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Free family history course

Your Family Story

Four short parts that take you from your first questions to a well-documented family story you can share.

You don’t need to be an expert, pay for a subscription, or have a box of old documents. You need curiosity, a notebook, and one ancestor you’d like to know better. Each part ends with a short assignment, so by the end you’ll have something real to show for it.

  • 4 parts
  • Free
  • Go at your own pace
  • No experience needed
Start Part 1
1 · WHY2 · GATHER3 · RESEARCH4 · SHARE
  1. Part 1 · 4 min read Why Family History Matters Understand the purpose

    What family history can tell you, how it differs from genealogy, and how to choose the person you’ll research first.

  2. Part 2 · 5 min read Starting with What You Know Collect what’s known

    Search the house, interview relatives, record where every fact came from, and build your first tree and research plan.

  3. Part 3 · 6 min read Researching Records and Reconstructing Lives Investigate what’s missing

    Where the records are, how to search them well, how to weigh conflicting evidence, and how to turn a name into a life.

  4. Part 4 · 5 min read Telling, Preserving, and Sharing the Family Story Create something lasting

    Write an ancestor profile, separate fact from family tradition, label photos, and preserve and share what you’ve found.

What you’ll have at the end

A small but solid family history project you can keep building on.

  • A basic family tree, with a source for each fact
  • Several recorded family memories
  • A collection of reliable records about one ancestor
  • A written story about at least one ancestor or family line

What you’ll need

  • A notebook, binder or computer folder to keep everything in one place
  • A relative or two who will talk with you, by phone or in person
  • A free FamilySearch account for searching records (optional, but very helpful)
  • About an hour for each part’s assignment, spread out however you like

Already deep into your research? Our shorter course, The Basics of Getting Organized, covers folders, scanning, file names and citations.