I'm doing research on my family tree, what the best way to get started?

Question

I've talked to the oldest person in my family, whitch is my great grandmother. But I want to go back farther. What are some soruces that I can use?

Answer 1

Rootsweb.com is still a free site for posing ?'s by surname and location. I have over 6000 names in my family tree after 5 years of research. I made several mistakes in the beginning...1. Not having a program such as Family Tree Maker to store my info. There are several programs out there, but this seems to be the most used. Otherwise you will end up with a pile of hard copy that is overwhelming. 2. Was not making notes about respondants email addresses and what part of the family their answers were connected to. When this bug bites you it becomes terminal, so definately make the initial investment of software. Another site to visit is the LDS church site. They are the originals at compiling extensive information. Feel your way around before you make the investment in Ancestry.com, because you will be paying for tidbits for quite some time. When you are ready for them, visit their site, and when they ask you to join, don't! Because then they will contact you about a free trial; do that! That will give you enough info to continue for some time. Then you might want to join, because they do have all the open census records. On Rootsweb you find so many people willing to volunteer their help. I purchased the cemetery book for St Clair County, MO because I had many roots there, and now I do free lookups for any and all who ask, because so many have been so generous to me. Happy Hunting:)

Answer 2

First, you will get as lots information as accessible out of your loved ones, extremely senior contributors. Tape them in the event that they could help. it ought to finally end up they seem to be a touch puzzled on some info yet issues they tell in tale telling etc ought to become substantial. As one poster reported, your library may well be an substantial source. they might have a subscription to Ancestry.Com which has a lot of data. they have all the censuses by 1930. The 1940 isn't accessible to the popular public yet. do no longer take as fact each and every thing you notice in relatives wood on any internet site, loose or paid. they're consumer submitter and that they are poorly documented if documented in any respect. in spite of in case you notice the comparable information many times by distinctive submitters, quite a few them are in basic terms copying. it extremely is unfavorable high quality examine. you ought to use the information as clues as to the place to hunt for or write to for the information. call your nearest Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Church and discover out in the event that they have a relatives background center and if so their hours for the final public. they have data on human beings around the international, no longer in basic terms Mormons. Their temple in Salt Lake city has the international's best genealogical series. The relatives background center can order microfilm so you might view. they do no longer enhance their faith and that they gained't deliver their missionaries by to ring your doorbell. solid success!

Answer 3

Ancestry.com is a great website for researching. It saves you a lot of leg work. You can view copies of death, birth, war service, census reports, etc. on the website rather than going to courthouses and archives of governments. The full version of Ancestry is pricey. I would continue talking with your great-grandmother. She will probably begin remembering things as you continue talking with her. I would even record her, it it doesn't make her nervous. Also, any old family Bibles she has might be helpful. Many families faithfully recorded births, deaths, marriages, names, etc. in Bibles. Good Luck!

Answer 4

There are many ways.
First, you need a system of documentation. Document dates of birth, death, marriage, etc.

Talk to your great grandmother, ask where she was born, who her parents are, her grandparents, etc, and make a separate sheet for each. You can contact the town or villiage where they were born and look for those birth records to find the parents. It's all about tracing documentation.

Programs like Family Tree Maker have online resources that can help. You might find that your records link to someone who has already done a great deal of research.

Other than that, it's about visiting town halls, courts, immigration offices, genealogical societies, Social security records and on and on.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Ancestry.com is a good start once you have worked in that area a while another good place to go is the Morman Church. The Mormans are huge on family research and have the largest data base in the world currently.

Answer 6

ancestry .com is a good start then I would google it for other sites