Heritage Album

How does one research genealogy without contacting ALL members of your family?

There is a specific (creepy) member of my family I wish to avoid like the plague but wish to research my heritage...is this possible without contacting said creepaziod? Thanks!

Public Comments

1. get as much info from other family members as possible and just avoid creepaziod. Ask for Family Bibles, birth marriage, death certificates and copy the information. Also, depending on the faith, baptistmal, first communion, confirmation, marriage certificates can give lots of information Go to your public library and find out what all they have. They might have a subscription to Ancestry.Com you can use. Ancestry.Com has lots of records. They have all the U.S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 and later are not available to the public yet. They have U. K. censuses also. Just don't take as absolute fact everythning you see in family trees on any website, free or paid. The info is subscriber submitted and mostly not documented or poorly documented. Even when you see the same info repeatedly by many different subscribers, that is no guarantee it is correct. A lot of people copy without verifying. Use the information as clues as to where to get the documentation. A Family History Center at a Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church has records on people all over the world, not just Mormons. They are free to use but you need to find out their hours for the general public. In Salt Lake City, they have the world's largest genealogical collection. Their Family History Centers can order microfilm for you to view at a nominal fee. I have never had them to try and convert me or send their missionaries by to ring my doorbell. I haven't heard of them doing that to anyone else either. At your library and the Family HIstory Center you will meet other researchers and sharing ideas and experiences can be very valuable.
2. You don't research your ANCESTRY by contacting all members of your family.. you research heritage by using documents, which focus on your parents/ grandparents/ gr grandparents. Unless the creep is grandpa, you should not need to contact him (or her, if it is grandma). You do need to know who his/her parents were, but you should be able to get those names and approx dates through alternate means. I LOVE research.. but don't ever put yourself in a risky place, just to get info. Ain't worth that.
3. Shirley T has your question nailed, so just follow the best answer you are going to get.