10 things to get you started on your family history search
1. Talk to your family first - listen to their stories, record dates, dates of birth, marriages and deaths. Record your conversations if you can so you can go back to it. Ask if they have old family photographs.
2. Start from a known point. That might be you - or you might know your grandmother’s full name.
3. In all your searches try different spellings. For example, if your family name is Thompson, try searching under Thomson as well.
4. New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages allow you to search for historical births, deaths and marriages. Hint: You can search for births in the same family by entering the family name and the mother’s first name and leave the given name blank. https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
5. Use the internet, learn to use Google effectively. A surprising number of family trees are online and free to access. BUT be wary! Check the information in them against records to confirm.
6. Your local library will likely have genealogy databases such as Ancestry, MyHeritage and FindMyPast which you can use for free.
7. Some libraries have family history sections, which have lots of resources and often have volunteers or librarians who can help you.
8. Many cemetery records are available online on local council websites. Do a search of the cemetery database in the area your family lived. Hint: note down the plot number and see if there are other burials in the same plot. They are most likely family.
9. Papers Past is a searchable database of old NZ newspapers. It’s likely a member of your family was recorded in a newspaper somewhere. Hint: try searching with just surname and initials as many names were recorded like that. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/