How do start researching my family tree ?

Question

I've always wanted to find out my family history, but I never knew where to begin . Where do I start, and what do I do to begin ?

Answer 1

This is a long answer that I paste now and again to questions like yours.

The short answer to "How can I find my family tree?" is that if one of your great-aunts has spent 30 years researching it, AND has posted her research on the Internet, you'll find it. If not, you will have to do the research yourself. It is not difficult, but it takes time. Most young people do not want to spend a couple of hours a week doing research, because it is too much like homework. So, you may want to skip the rest of this answer. If not, read on.

If your line has been "done", chance are it is on one of these two sites. When you search, don't fill in all of the fields. Start with given name, surname and birth year. Use (+/-) 5 for the birth year. Expect to spend 15 - 45 minutes on each. Neither has any living people, so don't enter your own name.

http://www.familysearch.com
(Mormon's mega-site. Click on "Search", to start with, or "Advanced Search")

Roots Web
http://www.rootsweb.com
and in particular,
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi
(Roots Web World Connect; 460,000,000+ entries, of varying quality)

Here are a few more. The resolved questions have lots of links and tips.

http://www.cyndislist.com/
(240,000+ links, all cross-indexed. If you want Welsh or Pennsylvania Dutch or Oregon or any other region, ethnic group or surname, chances are she has links for it.)

Ancestry.com
http://www.ancestry.com/
(which has free pages and FEE pages - so watch out)
and, in particular,
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/default.aspx?ln=
Surname meanings and origins

http://www.tedpack.org/begingen.html
My own site: "How to Begin"

United States only:

http://www.usgenweb.net/
(Subdivided into state sites, which all have county sites.)
(The Canadians have Canadian Gen Web, by province)

http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi
(Social Security Death index - click on "Advanced". You may find your grandparents.)

http://find.person.superpages.com/
(US Phone book, for looking up distant cousins)


United Kingdom Only:

http://www.genuki.org.uk/
(Biggest site for United Kingdom & Ireland)

http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
(Free Birth, Marriage & Death Records)

In the USA, some public libraries have census image subscriptions. Many Family History Centers do too.

This is a general hint: Even though you go in through YA Canada, YA Australia, YA UK or YA USA, all of the questions go into one big "pot" and get read by everyone in the world who speaks English. Most of the people here are in the UK and USA, but you sometimes get questions and answers from people who worry about kangaroos eating their roses. So, if you are asking about a specific individual, put a nation and a state / province. It will help people help you.

Answer 2

First, you should get as much information as possible from your family, particularly senior members. Tape them if they will let you. It might turn out they are a little confused on some facts but things they tell in story telling etc might turn out to be very important.

As one poster said, your library can be an important source. They might have a subscription to Ancestry.Com which has lots of records. They have all the censuses through 1930. The 1940 is not available to the public yet.

Don't take as fact everything you see in family trees on any website, free or paid. They are user submitter and they are poorly documented if documented at all. Even if you see the same information over and over by different submitters, a lot of them are just copying. That is poor quality research.

You can use the information as clues as to where to look for or write to for the information.

Call your nearest Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Church and find out if they have a Family History Center and if so their hours for the general public. They have records on people all over the world, not just Mormons. Their temple in Salt Lake City has the world's largest genealogical collection. The Family History Center 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.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

First, you are able to desire to get as lots comprehend-how as doable out of your better half and young toddlers, pretty senior individuals. Tape them in the event that they'll recommend you are able to. it would desire to tutor they seem to be somewhat burdened on some archives despite the fact that concerns they tell in tale telling etc would desire to grow to be very mandatory. As one poster reported, your library can be an significant grant. they'd have a subscription to Ancestry.Com which has numerous information. they have the entire censuses with the aid of way of 1930. The 1940 isn't available to the final public yet. do not take as fact the coolest purchase you spot in better half and young toddlers wood on any cyber web internet site, loose or paid. they're client submitter and that they are poorly documented if documented in any admire. even once you spot an identical comprehend-how lower back and lower back with the aid of unique submitters, a great sort of them are purely copying. it somewhat is undesirable severe-high quality learn. you need to use the comprehend-how as clues as to wherein to look for or write to for the comprehend-how. call your nearest Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Church and stumble on out in the event that they have a relatives background center and if it is the case their hours for the traditional public. they have information on persons everywhere the international, now not purely Mormons. Their temple in Salt Lake city has the international's best genealogical series. The relatives background center can order microfilm so as which you will view. they don't grant up their faith they frequently would possibly not deliver their missionaries with the aid of to ring your doorbell. reliable success!

