While an individual family's history is invariably the beginning of everyone's story, learning about that story invariably sheds further insight into a family's ancestral heritage. Work in genealogy is like that of a private investigator, the main difference being that many (maybe most) of the people being researched may have already passed, and some may have been dead for centuries. Nevertheless, seeking that record of truth and/or fiction regarding an individual and his or her life, and at times covering events from a long time past, is where the fun and frustration for a genealogist begins. This beginner's guide will provide you with sufficient information and suggestions to help you get started on conducting your own family's research. Through historical facts, stories, and observations of the author's own research efforts, the book will help you to: 1) Learn how the family research process works 2) Successfully use your own thinking process to determine your own family's ancestry Some books teach only organized methods and procedures on family research, but this book will spare you from some of that. Instead, the book will take a slightly different approach, as we are all different, and those differences for us often mean that we will tend to do things our own way. And so we shall. This book discusses what tools you will need, how to seek help online and in person, about family research computer applications, about record keeping, about the dos and don'ts of DNA testing, about blood types, etc. It also gets into military wars and records, cemeteries and grave markers, photos, film and video use and preservation, different date formats, census reports, the Internet, newspapers and magazines, etc. It's a broad look at many aspects of genealogy and family research. This book is a self-starter for anyone and everyone. Also, note that the book's suggestions and techniques, while being largely American-based and oriented, should apply to anyone, anywhere, who intends to start or grow family research techniques in their own family research efforts.