Tracing Ancestors?

Question

Everywhere you look, television, internet sites etc you are being encouraged to trace your family tree. Is it only me or do others wonder the accuracy of this? It has always been a fact of life secret affairs have taken place and in history if a name was put down as a child's father that was it. However, there must be numerous cases that can never be proven that ancestors traced are just a joke.

Answer 1

you are right

Answer 2

Thorough genealogical research is based on birth, death and marriage records as well as primary sources like personal letters, photos, correspondence, newspaper articles, etc.

While anything is possible (especially when grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc. POSE as a child's true parents), where a paper trail exists, it becomes easier and easier to verify a person's family history.

What poses a greater problem for researchers is gaps in the genealogical record. Depending on where and when a person was born or died, there may or may not be a birth certificate, or death certificate.

With the technological advances of the last decade, genealogical research is easier than ever (for some people). For example, using a subscription database available at the San Diego Public Library, I was actually able to trace my family history through census records back to the 1820s ... in less than an hour!

Answer 3

you can try in google and see what you find. I have tried trace my ancestors but every site I came across wanted money that I don't have to spend. Type in family ancestors or tree perhaps that will help. Good luck to you

Answer 4

Don't worry.

I look forward to the day when we are all on the DNA database and the TV progs that will be made like 'Whose REALLY Your Father'...

Obviously Jeremy Kyle and Trisha are already doing some of this stuff but it will be more fun when celebs and MPs are being done....and OF COURSE Prince Harry! ;-)

Answer 5

My maternal grandfather had records back as far as 9 generations from him on one side of the family. 7 on a second, and 5 from his other grandparents. On my father's side of the family, the family tree is much harder to trace, but I can go back 4 generations (from me) on each branch.

Having been armed with this information and wanting more, I tried several of the various services out there giving them only small amounts of the information I already had.

I discovered that almost half of the sites and companies I tried to use were absolutely worthless. They couldn't even flesh out data that I already had and of which I was certain. They sent me phony family crests, claimed royalty that I knew I didn't have in my bloodline, declared I was from the wrong country, etc. Some of the companies offered me more information for additional money.

A few gave me some real information, but let me know that they couldn't progress any farther with what they had. I shared more of what I "discovered," and couple of these companies fleshed out my family tree accurately, but even with all of the information I had could progress no farther. Most of these did NOT charge me an additional fee for the additional work. Though a few did request more money for their time.

The remaining companies and a large portion of the web sites (again, almost half of the total I tried) gave me legitimate information, some of them even exceeded my expectations and added significantly to the knowledge I had as far as adding cousins, additional family members, etc. Few were able to acquire more information than I had at had, but those few were incredible to work with. They kept me updated on progress, immigration records, discovering port entries with passenger lists where my paternal great grandparents had entered the country, but unfortunately too many possibilities to determine what the last name was when they boarded the ships. (Many immigrants who came over in the early 1900s changed their name and left no record of the original last name once they came through the various ports.) Some of these site and companies asked for additional funds to continue to research records, and while they made progress, all of them kept me well informed with regular emails. Some few only asked that they be allowed access to all the information I already had to make it available on their sites/files to help other people, and charged me nothing for the additional efforts.

Basically, there are good companies/sites and bad ones out there. Check them out, or ask around before you spend your money on them. The most expensive aren't the best, and the cheapest are not the worst. Find out their reputation before doing business with them. It can be a lot of fun tracing your family tree. (and you can torture the heck out of your children when they have to do their own geneology reports in school, when you have an overload of information for them....)

Good luck with your search.

Answer 6

There is genetic ancestry tracing available now. DNA swab is sent to a lab and they can give you your family genetic history. I'm thinking of doing this myself! It is fairly pricey though.