I have a question one finding out about my family.?

Question

What is the best way to go about finding my ancestry?

I know three basic names: On my mom's side Whittier and Vanorder, All I know about these is that I am related some how to John Greanleaf whittier and that line had moved from country to country before settling in the United States, knowing of my relation, it would have to be before the 1800's. I have also heard that my Vanorder part is of German decent and Swedish. I'm also told that one of my great-great-great- grandmothers was Pennsylvania Dutch. My great-grandmother was half Indian- Half Canadian French

On my Dad's side, the only one I know of is O'Day of Irish I know nothing of family. I think my family on this side has a little african due to some of the features common to my family.

My major question is, knowing this much could I research my family heritages in all of these? Would I be able to with so little information?.

Answer 1

Write everything down that you have been told; along with that information, write down who told you what.
Ask all your living relatives for as much information as they can provide; names, dates, places. And write down who said what.
You can start at your local library; ours has both www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com. They also have genealogy books and periodicals, as well as a volunteer who helps folks search their genealogies.
There are tons of websites out there you can access from your home computer:
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 Scotland, check:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/

For ship’s passenger lists, try:
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

For those with native American ancestry, try:
http://www.tribalpages.com/
http://www.cherokee-nc.com/geneology.php...
http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/herita...

Netherlanders: http://www.genlias.nl

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

For people from India, try:
http://www.fibis.org/

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...

Here are some general sites with lists of African names:
http://www.swagga.com/fname.htm
http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/afr.php
http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/ba...

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/...

Military:
www.military.com
http://www.familymilitaryrecords.com/

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/militar...

http://websearch.about.com/od/peoplesear...

http://genealogy.about.com/b/2007/05/24/...

http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ww1/draft/sea...

There are so many that are specialized, such as those dealing with the Revolutionary War, or the Civil War; or listing tombstones, etc.

You will need a lot of patience; you will need good organizational skills, as you will soon have so much information.

Don't forget; no matter the source (official records, published books, or websites), there will be errors. Try to ascertain THEIR sources. While probably all sources have errors, some are so frought with errors as to be unreliable in the entirety. Also, try to find at least 2 sources for every person you find on your tree.

And, good luck!

Answer 2

The Whittier and Vanorder lines ought to be fairly straightforward in terms of research - if you look at the IGI and other sources on Familysearch.org, and WorldCOnnect on Rootsweb.com, you ought to get some good starting points. However, don't forget to write down what you know first - and interview your older family members too - before looking anything up. make up a basic tree and then start researching.

French Canadian records are quite good - I know that ANcestry.com (which you can use in most libraries for free) has digitized a lot of them. Don't know about Native American research though Ancestry has the N.A. census on line now. I'd go to Cyndislist.com and look up her links for Native and other types of research.

Irish reserach can be spotty, but I would start with the US census and work - as always - from the known to the unknown.

Best of luck!

Answer 3

Actually, it isn't a problem that you "have so little". Much of it can overwhelm and confuse you. It is good to have what the family may remember... but the core of research is to use historical documents, not memory as it can be fallible.
To sum it into one sentence... work back from YOU, one step at a time, and be sure that you document your information.
Surnames are not as important as you might think. MANY NAMES thought to be "Irish" or may come from different locations, not one central place. Your need is to know where your individual ancestor was (since that is where his/her records will be).
Instead of a long list of sources, my favorite location is
http://www.cyndislist.com/
She collects genealogical resources, and I strongly suggest her beginners area AND the section for myths and hoaxes to watch out for.
Instead of thinking of all of it at one time.. break it into bite size pieces. They will tie together as you go, but since the pieces POINT you to the next step, you won't know until you get there.
Oh, yes.. prepare to be addicted. *smile*