Tracking down family history can be a daunting prospect for the novice genealogist. That’s why the Lawrence County Historical Society is sponsoring a workshop on Saturday to get the family historian started on the right track.

“This will be a basic starter for genealogy including some basic forms that you can use,” Lori Shafer, Briggs-Lawrence County adult services librarian, said.

Shafer will teach the one-hour course at the museum on Sixth Street starting at 1 p.m.

“There are charts and things that keep you on schedule,” she said. “There are different records, not just here but throughout the state of Ohio. There are easy records to find and some of the harder records can be found as well.”

One of the challenges comes because ancestors didn’t always use the same name on all their documents.

“People weren’t particular on what name they used or what age they were,” Shafer said. “They didn’t keep track of that.”

Also the beginning genealogist often becomes overwhelmed with the amount of information available and must learn to how to weigh the importance of the documents that they find.

The class is free and open to the public at the museum at 506 S. Sixth St.