You’ve filled out a pedigree chart…now what?  I suggest starting with the Internet if you’re comfortable doing simple searches.

There are many free sites available and some you have to buy a subscription for.  If you have a New Castle-Henry County Public Library card and PIN number, you can access HeritageQuest by going to nchcpl.org > Genealogy > HeritageQuest to log in.  At HeritageQuest, you can search all the federal census records, Revolutionary War records, and more.  If you go to NCHCPL, you can use their computers or bring your own and access the library edition of Ancestry.com.  My go-to site is FamilySearch.org.  You create a free account and search as much or as little as you want to.  They have a feature called a “Source Box” where you can save digital images you find.  You can create different folders within the Source Box for your different family members or surnames, which is very handy!

If your research takes you outside of Henry County, I suggest first checking for a county website, such as the county courthouse, health department, or historical/genealogical societies.  Those can be very helpful.  Even if they don’t have a digitized database available online, they may have an index that you can utilize.  You can then request the exact document or record if found on their index.

Another stop on the Internet when beginning my research is FindAGrave.com.  I use this mainly as a tool as sometimes someone has posted an old obituary or family history for a person that might give you a clue in what direction to go next.  Of course, if someone has shared an old photo I consider that a bonus!

Regarding my genealogy software, here is another screenshot for my 2nd-great-grandfather, Amos B. Ballard.  This is basically a family group sheet, showing Amos, his spouse Hannah Kate, both sets of their parents, and their children.  I can add different forms of media, such as photos and documents, to an individual to show sources and even create citations!