May 9, 2025
New genealogists often visit the one-on-one sessions that Larimer County Genealogical Society provides. They’re on Thursday afternoons, 1:00 to 3:00 pm, Old Town Library, Fort Collins and Loveland Library, Loveland. The sessions are drop-in, first come, first served.
Many of these beginners have no idea how to start their genealogy journey. They’re often interested in proving their descent from a famous person or proving a family story they’ve heard. They hope that the helpers at the session will be able to wave a magic wand and answer their questions in a short half-hour visit.
Unfortunately, family history doesn’t work like that. Serious genealogy takes time, persistence and patience. Just ask anyone who has spent decades searching for an elusive brick wall ancestor. Genealogy isn’t a good pastime for anyone who needs instant gratification.
It’s a methodical process of proving birth, marriage and death dates and places for your ancestors – starting with yourself. Since you’re obviously still alive, you won’t be proving your own death, but otherwise, the information you collect should be the same for you as for each of your ancestors.
You will need to prove your parents, grandparents, great grandparents and so on. It’s important not to skip a generation. If you do, you may miss clues that can lead you further back.
Every family’s genealogy research will be different. One family line may lead to colonial New York while another may lead to French Canada. Each researcher will need to use different records and methods to prove their ancestry.
Sometimes you may find a genealogy book or other set of records that seems like a short cut. Even that should be verified. Authors of older books may not have had access to the records we have today. Sometimes online family trees are copied from other trees with no reference to sources.
Learning the who, when and where of our family can be fascinating. The more you know, the more you want to know. A visit to a one-on-one session can be the first step on a lifelong journey.
The volunteers can help you take the first steps to learn about your family. We probably won’t be able to tell you immediately that you are or are not a descendant of Thomas Jefferson. To learn that you’ll have to start with yourself and work backwards. Good luck on your journey.
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society