What's the best way to find your family history when it seems like you have hit a dead end every where you go

Question

All of my grandparents have been dead since I was young and there isn't really anyone in family who knows more than the immediate, current stuff.
I am quite mixed- Puerto Rican, Portugese and Croatian. I am interested especially because I feel like I have missed out on what I see in so many families- history and knowledge and so much more.
Has anyone here ever had a similar experience? How do you get past those road blocks? I would really like to know these things and share them with my family and one day give my children a history to run with.

My parents are a dead end it seems. They can only go so far and it's hard at that. My living family is just not all that helpful.
I saw the Mormon website but I wasn't sure how good it was or even reliable.
I got the impression it was only for American geneaology. Most of my family has only been in this country for three, maybe four, generations.

Too bad no one in my family has these records that I know of. Maybe only whoever is alive in this moment has their own.

My family is horrible with this stuff.

Answer 1

May I offer some leads for you, in terms of "theory", so to speak?
Talking to family members is preliminary research. That is, we all need to access what may be within the family, as a means of learning what you don't have. I'm like you.. my grandparents were all dead, long before I got here. IE, mom's dad was near his 70's when she was born (yep!!) and died when she was an infant ca 1910. "Records" as mentioned here, are normally things that your family will NOT have unless they have researched. That's where you come in. Some examples would be baptismal records maintained by the church, land records possibly, census records. In other words.. what I have is not what family had or remembered, but accumlated by searching things like old court records, or census.
A large number of persons here are used to how research has evolved, since the internet. That isn't meant as a judgemental statement.. but the perception of resources is only those that are online, or databases. My approach comes from having researched BEFORE the internet existed, and what records were used. In fact, those same records are still what ACTUALLY verify a fact. Those are "primary" records. To explain that idea.. think of a naturalization record. The original record would exist, but in a court file somewhere. There MAY or may not now be an online index to those files. Or a list of court addresses, by which you can now send email instead of physically going there.
The LDS church files are well known. There are 2 types of records that they have.. most persons will use their databases, to access info that other persons (often church members) have submitted. That info is sometimes inaccurate, since it is the "conclusion" of someone, who may or may not have taken time to do in depth research. The LDS church does not verify submissions.
The 2nd type of info that they "have" is very distinct.. in that they have, for YEARS, made the effort to microfilm ORIGINAL records on a world wide basis. Those films are not digitized, but you can access them by going to one of their libraries. Admittedly, interest in genealogy tends to be more American based. There are more volunteers, for instance, who have the means to physically survey a lost cemetery down the road. There are certainly cemeteries in Puerto Rico, but less likely that someone has posted that, or less likely that it will be in some of the more popular services such as Ancestry.
My advice is that you think of how you would have researched before the internet (and yes, I understand, you didn't do that). Identify one person (you need to distinguish ancestors as individuals).. such as finding the parents of grandma Portugese, thinking of the location where she was born or raised, and investigating what records may have been maintained THERE. One resource online might be the email lists at rootsweb, which are focused on localities outside the US, and network with others who have worked that area.
The shared information online is a blessing, but at the same time, it leads to the expectation that everyone can find their family via some service like ancestry, rootsweb, etc. That is very misleading.
www.cyndislist.com is one of my favorites, since it strives to include how to research outside of the usual routes. An example of something that may be of help would be Croatian libraries or archives. You may find the address for that, and perhaps even an email address (and they may speak English, or know someone who does).
Sorry for the length. YOUR research may be more of a challenge.. but it still involves finding the applicable historical sources that may or may not have your answers, and not relying on what the family knows.

Answer 2

You have some good answers.

Death certificates and applications for a social security number have the name and place of birth of both parents, including mother's maiden name.

I feel the application for a social security number is more trustworthy as the person applying for a number more than likely knew exactly where their parents were born. The death certificate depends on the widow or widowers remembering where their inlaws were born or one of the children remembering where their grandparents were born.

You can get this off of Rootsweb (free site).
You don't need the social security number as long as you have the name as it would have been on the social security record. Once you pull up the record, there is a place on the right you can probe and pull up a letter, all you need to do is put your address on it, sign it, attached your check and mail it.

Also check the FamilySearch.org(LDS site)
and see what they have.

The Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Family History Centers have a lot of records on people all over the world, not just Mormons.
Their temple in Salt Lake City has the largest genealogical collection in the world.
Their Family History Centers can order microfilm for you to view. They don't bring up their religion and they won't send their missionaries by to ring your doorbell.

While you are at the Family History Center, you will probably have a wonderful opportunity to talk with people who can give you a lot of good ideas.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

i had the same problem - my parents were divorced when i was a young child & i knew nothing.
you didn't say where your parents or grand parents were born? lived as adults or where they died? if in the usa there is good social security records.
to start: order your birth certificate - this will give you the name of your parents & where you were born
then order your parents birth certificates, marriage certificates, ask them if they were baptised & where - then send a letter to the church & request baptism records
one way is to look at old photos with your parents & ask simple questions - like wedding photos or your baby pics. don't try to get too much info at once.
it's all slow & takes a lot of effort and $$$ on your part - it's not cheap or free to search for family.
when you have gone as far back as you can - then
do a google search of
"family history bulletin boards" or "family history message boards" and post details - i have found a lot of info about a family i never knew- from my grandparents back to the 1600's. from info that people sent me when i posted queries on bulletin boards

Answer 4

Here are a few sites to check out. Don't lose faith the Internet has only been around for less than 20 years. It takes time to get all the historical records on line. When Ancestry.com first started they only had records for very few countries, they are always adding new things. They will get records for the countries you need some day. As far as the Mormon site being accurate, well once upon a time it was the only game in town, {Ancestry.com was started my the same people that started the free Mormon site} . Information I got from the Mormon site has stood the test of time. Good Luck!

http://genealogy.about.com/od/puertorico/

http://www.genealogy.com/00000382.html

http://www.hispanicgenealogy.com/

http://www.rootsweb.com/~prhgs/

http://www.dholmes.com/rocha1.html

http://www.ellisisland.org/shipping/Formatship.asp?shipid=627

http://www.croatians.com/

http://www.durham.net/facts/crogen/

http://www.appleby.net/genealogy.html

http://www.croatia-in-english.com/

http://feefhs.org/cro/cghs-gcg.html

Answer 5

Call the closest Mormon church and ask them for the name and address of the Genealogy center in Utah. You do NOT have to be a Mormon ... they have wonderful 'collections' of stuff, plus the 'best places' to look once you have hit nothing but 'dead ends' ... they do charge for their services, but it's not all that much, for what they can do for you. This is your BEST HOPE of finding out 'more' about your family history.

Answer 6

Here's how we do it in the USA: we get our parents names off of our birth certificates and order them then we get our grandparents name off our parents birth certificates and so on until their was no such thing as birth certificates and sometimes their are birth records or listed in a newspaper.
I am at a road block finding my 4th greatgrandfather right now. I know his son,s name but not his. I am looking through old records and documents which would be about the same birth date as my 3rd greatgrandfather's and go from there.

Answer 7

Go to the Public Library, in your city, and ask one of the genealogists to help find what you need.

Answer 8

ask your parents about your history

Answer 9

Ansestory.
com :-})