!  Should all of this information be included?  Templates, forms or charts that you can print out from the internet will solve a lot of these problems for you.

Genealogy does not require a lot of unique or hard-to-find supplies.  But having the right supplies on hand makes your hunt for your family history easy and fun to do.

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