The Family Group Sheet identifies a couple and their children. Everyone with a spouse or child has two group sheets; one as a child with parents and usually one as a parent with children.

Information Secondary The information in this source contains details provided by someone with secondhand (or more distant) knowledge of the person, event, or situation (hearsay, tradition, local lore, a birth date of a death certificate etc.) A Death Certificate can contain both primary and secondary source information.

Set up "proof files." These are your original documents that NEVER travel with you. Travel with copies if needed. Digital copies are easy to carry with you.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, DC and its Regional Branches, is the principal repository for records relating to the US federal government. These include the original paper copies of the federal census, all pre-World War I military records, Native American records, military service and pension records, naturalization records, ship passenger lists, land-entry case files, and homestead and bounty land warrant records. NARA's website is the place to begin research for federal records.

Probate records refer to wills, inventories, letters of administration and guardianship. They are usually held at the county courthouse unless archived and they are indexed by the name of the testator.