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Here's a true or false quiz.

1. Grandmas don't lie.

2. You can conduct all of your genealogy research on the Internet.

3. Genealogy is a cheap hobby.

Answers:

1. False. Remember all those stories you heard about your ancestors while sitting beside Grandma on the porch swing?

Her grandfather went to California for the gold rush; he struck it rich, but the claim was stolen from him.

Or, her great-great grandmother was a Cherokee princess. Or, granddad was a Confederate spy.

True stories? Not likely.

Was grandma lying? Maybe she was a baldfaced liar, or perhaps she just repeated the stories told to her. I like to give grannies the benefit of the doubt, so let's assume she got her information from her grandmother. And we'll just say that grandma wasn't really a liar; she was just misinformed.

For genealogists, the family stories are great starting points for research, but don't be surprised if reality doesn't match the stories. As much as we'd like to, we can't twist history to jive with the Camelot tales handed down through the generations.

When researching your family, realize that some of the old family yarns are true, some are partially true and some are flat-out fiction.

2.False. While it's true that the Internet has revolutionized genealogy research, the vast, vast majority of records about our ancestors are not in cyberspace.

When it comes to the Internet and family history, you have to be a discriminating consumer. If you're looking at a digital image of a document on a reliable, established Web site, it's a safe bet that the data is accurate.

If you're looking at an index uploaded for an eager genealogy volunteer, the data might be accurate and it might not. Plan to independently verify the information yourself.

If you're looking at a family tree posted by a distant relative that has 40,000 names in it, and it gleefully claims that you're descended from Pocahontas, Julius Caesar, Queen Victoria and Paul Revere, be skeptical. Be really skeptical.

Undocumented family trees on the Internet can provide researchers with interesting clues, but be on the lookout for suspicious and faulty conclusions.

3. True and False. This is a trick question. Genealogy can be a cheap hobby or it can be an expensive hobby. The start-up expenses are minimal; you gather all the family data at hand and write it down on family group sheets.

When you start looking for details about more obscure and far-flung ancestors, that's when you have to start digging into your pockets and shell out some cash.

Many of the documents we need for our research are in public libraries, archives or government facilities. The information is free to all takers. Unfortunately, getting to the information isn't always free.

You can imagine how costly it can be to physically trek to every library and every courthouse where our ancestors left clues about their lives.

In addition to travel expenses for research, genealogists spend mega-bucks on books, CDs, software, society memberships, online subscriptions, magazines and research fees.

On the other hand, thrifty genealogists know how to get their hands on materials by using Interlibrary loans and by ordering microfilms of documents from their local Family History Library.