First-Hand information is what you know. You father's name, your sister's birthday, where your grown children were born. This is where the experts tell you to start -- with what you know, information already filed in memory.

Enter all the data you can recall from memory about yourself, your spouse, your children, your parents, your spouse's parents, perhaps something about your grandparents or your aunts and uncles, if they fit into your objective. (You do have an objective don't you? If not, go read Where to start again before continuing.)

Next, turn to resources you normally keep at hand around the house -- your address book of family data, the calendar with relatives' birthdays written in. Review these events too, sourcing each fact as First Hand Knowledge of <your name> on <today's day>

Now cheat: ask your spouse for data you forgot (or never knew) that he or she has on the tip of their tongue. Ask nicely and your spouse may reach for his or her address book too. This too is first hand data, but not of yourself. This time your spouse's birth name is the Source.

(Depending which expert's text you check, some advise sourcing info from spouse as "Correspondence from <spouse> on <date> rather than First-Hand knowledge of <spouse> on <date>.)

Others have a problem with that, believing you should save the "Correspondence" tag for fifth cousins you've never met who send you their grandparents' data. The "Correspondence" tag should include a comment about the Source supplier's relationship to the subject. 

For example: Correspondence from his daughter-in-law Mary Smith, to <your name> on <date correspondence received> (It is usually a good idea to include Mary's contact information too: Mary Smith, 123 Any Street, Somewhere, NY 00123 (519)428-1578 email msmith@herisp.com.)

Does that seem like lots of extra writing to document every fact Mary sent you? Manually, it is a chore and a half. But using genealogy software, you enter it once then paste it at the click of a button wherever else in the genealogy it is needed.

(Genealogy programs  track sources differently. Download the online demo of the program you are thinking of getting, enter some data and sources, then print it out, to ensure what you see is what you had in mind.)

Basically, things relatives tell you is either their First Hand info or your "Correspondence." Facts you get from books, microfilm, cemetery stone, church records, etc. are from the Historical Record, which we will get to in a moment.

Here's a twofer, a Sourcing and Creative Writing tip in one: When you get Mary's email about her immediate family, why not quote her verbatim in each individual's Notes/Bio and attribute it to her? Do enough of that and your Notes/Bio become self-documenting.

Another reason that's a good idea: Mary's sister Helen will (I promise) eventually answer your query too, and probably throw conflicting data at you. Rather than get yourself into a tangle trying to figure out who's right, why not enter both replies (at least temporarily). After all, Mary's "social drinker" might be Helen's "alcoholic." Why would you want to take sides?

Most experts' explanation of how to do genealogy assumes something I know not to be true: that data arrives in your database sequentially, in order.

In my experience, the easiest way to find Frank's death date is to be looking for Sarah's birth place. Seek grandparents, find their parents -- call it Cardiff's Law. And that may be the best reason of all to document your sources -- as you go, in detail. (The alternative is "Darn! Wish I had.")