This is where the detective work begins. Let us look at how to use your research tools together.

Imagine this scenario. You interviewed Grandma, and she mentioned that her grandfather served in the Civil War. Now you want to prove it and find the details.

1. Start with the Research Log

Write down your single question: Did Grandpa [Name] serve in the Civil War? You search Ancestry.com and find a potential service record. You log the date you searched, where you searched, and what you found.

2. Move to the Correspondence Record

You decide to request the official record. Use this sheet to note the date you emailed the National Archives, what you asked for, and the date the document finally arrives in your mailbox.

3. Back to the Research Log

While you wait for the mail, you keep hunting. You find a listing on Fold3 and a grave on Find A Grave with a Civil War marker. You log these wins here too.

4. Consolidate on the Individual Data Sheet

Now you bring it together. Add the service dates, the grave location, and the other records you found along the way — tax records from 1870 and 1880, the 1850 census.

5. Finish with the Research Details log

Finally, you find a book telling a heroic story about his service. Because this is a narrative source, you record the full details — book title, page number, and the story itself — in your Research Details log.

The Research Log is where you hunt. The Individual Data Sheet is where you settle. The Research Details log is where the story goes.

The next four lessons take each worksheet one at a time.

Try it

Four questions on the case you just read.