Genealogy using Marriage Records
One of the easiest ways to search for ancestors is through marriage certificates. You can discover how a name got into your family tree, or where a particular name went in the family tree. For example in our family, Powers became Creel which became Jeffery...now it is my husband's name of Chamberlain (3rd cousin to Neville :) So a name such as ours was in the beginning - Smith, hard to trace as a common name, became many names through marriage in our family tree, and thus easier to trace.
Time Saving Tip for Genealogy
Make every minute count. Before you hit the road, list what you want to accomplish, highlighting "must haves". Read everything you can find on a particular subject, locality, and research facility. Are these records available closer to home? These few steps can save you many miles and many dollars!
The Unofficial Guide to Online Genealogy
Genealogy is one of the hottest topics on the Internet, with thousands of sites, forums, and newsgroups clamoring to help-or confuse-family history sleuths. How do people cut through the noise and find the best tools to trace their roots? This opinionated guide can help. Zeroing in on the science of online genealogical research, this book gets you all the how-tos of online searching.
Using Marriage Records in Your Search
You need to know WHERE the marriage took place. Look in vital records, Church records, Newspapers, and Bible Records to name a few. Each resource will require different information for a search. Gather as much information as you can about the marriage, such as clergy, Church Name, Groom's name, Bride's maiden name, wedding date, state, city, day of marriage, when announcement might have been published, etc, so that you can make use of each type for more detailed information.