Tracing My Family tree?

Question

I would like to trace my family. I know my mother and fathers parents name. My mom is still living but, my father passed away a few years ago. I may have a problem on my fathers side though. His mom was a full blooded Cherokee indian. I was told they didn't keep records. My grandfather was from Louisiana. I heard that on my mothers side her family is some how kin to the Queen of English. Can anyone tell me if there is any kind of software I can buy to do my family tree on the computer? I am kind of limited to traveling because, I am in a wheelchair. Thanks

Answer 1

My best suggestion to you is to get a book called unpuzzling your past by Emily Croom. This will take you step by step. Its very easy reading and will answer all your questions.

There is no magic website that you can use to find your family. It just doesn't work that way. I wish it did. It's a lot of hard work and takes a lot of money to do it properly.

Sit down with your Mom now and record everything she knows. She may have some of the documents that you need. Birth, Death, Marriage, obits, cemetery records and family Bibles.

Use the census. There is a lot of info in those. You can also use the LDS Center for a lot of resources. They also have a website. familysearch.org.

You must remember that any info you find online may not be correct so until you have the documents in your hand only use what you find online as a tool. I can't express enough how important documentation is. You can chase the wrong line for years just because someone put incorrect info online. Been there done that one. Learned the hard way about how important documentation is.

You may find your one grandmother on the Dawes Roll. Give it a shot. If you do find her, contact the local tribal office to see if they have the info on her. This would be good. There will be more clues.

Documents will cost you. Most cemeteries don't charge you for their info so start there. Other documents will cost you a wide range of money. Obits from the library usually cost $2-3. There are loads of clues in there.

Check your local library's homepage to see if they subscribe to heritagequest. If they do, then you can use heritagequest for free with your library card. They may also have ancestry but you will have to use it at the library.

Good luck in your quest. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Answer 2

First thing, get as much information from living family members as possible, particularly senior members. Tape them if they will let you. They might be confused on some things but what might seem to be insignificant ramblings and story telling might be very important.

Your public library probably has a genealogy section. Check it out. They might have a subscription to Ancestry.Com which has lots of records. They have all the U. S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 is not available to the public yet.

Now don't take as fact everything you see in family trees on any website,free or paid.
They are user submitted and most of the information is not documented. You might see different information on the same person from different submitters. Then you will see repeatedly the same information from different submitters without documentation or poor documentation. All too often people are copying without verifying. Use the information as clues as to where to get the documentation.

A Family History Center at a Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church has lots of records, not just on Mormons. In Salt Lake City, they have the world's largest genealogical collection. Their Family History Centers can order microfilm for you to view at a nominal fee.

They don't try to convert you and I have never had them to send their missionaries by to ring my doorbell.

Courthouse records are important, wills, deeds etc.

Vital records, birth certificates, marriages and death certificate. Also the social security number application will give the names of both parents including mother's maiden name and their places of birth.

Now it wasn't until the first quarter of the 20th century that vital records started being kept by a governing body. Before that most information will be in churches. Not every state started at the same time. Also people born or died at home still were not being recorded in many places after the counties and states started keeping records.

I use Family Tree Maker and like it a lot. I have read on this site that the Family Tree Maker 2008 is a big problem.

Cyndi'sList.com has a multitude of websites that you can refer to and use as a supplment in your research.

I might add if your grandfather is from northern Louisiana, you might have some "redcoat" heritage.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

what it might be best for you to do - this would be a quick and wasy thing to do - is tlak to your mother and get as much from her as you can - she might know a little or a lot about your fathers parents. if she can only give you approximate birth dates, that's cool - what you'll need is to have a "circa" date or idea to work from - once you have that, you're weel on your way.

it is important to know 2 things:
1) where they are &
2) when they are

if you know that you Grandparents were alive in 1930 -the census would be a good place to start. Depending on the age(s) of your parents, they might appear as well, but with folks getting older all the time, this isn't so much a likelihood any more - if you need to do a lookup or something, emailme