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Some 50 percent larger than the first edition of 1994--though still at 48 pages the most concise guidebook available--this completely updated 2nd edition of the Starter Kit brings the entire world of genealogy into instant focus. Written as a beginner's guide to American genealogy, it can also be used by the more experienced researcher as a handy guide to essential information sources. The object of the work is to reduce the process of genealogical research to its most basic elements, enabling the raw beginner to be brought up to speed in no more time than it takes him to read a handful of pages. At the same time it is a one-stop resource book for the practicing genealogist, providing in one convenient place the names and addresses of essential record repositories.

The booklet begins with a How to Start section in which author William Dollarhide outlines his unique seven-step system for gathering facts essential for any genealogical project: interviewing family members, contacting relatives, writing for death records, following up on death records, census searching, LDS Library searching, and state and county searching. These are the building blocks of genealogical research, the only prerequisites demanded of the researcher. A Where to Find More section follows, giving the names and addresses of specific places to obtain more information, including a list of the various branches of the National Archives, and a breakdown, by state, of the major genealogical libraries, archives, and societies in the country. Also included is a list of the top genealogy reference books.

In the back of the booklet are Master Forms used to keep track of the information gathered--specifically, a Family Group Sheet, a Pedigree Chart, and a Family Data Sheet--designed and produced by Dollarhide himself.


EDITORIAL REVIEWS

"A person just starting genealogical research would be well served by this primer for the basic work...All in all, this kit is an excellent buy for the money."--FEDERATION OF GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES FORUM, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Fall 1999), pp. 29-30.

"...the beginner can get organized before becoming inundated with information like the rest of us have."--FEDERATION OF GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES FORUM, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Winter 1995), p. 31.

"It is concise, focused, and useful. It brings the entire world of genealogy into instant focus. It reduces the process of research to its most basic elements, enabling the beginner to be brought up to speed in no more time than it takes to read a few pages."--AMERICAN-CANADIAN GENEALOGIST, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Summer 1994), p. 133.

"...an excellent, concise introduction to the subject."--THE NEW YORK GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, Vol. 125, No. 3 (July 1994).