Answer 4

The best way is simply to start with your own family. If you want to do it on the computer, you can download PAF (Personal Ancestral File), which is free genealogy software at http://www.familysearch.org under Order/Download Products. I imagine you can pick it up pretty quick because it is very user-friendly. Then talk to your parents (and grandparents if still alive) and get as much information as you can from them including names, dates, and places.

Here are a few online resources for you to use:

http://www.familysearch.org - Probably the best free online resource.

http://www.ancestry.com is one of the best but has a hefty subscription fee (for most of its databases).

Also, you can check the surname message boards for your surname at:

http://genforum.genealogy.com
http://boards.ancestry.com

For links to helpful sites, you will want to take a look at:

http://www.cyndislist.com

And finally for a lot of different resources:

http://www.rootsweb.com

For grave records:

http://www.findagrave.com

It won't all be free but it's worth it.

Good luck,
Dave
--
Create a family tree website at http://www.familyinhistory.com

Answer 5

Not all at once, but ask all of your older relatives particularly parents, grandparents, great grandparents (if you have any still around), aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles general questions gradually about family history. I wouldn't hit them all at once trying to get all of the information which you should get from them. Make sure you write it down. Also, keep in the back of your mind that oral family history data and federal census data (currently available through 1930; 1940's data will become available in 2012 as there is a 72 year whatever you want to call it.

Believe half of what you hear as there will be inconsistencies which can only be proven by court house records, but unfortunately, by at least 1900 a good many of the county court houses in the U.S. had burned down once destroying all of the records.

The 1880 federal census complete with errors is free on the Internet.

The 1890 federal census was destroyed by an Act of God.

From 1930 back to 1850, all federal census reports will show all names in the household while 1840 and before will only show names of heads of household and number of people in the household.

You will run into all kinds of situations like people being orphaned, adoptions, etc...

Also, if a good many of your ancestors arrived in the British American Colonies in the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s, chances are that there might be some Native American ancestry particularly if these ancestors lived in Virginia or south of Virginia or on the frontier. I feel that many of the eastern seaboard and northeastern Indian tribes diminished in numbers or vanished was because they assimilated into the Europeans settling the Americas.

I feel that getting a full subscription to Ancestry.com is necessary particularly if your relatives go back to the founding of the United States.

All of my relatives were in the Americas by the 1600s and 1700s which would make a service like Ancestry.com a great tool, but do not accept as gospel other people's work on a particular family line.

The "WFT", or World Family Tree, is a good reference tool, but for an accurate family tree, I would only use it as a reference and not accept any of that data as gospel.

If your relatives have been in the current day United States since before 1800, it will take hundreds of hours, which are worthwhile, if none of your lines are documented.

Just remember genealogy is exponential to the magnitude of each generation of direct ancestors being squared.

In other words, 2 parents, 4 grandparent, 8 great grandparents, 16 great great grandparents, 32 great great great grandparents, 64 great great great great grandparents, etc... and then add in all of the siblings of each of those families makes it quite a bit of work if you want to rely on your own accurate records.

Native American Indians unfortunately did not have county clerks or courthouses, so, if you run into situations like that, you will meet a wall which most likely cannot be solved as Native American Indians were not included in federal census reports. Plus, east of the Mississippi, by even 1812, I would say that a good number of Native American Indians were of mixed Native American, European, and/or African blood.

I cannot offer any advice on immigrants in the 1800s and 1900s as I do not have those situations in my ancestry.

In summary, just ask a lot of questions of your oldest ancestors and death certificates which were not used in most states until the early 1900s will usually list the surname of a dead female ancestor along with state of birth (which is usually wrong a small but significant percentage of the time).

A great source of records are of direct male ancestors who served in the military during war time even dating back to the American Revolutionary War.

If so many county court houses had not been destroyed by various Acts of God in the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s, genealogy would be much easier.

Finding an experienced genealogist who is willing to share his/her experience will be good for a genealogy mentor.

Some people are willing to share their genealogy data, other people will not share their genealogy date, while other people claiming to have genealogy records will just vanish upon you in your search for your ancestors.

I have found that starting around 1850, and in some cases, like in 1840, that burial plots can be found in cemeteries. For some reason depending upon what the headstone is made of, in a few situations, the names and years in cemeteries can vanish over time as the headstone is worn, but that is less likely in only a small number of cases.

Also, you will probably find someone, somewhere back in the 1970s or even early like in the 1930s (there is no magical date) who has already done a lot of genealogical work on your family tree. Use this as a baseline; however, verify, verify, and verify.

Answer 6

you can make a free online family tree here:
http://www.ancestry.com/
they also help you find stuff in past censuses and stuff.

also, the genealogy section in your library or local court house will be able to help you find marriage records, birth certificates, death certificates, land rights, burial plts and census information.