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Info Guide - How to trace your family tree [new window 
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Trace your family
What is family history?
"The term applies specifically to biographical research into one’s forebears with the object of compiling a narrative history of the family. A family history should place the members of the family in their historical, geographical, social and occupational contexts and describe their activities and the lives they lived." Fitzhugh, Terrick (1998) Dictionary of Genealogy (5th ed) London: A & C Black.
Where do I start?
The first stage in doing a family history is to do a family tree. The information resulting from this search will prompt further exploration of the records necessary to tell the family story. The initial steps are clearly structured.
1. Use a pedigree chart to structure the search record of your direct line
- This can be purchased from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), your local family history society or downloaded free from the Net at a number of places such as the Ancestors site [new window] or LDS FamilySearch [new window]
- Record information in the detail and spelling provided. Birth, death and marriage certificates provide a lot of helpful detail. This is particularly true for the east coast of the Australian mainland as a result of the introduction of the Archer system in civil registration (Victoria July 1853; NSW, including Qld, March 1856). Each certificate in the search sequence can provide information to help you find the next one
- Information on certificates in each State may be obtained under the headings 'Free help' and 'AUS info' at Graham Jaunay's site Adelaide Proformat [new window]
- The costs of certificates, the necessary forms and conditions as well as the addresses for each State are on each Registry’s site. Each Registry site provides links to the others. You could start at the Queensland Births, deaths and marriages : Department of Justice and Attorney General [new window]
- Note that libraries generally hold the indexes to certificates, not the certificates themselves. For information on registers the State Library holds check Info Guide 3.2 - Births, Deaths and Marriages.
- Crosscheck names, ages, birthplaces provided for individuals in one certificate with those in another.
2. Trace backwards and record from yourself starting with your full birth certificate
This in turn provides you with information about an earlier generation, your parents:
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your father's full name and place of birth and occupation at the time
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your mother's maiden name, age and place of birth
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when and where your parents married.
3. Record the information from your parents' marriage certificate
Your own birth certificate will provide you with details of the marriage place and date that you will need to obtain a copy of the marriage certificate. Information includes:
- parents' full names, ages and birthplaces
- grandfathers' names and occupations
- grandmothers' maiden names.
4. Record the information from your parents' birth certificates
Your father's birth certificate includes:
- his father's full name, age, birthplace and occupation at the time
- his mother's maiden name, age and birthplace
- when and where your grandparents married.
5. Continue with this procedure until you find the first arrival in Australia
The death certificate for this person may provide invaluable information:
- father's name and occupation
- mother's maiden name and occupation
- deceased person's birthplace
- number of years in the colony and in which Australian colonies.
6. Exhaust all Australian sources before attempting overseas research
- You need the next set of parents' names and their town or parish of origin to commence an overseas search.
- If these are not supplied on the death certificate they may be supplied on the shipping records.
- Shipping records are found in Australia not overseas.
- These records are organised on a state basis and are usually indexed according to whether passengers received financial support or not in coming to Australia.
7. Maintain records of your sources
- Use a research log. This is useful for crosschecking information and picking up errors.
- Samples may be purchased from societies, found in handbooks, or downloaded free from Internet sites such as from the Ancestors site [new window]
8. Prepare family group sheets/descendant charts to record relationships other than the direct line.
- Again there are plenty of sources from societies, in handbooks and so on.
9. Find out more about the lives of your family
- From countries of origin to Australia there is an increasing amount of material being collated and indexed on ordinary people
- This information is available in a variety of formats
- The Internet makes the sources more accessible.
Refer to Gray, Nancy (2002) Compiling your family history (21st ed) (FAMHIS 929.1 2002)
More information
If you have a family history enquiry, you can contact us in any of the following ways:
Last updated: 6th December 2011
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