How can I find my family tree?

Question

that has no charge, I want to go back all the way to 25th cousins from every side of my parents. I am sure I have over 5000 25th cousins, 1st cousin is same grandparents from mom or dad. 2nd cousin share same great grandparents from all sides (mom's dad, mom's mom, dad's mom, dad's dad). 3rd cousin share same great great grandparents [m = mom, d = dad] (mmm, mmd, mdm, mdd, dmm, dmd, ddm, ddd), 4th cousin and so forth. so how can I go back 24 generation back to find everyone in my ancestry?

Answer 1

If you are interested in doing your genealogy, the best way to get started is to start with yourself. Write down everything you know about your parents, then keep going back until you run stuck. Most people can get back to their grandparents and maybe a set of great grandparents. At this point there are so many ways to get back further in your tree. Much of it depends on the records available. For instance, it you live in the United States, public records are only going to take you back so far. Many localities weren't required to keep records until the late 1800's or even early 1900's, and many courthouses were burned in the Civil War destroying many of the existing records that were already in place. In Europe and many other countries, records go back a lot further. Other avenues of getting information are studying old land records, wills, cemeteries, city directories, local histories and military records. Another gold mine of information is if your parents kept old letters of the family. It wasn't uncommon in the early twentieth century for women to have post card books. Some old post cards have some interesting information as well. If you are young, you may have the honor of being able to interview your grandparents for information. If you do this, I would recommend taping the conversation because often it is impossible to remember everything they said and you will have a treasure for future generations. Even though tracing your tree yourself takes a lot of time and a lot of effort, you learn so much and it is so much more worthwhile than pulling up a tree on a website and wondering where in the world the author got their information.


I am assuming your family is in the U.S. If it isn't then disregard my answer.

First, ancestry.com does have a 14 day free trial-BUT you must cancel before the end of 14 days or they will charge your credit card. Also, don't be suprised if they ask you to put your cancellation in writing and fax it to them. I have had friends tell me that they had to do it this way to cancel. I personally have found the information at Ancestry.com very helpful. A few years ago, I had a 14 day trial and didn't find them to be worth the money, but over the last couple of years they have added so much. They have all years of the census fully indexed, immigration records, military records, newspapers, family trees and the list goes on. They have truly evolved the last couple of years and they keep adding more information.

Here is a list of some of the free genealogy websites.

www.rootsweb.com -This is a good one that is free. It is run by Ancestry.com but shouldn't be confused with Ancestry.com- the pay site.

www.cyndislist.com

www.familysearch.org website for the Church of the Later Day Saints.

www.genforum.com This is a site that is full of individual message boards. You can search and post by last name, state, country, or county. This is a great one. Simply post your question on the respective board, and when people answer you will get a notification on your E-mail. I have had a LOT of success on GenForum.

I must say, however, that a good genealogy query, doesn't just say. " I need information on John Smith" Try to provide as many dates, places, and details as possible. One little thing can make the difference as to the answer you get.

a good query has

1) the persons name
2) all of the biographical information you know to date and
3) asks a specific question

The reason it is so specific is because people won't waste your time and theirs telling you what you already know. Also, by providing ALL of your known information (for example, the childrens names) it gives people alternate people to research to help arrive at your answer.

http://www.usgenweb.org/ -When you get to the main page, you can get to the state and individual locality pages by clicking on the appropriate links. Keep in mind that some towns are going to have more information than some smaller obscure towns. It all depends on what kinds of volunteers contribute information to their sites. Genealogy is very much a hobby that depends on people.

Check your LOCAL LIBRARY. Many libraries have subscriptions to Ancestry.com or hertiage quest that you can Access from home with your library card number. Heritage Quest is geared mostly toward the US records.

www.interment.net or www.findagrave.com These are cemetery sites that have grown by leaps and bounds.

http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-b...

This is the link to the Social Security Death index. This is a very helpful resource to finding death dates of people who died in recent years (since about the 60's)

If your family immigrated to the US in the last 100-125 years you can try
www.ellisisland.org
This one is cool because you can actually have a look at the ships manifests!!

If you start your search for your ancestry, it will probably turn into an obsession. It is very addicting and it is like a big puzzle with so many benefits. You learn where your family came from, where they've been, often you can learn about family medical history. There just isn't a down side. Remember the old addage, "If you want something done right, you often have to do it your self." You are not going to just find your entire genealogy in one search. It is an ongoing puzzle. I tell people, if you can find one thing every time you are searching, you are doing GREAT. If you find any more than that at any given time you are LUCKY!! Write to me if you have any questions. I would be happy to help if I can. Blessings.

Answer 2

Get together all the info you can from family, names of parents, grandparents, as far back as you can go.. Call the Mormon church near you and see if they have archives and if they will let you come and look. They will usually let you look at their microfiche and many go back to the 1600s, and some before that. Some will let you make copies for a small charge. These listings are in every state and are births, deaths, marriages. Look up every name you know. If you know where some have lived and can go there, check out the local courthouses. If you can travel to Washington, go to the National Archives where you may be able to get more info.

Another good source of info - the old folks. Listen to them tell their tales and note the names, etc. Ask questions. Visit the cemetaries in your home town and other towns where relatives have lived. Grave markers often have much info. You may be able to get a list of who is buried there. Good luck!

Answer 3

Ever heard of ancestry.com? Some of the information found at this site is free and some is available only through purchase. They may not have your family tree, but they are a site for many genealogy buffs like yourself. They have free message boards where people write in with inquiries and others answer. I found tons of information about my family through just one reply I found to another person's question.

Many states and counties now have genealogical societies which can help you find information about your family or your family tree. Google your state or county genealogical society and see what it brings up. I personally found information from the Smith County Texas Genealogical Society which really knocked my socks off. They had reams of information which appeared in a now defunct publication called the 'Texas Christian Advocate.' It included biographies and obituaries of many of my direct and indirect ancestors. Some of the articles even contained pictures of some of them. Through the information they provided, I was ultimately able to trace the burial site of four generations of my paternal family to a cemetery just outside of Tyler, Texas. I also learned that one of my great-great-grandfathers was a slaver and a medical doctor in the area who served as a Confederate Army surgeon.

Don't expect to find all the information to fill in the gaps about the members of your family, especially going back 24 generations. Remember record keeping wasn't that thorough or accurate several hundred years ago. Also, the records themselves, if they ever existed, frequently disintegrate, are destroyed by fire, or are lost to the various and sundry other vicissitudes of time. A prime resource for information, relatives themselves, are also lost with time due to death. With their passing go many memories and impressions which can lead one to follow clues which can never be regained. So tap into that resource while you still have time.

Regarding the Mormons, be wary of information you find which was developed by them. It isn't always very accurate. For example, I found information provided by them which had my grandmother married to her brother-in-law. It's a good thing I already knew otherwise, or I probably would have accepted their assertion as Gospel truth.

Good luck in your pursuit. It will require a lot of dedication and time on your part to develop the information.

Answer 4

By finding the father and mother of each going back in time. I did mine this way. Back to the 1500's.

Answer 5

Hire a professional genealogist. Go to your public library, they can probably refer you to a genealogist, or, there may be one at the library.