Branch Out Your Tree

Do you find that your research efforts are always focused on your own direct line, that you are only interested in your ancestors and not any other family members? Well, I will admit that this approach will help you keep your research somewhat focused, I think you are missing out on a lot of possibly valuable information by doing so. You shouldn't work with blinders on.

By extending your research outwards from your direct line, it will really give you a much deeper appreciation and understanding of your entire ancestral family. Your great-great-great-grandparents had 7 other sons besides your great-great-grandfather, so what happened to those people and their lines?

Besides the general sense of completeness that a fuller family tree can give you, there are some more practical benefits from this kind of intensive research.

Learning more about siblings and cousins can actually help you find more information on your direct line, as I am sure that will still remain the most important part of your tree. I finally learned the parents names of my grandmother from reading the birth registration of her sister, as none of the documents for my grandmother herself provided that.

You can also come across other non-vital record type of information when researching whole families. All of this kind of material helps to paint that complete picture you are looking for.

Of course, if you are already swamped with leads and have too many open-ended direct lines in your tree, you might not have the energy or time to start researching so many more people. You might want to start looking these other relatives when you hit a brick wall with a direct ancestor. Or if you happen to have some research material in front of you that contains references to several family members.

Another value in broadening your searches, is that you may find cousins that are currently living that may be available to be contacted. You never know what you might learn from a distant relative (you might even find another genealogist). It's happened to me.

So whether you research your cousins, aunts and uncles for their own sakes, or simply as a method to further your knowledge about your direct ancestors, you will definitely benefit from straying off that main branch of your tree.

Oh, and once you do leave your direct line, you will likely be overcome with references to cousins, so many times removed and whatnot. If you aren't sure about the terminology, I have more information on how cousins are named. Might make it easier when you start working down those new lines. Thankfully, most genealogy software programs will make these designations for you.