5 Golden Rules of Genealogy

It's a fact of life. Trees can't live without light, water, air, and food. While fancy fertilizers and high-tech bug killers are nice, all trees really need to survive are the basics and a little TLC.
As with real trees, all your family tree really needs to grow and flourish is a little of your time (or a lot if you're as addicted as I am!) and some attention to the basics. Digitized census records, DNA tests, and merge-matching software are wonderful inventions, but applying these five essential rules to your family tree research will go a much longer way to achieving genealogy success.
Rule #1: Do Not Assume I know you've all heard this one, but it bears repeating. "Set in stone" is an expression that just doesn't apply to genealogy! Do not assume that the dates listed on a tombstone are the correct ones. Do not assume that your surname was always spelled the way it is today. Do not assume that household members listed in a census are actually brothers, sisters, or other relatives (unless the census actually states the relationship and, sometimes, not even then). Do not assume something as fact just because it has been published in a book or on the Internet. More: Do the Ancestors Hanging From Your Family Tree Really Belong There?
Rule #2: Do Your Own Research Following up on Rule One, secondary sources such as published family histories, indexes, and compilations are an easy way to expand your family tree quickly (the fancy fertilizer approach), but are also highly susceptible to mistakes and assumptions (as second-hand information usually is) that can quickly send your family tree growing in the wrong direction. While it is perfectly fine to use these types of sources to find clues to your family, you should always go back and take the time to verify second-hand sources with your own research in original documents. It only takes one incorrect assumption or fact to have you researching the wrong ancestors! More: Five Steps to Verifying Online Genealogy Sources
Rule #3: Treat Brothers & Sisters as Equals Many genealogists, especially beginners, are only interested in tracing their direct line -- grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. While there is nothing wrong with this approach, there is a good reason it is called a family tree, not an ancestor tree. The further back your research takes you, the more important it becomes to research your ancestor's brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles. Commonly referred to as collateral ancestors or collateral lines, these family members may provide the clues that your direct ancestor somehow managed not to leave behind. While your great-grandmother may have been born before births were recorded in the state where she lived, her younger sister may have been born just late enough to have that birth certificate with the parents' names you've been looking for. Or when you learn that your great-great grandfather was born in America, and his parents never chose to become citizens, the naturalization record of the eldest child who was born in Poland may provide the only link to the family's ancestral town. Many choose not to follow this sibling rule because of all the extra work involved, but I can guarantee that by doing so you'll find your research stuck somewhere. More: Researching Collateral Lines
Rule #4: One Source Doesn't Equal Proof It seems pretty simple. You find a death certificate for your grandfather which lists not only his date of death and place of burial, but also his place of birth and his parents' names. Time to enter the information into your family tree and then move on to tracking down Great-grandpa, right? Nope, sorry. One source just isn't enough to constitute proof, especially when it is a secondary source -- as death certificates are for the date of birth and other information which do not relate directly to the death. I searched for my great, great-grandmother for years under the maiden name MARIN because that is what my grandmother remembered. Then, wasted some more time with the maiden name MOORE (pun intended), because that is what I found listed on the death certificate. Both wrong, of course. The actual name was close enough (MEARES), but close doesn't count in genealogy any more than it does in multiple choice.
Before arriving at a conclusion in your genealogy research, you must first conduct a reasonably exhaustive search for all pertinent information. Logically, this means trying to find several different sources for the same information, to give you the best chance at arriving at a well-researched, substantiated conclusion. More: Evidence or Proof? How to Prove Family Tree Connections
Rule #5: Share the Wealth Family trees are meant for sharing. Unfortunately, however, you'll probably find that most of your relatives could care less about the jumbled (to them) collection of facts, notes, and sources that constitute your genealogy database. If you weave all of those names and dates into a story, however, you may find they are interested despite themselves. And "interested" means you'll probably find them more receptive to sharing what they know. Take some time out from your research today to get some of your information into published form, whether it is creating a CD of collected family photos, a family cookbook of collected recipes, or a written history of the family. Even something as simple as framing a copy of Great-granddad's family in the 1930 census is a form of publishing - and makes a great conversation piece too! It's okay if your genealogy isn't "finished." Believe me - it never will be. Just include what you know, taking the time to carefully document your sources. Don't be afraid to use "weasel words" such as probably, possibly, and maybe for information you aren't sure about. As long as you're careful to explain what is fact and what is still guesswork, your family tree will grow for the sharing. More: Writing & Publishing Your Family History