T Or F: You’ll Start ‘Hunting’ In 1998

A genealogy quiz is a dandy way to start the new year - here goes! Decide which questions are “True” or “False” and see if you’re ready to do genealogy in 1998.

Here goes:

The No. 1 person on your pedigree chart should be you.

Work from the known to the unknown, backwards in time.

Genealogists should always use standard genealogy charts.

One family group sheet is needed for every marriage listed on a pedigree chart.

Talk to your elderly relatives now, before it’s too late.

You most likely cannot trace a reliable pedigree back beyond 1500.

Write surnames in capital letters - always.

List women by their maiden names.

Include all parts of places: town, county and state.

In England, christening dates are listed rather than birth dates.

Always send an SASE (stamped, self-addressed enveloped) with every genealogy letter.

Keep copies of your genealogy letters or notes in a “letter log.”

Type your letters whenever possible.

When writing to relatives, be sure to ask about Bibles, photos, diaries, contents of old trunks, etc.

Use e-mail and the Internet to find new cousins.

Eastern Washington Genealogical Society (EWGS) exists to help you.

The Spokane Public Library with its genealogy section is a wonderful place!

The collection in the genealogy section might include a biographical book on your surname.

Censuses have been taken every 10 years since 1790.

Each family member is listed only on post-1850 censuses.

Earlier censuses name only the head of the household.

Many tidbits of genealogical information are found in census records.

The Revolutionary War years were 1775 to 1783. (Did your ancestor serve?) The Civil War years were 1861 to 1865. (Did your ancestor serve?) Daughters of the American Revolution records are a grand source for Revolutionary War ancestor information.

Only pension files from the Revolutionary War have been microfilmed.

Sending queries anywhere and everywhere is a good thing to do.

Family History Centers in various Spokane locations are small branches of the library in Salt Lake City, which houses the largest genealogy collection in the world.

The only charges at an FHC are those to order microfilm and make copies.

Always include the source of the data you enter onto your charts.

The “Genealogy Pox” is a delightful disease with no known cure.

So how did you fare with this Genealogy Quiz? The correct answer to each question was “True.”

Sharon Fuller, 11515 Roundup Road, Mead, WA 99021 is looking for anybody researching the Dunphin and Hester SAIN family members who lived in Whitman County in the 1870s and are buried in the Oaksdale or Steptoe cemeteries. She has photos to exchange.

, DataTimes MEMO: Donna Potter Phillips welcomes letters from readers. Write to her at The Spokesman-Review, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. For a response, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Donna Potter Phillips The Spokesman-Review