Step Two: Talk to other family members

Don't forget that other people in your family may have similar collections of documents - and it's definitely worth talking to as many relatives as possible to find out further names, dates and stories. Here's some things to bear in mind when you're interviewing relatives:

 - Ask if anyone in your family has already done some genealogical research, as they might be able to save you a huge amount of time and money!

- If you can, and your relatives don't mind, record the interviews that you carry out. As well as being useful for preserving facts that you might otherwise miss, they will serve as an invaluable memento for the future.

 - Preparation will really help you get the most from the interviews. Take along some old family photographs to help prompt memories and get the conversation going and make a list of questions that you'd like to ask before you start.

 - It might be worth getting hold of a folder to organise the results of your research. Make copies of any documents that you uncover, and if you can, make electronic back-ups of the interviews that you carry out.

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