GUIDELINES TO USE IN YOUR RESEARCH:):):) ******************************************* Personal Questions you have to ask of yourself and your relatives , that will "HELP" you fill out the forms correctly ! Please don't take this as a personal insult , it's a Guide to help in your research ? 1)Is your surname , spelled properly and correct ? 2)Was your surname legally changed , if so , when ? Changed from ???? to ???? . 3)Where you an orphan ? Legally adopted ? Foster parents , Step parents ?? 4)Always write a cover letter to your relatives asking for family information , telling them about researching your family history and genealogy/family tree , ancestry , lineage , heraldry , heritage , etc ? 5)Any alias's , nicknames , pet names used ? 6)Correct country/state of birth , what city or county too ?? 7)Correct date of birth , month/day/year , what age , how old ? 8)Correct date of death , month/day/year , what age , how old ? 9)"Maiden" unmarried birth name of wife ? 10)Blood relatives or Married relatives ? 11)The name given to you on your birth certificate ? Surname ? Do you have a copy of it ? You will need it for a passport ? 12)Did you Immigrate into this country , when and where ? 13)Legally divorced , to whom and when , who's got the children ? 14)Are their adopted children ? Who are they ? 15)Aunts/uncles/brothers/sisters ,do you know ,who they all are ?? Or aware of , are they missing , gone , not accounted for , or nobody talks about "THEM" ?? 16)Did/Does your grandfather or grandmother have any brothers or sisters ? Those great aunts nd great uncles ?? 17)Has your name been Americanized by being shortened ? Or the spelling of it changed/altered ? If so ? Why ? 18)Are their people who you know of , that , where called "your relatives " but are not really blood related to you , for some unknown reason ?? 19)Always double check , all handwritten documents , letters for SPELLING errors ?? Census records where handwritten with a lot of spelling errors ?? Errors like I and E , L or T s , dot your eyes and cross your tee's ??? 20)Always take notes , for future reference ? A must do ? 21)Always "PRINT / TYPE" on the forms , no handwritten errors this way ? 22)Make photo copies of census records , that apply to you ? 23)Make photo copies of all important legal documents ? 24)Order copies of Social Security form ss9 of deceased relatives ? 25)If your relatives are "Older" and have some vocabulary/speech challenged , politely "ASK" again with manners , if you didn't understand them ?? A little embarrassment will not hurt you ? You will have a better understanding of your history and heritage for it ? 26)Your NOT a private investigator or a Missing/Lost person bureau , just a Genealogy researcher of Your legally related relatives , wanting to know the basic FACTS , to compile a family tree/chart , for your personal use ? 27)When in doubt , Verify/Cross check the info later , by another source or relative ? (c)1999,joseph a. cira AA)Sources of genealogy info:; Your living relatives First , census records , immigration records , Social Security form SS9 , birth certificates , death certificates , federal archives , state archives , county , archives , Mormon family history centers , military records , marriage license , family bibles , old photo albums , naturalization records , VA records , church records , cemetery records , local genealogy libraries , obituaries , newspapers , Genealogy club magazines/newsletters , your local city library genealogy section , Social Security death index , ships passenger lists.............. more to come !!! CIAO joseph a. cira pasadena,cal chicago,ill