Family Heritage?

Question

What is the best way to trace my family heritage?
So far I have my grandparents names. Where do I go from here?
There is also a rumor that my family may belong to a group that traveled to the USA on some of the orginal ships. Something by the name of "The Daughters of ...??? No one in the family has any details.

There are a lot of websites out there, I don't want to sign up for one that is a scam?

Any help is welcome.

Answer 1

It's a pay site, but Ancestry is a good place. Free sites include Rootsweb and the LDS or Mormon site. You can also search the various state sites via USGenWeb and other sites like FindAGrave (where there are those who will help in your search and you can possibly find cemetery photos or at least transcriptions of cemeteries where family is buried. It's an ongoing project by thousands of volunteers.

Talk to family members - aunts, uncles, cousins, friends of family. Records everything you find. It may not help now, but later on down the line it might be that break you are looking for. Check birth, death and marriages records, as well as census records to start.

Answer 2

Start with what you know and work backwards. Get some pedigree charts to write information (blank charts - they're free on familytreemaker.com and elsewhere). Create some type of filing system OR buy a computer software package (doesn't have to be elaborate). As you talk to your living relatives (A MUST) be sure to document who said what and when. Once you've talked to everyone, verify the information with death, marriage and birth certificates. If your family belongs to DAR (Daughters of the Revolution) or SAR (Sons of the Revolution), it is likely that someone else has done much of the research for you. So my first stop would be familysearch.org (the Latter Day Saints site). BUT - be sure to verify the information, because there is a lot that is incorrect. AND be sure to document your sources (if you find a birth date on a death certificate, note that - it may be different than the date on the actual birth certificate, and you'll have to play detective to determine which is correct.)
Good Luck!

Answer 3

First of all don't be try to find your heritage by just using websites.

Get as much information from living family as possible, particularly your senior members. Tape them if they will let you. It might turn out they are confused on some things but what might seem to be insignificant story tellings might be very significant.

Go to your public library and see what all they have in genealogy. If you are in a very small rurual town you might have to go to a nearby larger town. They might have a subscription to Ancestry.Com you can use.
Ancestry.Com has lots of records and is getting more all the time. They have all the U. S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 is not available to the public yet. They have U. K. censuses also.

Now, don't take as fact everything you see in family trees on any website, free or paid.
The information is user submitted and very seldom documented. You might see different information on the same people by different submitters. Then you will see repeatedly the same information from different submitters without documentation.
A lot of people copy 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 records on people all over the word, not just 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.

I have never had them to try and convert me or send their missionaries by to ring my doorbell. I haven't heard that this has happened to anyone else either.


Courthouse records, wills, deeds, etc are important.

Vital Records, Births, Marriages, Deaths will give names of both parents including mother's maiden name. An application for a Social Security Number will also give the names of both parents, including mother's maiden name, and their places of birth.

So you might get your grandparents' death certificates or their application for a social security number. Social Security did not come into effect until January 1935.

Now, if you are in the U. S., different states have different laws and regulations about obtaining vital records. Generally most were not being recorded by any governing body before the first quarter of the 20th century and in a lot of cases, people born at home or died at home did not get recorded. A lot of the genweb sites will give you information as to what you need to do to get their vital records. For instance you can put Texas genweb in your search engine and come up with the site. They have a genweb site for all states.

Therefore Church records are important, Baptisms, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriages, Deaths.

Don't get overly involved in the origin of a surname. The same surname can come from more than one national origin and also not everyone with the same surname are necessarily related or shares ancestors, even those of the same national origin.

Answer 4

My suggestion is that you invest in a book called unpuzzling your past by Emily Croom. Its about $20 and takes you step by step. Its a wonderful book. I have used it for 15+ years.

I think once you read this you will know what step to take next. there are lots of websites out there that are free and paid. However there is also loads of bad research. Use the net only as a tool. DOCUMENT everything!!!!

Check your local library's homepage and see if they subscribe to ancestry if they do you can use it at the library for free. If they subscribe to heritagequest then you can use it at home for free with your library card. Heritagequest holds the census reports which is a wealth of info.

Use birth, death, marriage certificates, obits and cemetery records for even more clues.

A famly tree is a work in progress, one bloom at a time and never done.

Good luck on your quest

Answer 5

I have read that genealogy is the number one hobby in the entire world. Due to the rapid shift in technology and where people live, people have been left without "roots" and thus want to know where they come from. The majority of people doing research are older folks...So it is nice to read that a younger person wants to do some research.
Try this:
Free sites: there are several to choose from. Start with:
http://www.searchforancestors.com/...

http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739...

http://www.usgenweb.com/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.rootsweb.com/

http://www.ukgenweb.com/

http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.familysearch.org/

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/...

http://www.cyndislist.com/

Assuming they emigrated from Europe, start with Ellis Island and the Battery Conservancy sites:
http://www.ellisisland.org
http://www.castlegarden.org
For those with native American ancestry, try:
http://www.tribalpages.com/

For a fee, try a DNA test:
When you really want to know where your ancestors came from, try such sites as: www.familytreedna.com, dnatribes.com, dnaancestryproject.com, and, of course, the National Geographics Genotype program, https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/geno...
For Jewish ancestry, try:
www.israelgenealogy.com
Have a look at these sites these are South African ones,
http://genealogy.about.com/od/south_afri...
http://www.rupert.net/~lkool/page2.html....
http://www.jewishgen.org/safrica/website...
http://southafricanfamilyhistory.wordpre...

Meaning of names:
http://www.winslowtree.com/surname-meani...

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/f...

Finding live people:
Two good places I use are www.zabasearch.com and www.peoplefinder.com

Don't forget, use your local library. Ours (a small one, yet) has www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com, as well as periodicals, books and guidance from an experienced genealogist.

Keep good notes on where you find what: sources are very important.

Good luck!

I have not checked these out, but since you mentioned passengers...try these: http://www.immigrantships.net/
www.cyndislist.com/ships.htm
www.geocities.com/Heartland/5978/Emigration.html
www.immigrantstips.net/
www.searchforancestors.com/passengerlists/
www.archives.gov/genealogy/immigration/passenger-arrival.html

Answer 6

You are going to have to do your tree, one generation at a time, I would suggest you use www.ancestry.com which is a subscription site and www.familysearch.org which is a free to use site.

Good luck and good hunting