So you’ve embarked on the super-exciting journey of family history … the journey where you discover not only who your your family is and was, but in many instances yourself as well.

You’ve started off by writing down all the information that you currently know about yourself, your spouse, your children, your siblings and your parents (names, dates, places etc).

The next step is to look for items that are likely to help you with more information. Everyone knows about the birth, death and marriage certificates as a source of information. But had you thought of looking in your baby book, on X-rays, or your drivers licence … all of these have valuable information about the person they relate to, so all are sources.

So if you thought you had looked EVERYWHERE … think again. I guarantee that this checklist has at least a few possibilities you hadn’t considered before.

Birth
 – Adoption Record
– Baby Book
– Birth Certificate

Marriage
– Anniversary Announcement
– Marriage Certificate
– Wedding Announcement
– Wedding Book

Divorce
– Papers

Death
– Death Certificate
– Funeral Book
– Memorial Cards
– Obituary
– Will

Education
– Awards
– Graduation
– Honour Roll
– Report Cards
– Year Books

Employment
– Achievement Awards
– Apprenticeship Records
– Business Cards
– Income Tax Records
– Membership Records
– Resume
– Severance Records
– Retirement Records

Everyday Life
– Autograph Album
– Bills
– Biography
– Diary
– Letters
– Newspaper Clippings
– Passport
– Photographs
– Scrapbooks
– Telephone Books

Family
– Bible
– Bulletins/Newsletters
– Coat of Arms
– Genealogies
– Histories

Health
– Hospital Records
– Immunisation Records
– Insurance Papers
– Medical Records
– X-rays

Household Items
– Dishes
– Engraved Items
– Needlework
– Quilts
– Silverware
– Stitched Sampler
– Tapestries
– Other Heirlooms

Land and Property
– Estate Records
– Financial Records
– Land Grants
– Mortgages
– Tax Notices
– Title Deeds

Licences
– Business
– Drivers
– Firearms
– Occupation
– Professional

Military Service
– Discharge Notices
– Medals and Awards
– Nominal Rolls
– Personal Service Record
– Roll of Honour
– Unit Histories

Religion
– Blessing
– Baptism Record
– Christening Record
– Confirmation Record
– Ministerial Record
– Ordination Record