ive been trying to do research on my familytree?

Question

my last name is cooper, my dads side, my grandparents were born in montreal, whenever i look i find zillions of coopers but none that connect any help, grandmother name was muriel cooper, any help, also Im white

Answer 1

Hey sheshere_...,

You will get lots of good advice on the first things to do. Do them.

The living have clues to the past, records tell more. Get all you can.

Plot your tree methodically, perhaps with computer software - I do, and so do most others that answer in this category.

Here are some helpful websites to minimize your search. Genforum, you can post on and ask specifically for the name and location. You will normally find 2, 3rd and other distant cousins.

Try Family Search - there are 3 Muriel Cooper records there.
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Census - 1881 Canadian Census
1. Muriel COOPER - 1881 Canadian Census / New Brunswick
Gender: Female Birth: <1876> New Brunswick

2. Muriel COOPER - 1881 Canadian Census / New Brunswick
Gender: Female Birth: <1876> New Brunswick

Matches: Census/1881 Canadian Census - 2

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Pedigree Resource File
3. Muriel Cooper - Pedigree Resource File
Gender: F Death/Burial: 7 Jan 1988 Ottawa, Ont.

_-------------------------------------------------END FAMILY SEARCH

Get vital records from your parents. Use the Vital Records sites provide below, or write to the town hall, (look em up on line is easiest), and pay for the LONG FORM birth certificates. This will give exact information on your 4 grandparents.

If you can find OBITS, Death Records etc. That will help too. Genealogy is traced through records. Census, deeds, wills, probate, oh my goodness - so many records can help. The records keepers can be libraries, towns, states, countries, etc. This takes time, so give yourself some time.

Hope this keeps you busy for years. Enjoy - life is a journey, not a destination.

Answer 2

The first thing you need to do is get your grandparents marriage certificate. This should give their ages, hopefully dates & places of birth and maybe even their parents names. Then you can get their birth certificates. Frpm these you will definitely get their parents names. Then you get their parents marriage certificates and keep going back from there.

If they were born before 1911, you might find them in the 1911 census which is now available online. (see below). The 1901 census is also available online as well.