The Bare Minimum

Here is the bare minimum of genealogical information to have in your personal records.  The more information, the better.  But this is a great framework to start from.

Your family records should provide at least:

• the given name or the surname of your ancestor
• the person’s gender
• enough information to uniquely identify the person

This "unique" information may include dates, places, and names and relationships

of other family members.

For the spouse, at least have the given name or the surname of the spouse.

For family records, know the given name or the surname of at least the father.