Ancestral hunters may need help learning to use their equipment or finding the best hunting grounds. Also, although they might not realize it yet, they may want others with whom they can share their adventure. Who cares if you just found the best specimen of wildlife after a week-long venture if you have no one to share it with? Likewise, after months of searching for a lost ancestor, how wonderful it is to share the news with a like-minded associate who appreciates all the details of the story.

In fact, I think the last item is so important I would like to address it first. This lesson will cover several organizations and places which can not only motivate, and provide support, but can also guide you to sources, and generally help you do genealogy more effectively. I like to think of these organizations as "Trail Guides" for genealogists because they often put genealogists on the right track when they have wandered off the trail somewhere.