WELCOME FAMILY TREE SEARCHERS
The Follett Freesite was started in year 1999 by Bonnie Follett of San Francisco thanks to Rootsweb.com, now owned by Ancestry.com. The genealogy of the Follett family has been the main subject of the site but has grown over the years with input from many individuals who have shared information. This has inspired new spurts of research into my family and its related families. A few individuals from my own personal family tree has now grown to a coherent web of over 2,770 individuals.
For those who are new to researching their family genealogy, I hope you will find, as I did, that a renewed sense of "connectedness" results. All of us have come from a long line of individuals, who lived their own stories, rich in the history of their times. Without them, we would not be here.
One couple marries, settles down and has children. But over the unfolding generations, they are responsible for whole "tribes" of related family groups who have spread out from their own region or country of birth and may also have migrated to other countries throughout the world. My research has ended up resulting in a giant spider web of connectedness.
NOTE: I update this site periodically, especially the WorldConnect Gedcom that holds my research and data. When reviewing my information you may notice places where I forgot to record sources. I was a little sloppy about adding sources in the early years of my researching. But I have increasingly seen the value in documenting sources throughout my later years of research. I constantly strive to review my research and update my data and sources, even though that process seems never-ending (as new data becomes available over the web).
For those new to searching, I have posted below some genealogy research tips and pitfalls.
My Ancestors sailed the ocean blue. And I have always loved the sea.
Have fun exploring and I hope you will enjoy this website.
General Genealogy Research Tips
- Always record your sources. You will regret it later if you don't.
- Be aware that spelling of names often changes over years and centuries, as well as in public records. It helps to record alternative spellings or mispellings and where they occurred.
- Use a genealogy program that can properly record and save your data. It will make your work much easier.
Ask Your Family
When starting out, your family is the best resource for information. Ask parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles to provide you with information. Ask them to put information in writing, and ask about old family photos while you're at it.
I used family questionnaires and was surprised at how helpful the responses were and how willing my family was to assist me.
Record Your Sources
When researching your family tree, you will inevitably run into the problem of finding conflicting information. The only way to judge what info is likely to be correct, is by deciding which source for the data is most reliable. Record as many sources as possible. Look to see if Census records match up with the birth, marriage and death records you have, etc. Online obituaries are also helpful.
Mary Follet sampler. Her work aged 12 years, 1802.
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