Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Some Basics

I've been MIA for a couple of weeks.  Sorry about that.  :)  Now I'm back and ready to blog.  Today's post is going to be quick and simple.  I've had a couple of my readers request some basic information for beginners.  So, here you go!

Locations - How do you format place names when doing genealogical research?  What to include?  Abbreviations?  Now you'll know.  Do not abbreviate, name each jurisdiction, and separate with commas.  So you get this Town, County, State, Country.  United States example: St. David, Cochise, Arizona, United States.  Other countries may have different jurisdictions that do not equate exactly like the United States.  When that happens, start at the smallest jurisdiction and work your way up.  Example: Frutigen, Bern, Switzerland.

Dates - Which format?  Day Month Year, no commas.  Example 25 December 2010

Why not use your own formatting or abbreviations?  Because someday a family member is going to ask you to give them all the information on the family you have and they will not be able to understand your method.  It's easier for you and for all those out there benefiting from the wonderful work you've done.  Now,  Happy Researching!

P.S. If you have a particular topic you're interested in or have a question, please feel free to leave me a note in the comments and I'd be happy to answer it for you.  :)

1 comment:

Krista said...

Yay, Meg, this is a cool blog!
I do, in fact, have a question: I've found that I have ancestors buried in Holt, MO. (Which is quite close); how would I find which cemetery they're buried in and would it be beneficial for me to head over there and check it out (I kind of want to anyway, but what might I get out of it geneology-speaking)? I suppose that was a few questions. Sorry.