If most of us were to give our family tree a good shake, it's likely that a few "fruits and nuts" would fall out—along with a whole bunch of ordinary people. Perhaps that's why it's called a family tree. Anyway, it's just that element of chance that makes it interesting, says Anna Vasconcelles, archivist at the Illinois State Archives in Springfield. The Menard Electric Cooperative member remembers when the miniseries "Roots" came out years ago. Based on the efforts of a man to find his African ancestry, it gave a boost to genealogy that's still going strong, But it didn't have much of an effect on her. She'd been digging into her family's past for years. Now she helps others do what she's worked at so long and enthusiastically. When people come into the Archives building in Springfield, just south of the State Capitol, she helps them through the various mazes that many find so confusing.

TRACING the family tree In her office, Anna goes over one of the many old reference books archivists use to locate family members from the past.

The Executive Record is a source of good information.

And she teaches classes to people who hope to find their ancestry for one reason or another. "Many people got interested because of the 'Roots' miniseries," she says, "and a lot of them are still digging. It's often a long-term process."

Many, she adds, got interested and dug deeply enough that they saw an opportunity to join one group or another, such as the Daughters of the American Revolution, or a similar organization.

'That provided an added incentive for many," she says, "and gave them a second wind." The road to the old family tree is rife with pitfalls, she notes, and a searcher can easily invest years following dead-end leads if they're not careful.

In fact, she says, each time she starts a class she asks her new students how long they've been "shaking the family tree." Most indicate that they've just started.

"But a gentleman at a class I gave recently said he'd been at it for 21 years," she says, "and I told him I wasn't sure I'd be able to help him." He felt otherwise. "I've been doing it wrong all those years," he told her and the class, "and I've wasted a lot of time and money. I'm here to learn to do it right."

One of the first things she teaches is that you shouldn't spend too much time and effort following undocumented leads. "Make sure you can verify a lead by finding documentation," she says, "and don't just rely on the word of an old aunt, uncle or grandparent. Sometimes their memories weren't all that reliable, and people years ago were a lot more sensitive about relatives who were in prison, or who had illegitimate children. They just made up stories to cover up those incidents."

She notes that another major stumbling block in Illinois is the fact that the state started out with just a few counties, which gradually evolved into the 102 counties it has now. "If a transaction took part in one county, which then broke up into several smaller ones," Anna says, "the records stayed in the original county. The new counties didn't get the court records that you'd think would have been divided up into separate units."

STEPS IN GETTING STARTED • Ask family members. • With the information you get from them, go to the census records. They're done every 10 years on even years and have a wealth of information; your library should have census records, probably on microfilm. • Check your local courthouse records. keeping in mind the evolution of the counties. • Contact the nearest genealogical society. Your library, again, is a good starting point. • The Family History Center, a branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), is part of the world's largest genealogical library. There's a center at 3601 Buckeye Drive, Springfield, IL 62707, Telephone (217) 529-4910. • Take local classes, if available.

For example, the Illinois map of 1824 shows that what are now Calhoun, Pike, and parts of Adams and Brown counties were, at that time, all Pike County. Any court records from those areas that took place before the new counties were formed will be at the Pike County Courthouse.

"This is a major stumbling block for many people," Anna says, "and it's one of the most basic things you must know before you get involved in Illinois genealogy. You have to know how the counties evolved."

She adds that the Illinois Secretary of State's office has a 63-page booklet available that outlines the changes in counties during the state's history. "It's called The Origin and Evolution of Illinois Counties'," she says, "and people can get a copy by writing to the Secretary of State's office."

Sometimes relatives' memories weren't all that reliable, and people years ago were a lot more sensitive about family who were in prison, or who had illegitimate children.

Anna remarks that there are many differences between town records and rural ones, too. 'The very first records that people started keeping involved land sales," she says, "and people who bought land—often farmers— showed up in the records in the earliest days of recordkeeping. Those who came and rented in town and so on didn't always get mentioned, unless they stayed and married and had children. Marriages, births and deaths were most frequently recorded in towns."

There are various publications on the market whose reason for being is to enable people to inquire about names, and they are, for the most part, set up very much like the classified ads in a newspaper or magazine. Such publications can be very helpful, she adds. (See "Good books for family researchers.")

Once you get a name. she adds, you need to start building family records, being careful to ink in only information you're sure of, and penciling in material you're unsure of, starting with your own birth certificate and working back. "And you need to be careful to get as much of the old names as possible," she says, "and use initials and nicknames only if you don't have the full names. "Be sure to get your facts straight before you record them," she continues, "and then always cite your sources. Then, if you're asked a question years later, you'll be able to answer it. It seems a little old-fashioned to some people, she says, "who tell me that they do all their genealogy work on a computer, but I do mine on paper first, then enter it in my computer. If you put years of work in a computer, you can lose it. I think it's best to do it both ways."

Anna's "steps in getting started" will give you some guidance, but she notes that the Secretary of State's office has a wealth of information you can write and ask for. "Discovering Family and Local History" is one, as is "Illinois State Archives Probate Records." Other brochures or pamphlets include: "Guidelines for Genealogical Research," "Illinois State Archives Land Sales Records" and "Mapping Your Past."

Those, of course, are in addition to the booklet covering the evolution of Illinois counties. Send for those before doing anything else.

Anna also notes that there are several branches of the Illinois Regional Archives Deposit System (IRADS) in the state, where you can go for help and additional materials. They are in Charleston, Normal, DeKalb, Springfield, Carbondale, Chicago and Macomb. All are located at the state universities in those cities.

GOOD BOOKS FOR FAMILY RESEARCHERS • The Researchers Guide to American Genealogy, by Val D. Greenwood (Hard to find, sold mostly at genealogical conferences) • The Handybook for Genealogists, United States of America* • The Genealogist's Helper (A periodical— classified ads—published six times a year—libraries often have them*) • Origin and Evolution of Illinois Counties, available from the Secretary of State's office. * Both published by The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, Logan, UT 84321

8 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING • JANUARY 1996