In the 10 years I've been teaching family history classes, there's always someone on the first day who announces something like, "My family history's done on my mother's side. My Aunt Martha wrote it." Although I'm still amazed by this declaration — since no one's family history is ever "done" — it's nice to know that someone in the family took the time to write a piece of the family history.

Maybe someone has written a family history about your ancestors, too. A "genealogy cousin," related to you by a common ancestor in the sixth generation whom you don't even know, might have compiled and published a book about your family. Though such a family history book may not include all descendants down to you or your parents or grandparents, it could help you make a connection to another generation. If a published genealogy exists, it can save you countless hours of research. (It could also create countless hours of research if you discover the genealogy has flaws and wasn't well re-| searched.)

How can you find out whether someone has published a genealogy that might hold answers about your ancestors, and how do you get your hands on a copy? How should you analyze such research and incorporate it into your own?