I have to admit this article didn't turn out quite the way I expected. Though I have some Scottish and Irish history back about 8 or 10 generations back, this is not a heritage that I am familiar with. I thought it would be helpful or interesting to cover the family styles of tartans, possibly exploring the patterns and any meanings to the colours and styles.

I will admit that this topic was much more complex that I had expected when I first started reading up on the subject. So this article will just be an introduction to the history, meaning and use of coats of arms.

The first thing I need to point out, is that coats of arms are NOT associated with a family or a surname. Anyone offering to find your family's crest or coat of arms (for a price, of course) is not a legitimate service.

I've already mentioned how important it is to properly document and cite your sources when doing genealogy research. There are so many possible sources that you may come across, that it is vital that you keep proper track of where each piece of information came from.

Ah, the brick wall. We all have at least one of them, if not several. Some relation who we cannot get past. A person with unknown parentage and who cannot seem to be found anywhere. I have a few techniques that might help you get past your latest brick wall.

Even the greenest beginner in genealogy is familiar with vital records. It's a general term used for birth, marriage and death records.

These records can provide a lot more information than just a name and date. If you have access to the original certificates or registrations, you will find a wealth of information. Of course, the specifics will be different from region to region, since record-keeping practices of this kind are not standardized.

Earlier, I talked about ways to get all your documents in order. So, I thought I'd provide some resources for one of the fundamental organizational forms you'll need: the family group sheet. The other basic form is the pedigree chart.

Family group sheets organize each family unit (husband, wife, children) along with their vital statistics. Children are marked with ID numbers, to be cross-referenced with their own family groups (for adult, married children).

Visiting a cemetery is a very hands-on way of doing research and collecting family history information. You can locate cemeteries with family members through various online cemetery records, obituaries, or from living family members.

Whether you are actually taking a road trip to find some archived records, or just heading across town to visit the library, planning your genealogy research trip can help you make the most of your time. The more efficient your work, the more likely it will be that you find what you need.

1. Decide what you are looking for. Unless you have unlimited time resources and can read through everything, you should make a list of the specific documents/information that you are looking for. It is really easy to get distracted and forget why you're even there.

They do say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that is definitely the case when doing genealogy research. Photos can make your ancestors come alive.

With each generation you find farther into the past, the available number of photos is going to be drastically reduced. Any photos you do find are going to be precious as well as fragile.

That treasure-trove of photos that you found in your great aunt’s attic may need some tender loving care if you hope to have them last long enough for you to pass down to your children.