Are you drowing in the tsunami of records you have accumulated in your years of family history hunting? Are you confused about how to organise them and in what format?

Or are you just starting out?  This guide is for you.

The attached guide was prepared by Chris Harris, FHWA's IT Manager.  It covers a range of subjects including:

1. Background to the changing nature of records in genealogy
2. How to decide what formats to use - Digital or analogue
3. First principles of record keeping
4. Records about people
5. Records about places
6. Documents and storage
7. Summary - be consistent

Read the guide here: Organising Your Records

Starting Out

Free Information Forms and Charts

We have many resources that will help the budding genealogist or family historian get started on the right track. 

Genealogy v's Family History

Genealogy is the charting of a family's descent through a chronological record of births, marriage and deaths; in short it is the bones of your research.  It consists of a record of names, dates, places and relationships through which one can compile a pedigree chart of a family tree.

In the process of your research you will amass a lot of other information. 

This is the stuff of Family History, which will fill out the lives of the people you are researching, and the conditions under which they lived.  This is what puts the flesh on the bones of your research.  It changes your ancestors from a set of facts into real-life, interesting individuals.

Information Sources

The main sources of data needed to fill in your forms and charts are shown below. 

STEPPS - Hints for Researching your Family History

The STEPPS acronym was developed by one of our WAGS members. It is a methodology designed to help you focus, and a useful way to remember, the context of your research. It is also the Why, When, What, Where, Who and How of your genealogical research.

Information Shown on Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates

The following tables show what information that you can expect to find on Australian, New Zealand and UK certificates.

Prices for Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates

The tables below provide information on current prices.

Historical Western Australian family history certificates are now available at a reduced price of $20.00 (Au) see table below for details.

Genealogy Relationships Chart

Many of us struggle with knowing where distant relatives fit into our family, especially when working on our family history, the following descriptions and the Relationship Chart below will help you to identify the relationships.

Members Online Guide

The following links are given as a guide to Members to help make your online experience more enjoyable.

Genealogy - Online Hints & Tips

There are many online sources available to help you on your family history research journey.

The following GENUKI (Genealogy in UK & Ireland) links offer good advice, not just for beginners.