My great grandfather was born in eastern NC. I want to trace my ancesory furhter. How?

Answer 1

I'm from England but the process should be much the same in the States. First, begin at the present and work your way back. I started by asking all my older relatives (mum, dad, aunt, uncles - even better grandparents if they are still alive) what they knew. Obviously names are important, as are occupation, names of wives, the occupations people had and where they lived and also family stories and 'myths that have been handed down - ANYTHING!. For example I knew from my dad that his grandfather had been a head gardener called Herbert and he lived in a nearby village.

Next get on-line and check the census records. The UK census records go back to 1841 and are now all on-line. The census is taken by the government every 10 years in this country, the head of each household fills in a record of where they are living, who is living with them, how old evrybody is, where they were born, what occupation they do and so on. It is a mine of information,

You will have to pay to see the records on-line. In this country it costs about £70 for full access to the records for a year. I started by looking for Herbert and found him in 1881 living with his mother and about 6 brothers and sisters. My journey has gone quite a long way since then. A very useful tool has been Genes Reunited, I found a lot of missing information through this service because several people including a relative I had never met contacted me with a lot of very interesting stuff to tell.

As you get into genealogy it becomes addictive, I always feel a bit like a private detective, and I suppose I have had to use some of the methods that detectives use when trying to trace people. It is a fascinating thing to do and very rewarding in many different ways. For example I love history and it has helped to put some flesh on the bones of certain places and periods of history for me, but there is a lot more than that. Sometimes you have to find out about some very strange subjects, someone I knew located an ancestor by doing a study of soil types! His ancestor used to make clay pipes and the only place in the whole country where the right kind of clay was found was right where he discovered his ancestors pipe factory!

Hope this is useful. Happy hunting! PS: The previous answer is correct the Church of the Latter Day Saints is a very good resource!

Answer 2

There are various web searches you can use though they most cost money to get good results. Another way to go is to go to Salt Lake City, Utah and go to the records area of the Mormon church. They have the most extensive ancestry records in North America if not the world. Either way, Good luck.

Answer 3

That's where my family is from! I would suggest talking to your relatives. You may be able to get your great grandfather's birth certificate as well. If you know the city he is from, contact their town hall. If you are white, your great grandfather was very likely Scotch-Irish. My mom's side of the family were all peanut farmers. Good Luck!

Answer 4

ancestry.com/rootsweb.com/
geneaology.com/cousin connect.com

There are many different sites you can
post for free looking for some help
with your research into you family
tree.Some sites require you to
have a membership,however
you can still post,and ask
for help.Also,the biggest
thing you can do is talk
with you relatives and
ask questions.

Answer 5

http://www.familysearch.org/