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What are the steps to doing Genealogy, to trace your family tree? What is the first,second third step etc? I want to get into the DAR.

How to trace my family tree? I've tried to trace it online, however, all I've found is that my family originates from Suffolk, England. Well, I already knew that, so, is there a way to trace my tree even further back than that? Since my surname only goes back a few hundred years it's quite difficult. Would it require some sort of genealogy/DNA test? Thanks.

How do I trace my family tree if my dad is adopted? My dad was adopted when he was a kid and Im not sure if he knows anything really about his bio parents and such. I really would like to one day trace the family tree to see if anything interesting shows up. I know if I had a professional genealogy person do it, it would be pricey. Any help from someone who knows about this? Oh and I live in Ohio & do not have my dads number and he lives 3 hrs away, so getting info would be kinda hard.

How can you trace your family tree as far back as possible? Like genealogy? What do you have to do? Websites that explain it? I want to trace my family. What do I need to do? I have to pay? Can I just take some sort of DNA test? QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS AH!

Others who do genealogy. Do you think it is wise for teachers to have children trace their family trees? I had a friend whose father would never trace his as his teacher gave it to a class he was in. One boy was very hurt when he found his grandfather had been hung. Don't you think that schoolkids are a little too immature to deal with family secrets in a school classroom? Now I am not questioning whether schoolkids should be taught to research their history but a classroom can be humiliating to kids if there is embarrassing information on the family. Adults can deal with it better It is possible his parents had nothing to do with telling him his grandfather was hung. In a small town, children might have recognized the name of his grandfather and had heard the story and let it out of the bag.

How do you trace your family tree? My Dad has told me for years that we are related to royalty??????????????? I think he's maybe pulling my leg, although he seems serious and does have some heirlooms. Can you get reliable info on genealogy for free?

Free, Easy to use, online genealogy family tree maker...????????? OR something like that. I have been to ancestry.com, as well as others. I want' to look up the name "Broyles" as well. It's part of my family... 3 full blooded German brothers came to America (one of the Carolina's if I'm not mistaken) and one brother (my family came from) married a Cherokee Indian princess, so I have been told. My aunt had a bunch of papers on the people in our family but can't find it. How do I go about tracing my family back that far??

tracing family tree? is there any FREE, easy to use software for making family trees/genealogies? thanks

Could someone trace the Batt family tree for me/find the nationality? My great-grandfather died before my grandfather was born and the latter's mother would not reveal his nationality... if anyone can trace Vincent Batt's family tree I would be ecstatic because I don't want to get into these internet genealogy websites myself He lived in Northwest Ohio- his mother's maiden name was Zipfel. I'm a teenager so I don't have a credit card or the resources to do it myself and my mother doesn't care and neither does my father.

How can I trace my family tree online? Mayou? (UK)? Hi I have reached a dead end in my genealogy research. I am trying to find more details on my maiden line with the surname of Mayou living in Warwickshire, England. I know that my grandfather born in 1918 and my great grandfather born in approx. 1875 (this is a very rough estimate) shared the name of Sydney Mayou and my grandfather's mother was either named Rose Lilian or Lilian Rose, but this is all I have. Because Mayou is such an unusual name I have reached a total dead end. Any tips or UK sites (preferably free) appreciated xxx Sorry- forgot to say- I am a member of ancestry.co.uk and found my grandfather on the death certificates (born 1918, died 1988) and what I think is my great grandfather in the 1897 marriage records. Apparently this was his first marriage as he was married twice and had my grandfather by his second wife, but I can't see any records of another marriage. The free thing is because I need my mom's credit card and I've had that a lot recently lol

Genealogy tree.... dang...? Hello, I been doing my families genealogy tree for quiet a while... But, now i reached a point that I'm stuck. I have already interviewed all the left living older members of my family to get the most information. My tree is hard due to my family traces back to origins in Europe; in Spain, France and also Italy. Also the trace to Venezuela which is in South America. Most of the sites I go on are for America (USA) census and if you want "extra" you need to pay... X( . So I was wondering what would be any recommendations from anybody, i don't mind if you give me pay to sites but free are prefer.... Also, TIPS!!! Also I had a really hard question.... Let's say that a child doesn't get his father surname but instead gets the mothers (cause he left), how would you be able to trace the father, if you have no lead to him what so ever? Finally THANK YOU!!!!

How do I make a family tree, or find out about genealogy? I am trying to trace back from both my father and mother's side, but I can only get information about my great-grandparents at best. How do I go about finding relatives? I know nothing what-so-ever about this

Best way to trace my family tree and find out where I come from? I'm looking for what people consider the best genealogy website. I want to find the roots of my family tree, and where I come from roots of my family tree, and where I come from What is the best way I go about this? Will a website like ansestry.com help? I know I would have to use it and do my own research, I just want to make sure I pay for a site that has the most information research, I just want to make sure I pay for a site that has the most information Anyone tracked their family tree and have advice or tips for me?

How would I trace my lineage/ genealogy? Most Filipinos have Hispanicized last names because of the Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos that the Spanish mandated. I want to do some sort of family tree to possibly trace my lineage, how would I do that? Or is that impossible? Note: I want to trace two last names of mine. One last name being something that isn't Spanish and could possibly be native (but I'm not sure of its orgin, it's an uncommon last name) and the other being a fairly common Spanish last name. With all your answers in mind, does anyone know where I might get a hold of the Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos or if that's even possible to find in libraries and such. Thank you all for your help.

Genealogy do you have parish records of the Bradbury Family coventry England? I have found that tracing my family tree can be expensive. I would like to do a Trade swap, my certificates for parish records of my family around 1765 coventry England. Unless of course you know a web site that does just that? .

What DNA test for genealogy purposes gives you the most bang for your buck?Tracing your family tree? I'm tracing my family which comes from all over northern Europe, thought it would be interesting to have it done by DNA analysis. Has anyone on here tried that? I want my brother to give DNA but I think he listens to too much Glenn Beck and he won't do it. That side of my family has the Masons and I wanted to see how far back they are in what area. That Haplog group is the Artisans, my Mom's is the travelers so I think there's a drop from every Northern European country.

Is it unchristain to trace your family tree? Titus 3 3:9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

I'm tracing my family tree, and have gone as far as I can....? with genealogy sites etc. Is there any way to look up will, probate or hospital records, pre 1940

Teachers: Have you ever assigned a family tree project? I normally hang out in the genealogy section, where we get dozens of questions from panicking students who’ve been required to trace their family tree for a school project. They’re often asked to find out where their ancestors came from, or to describe their ancestor’s immigration experience. That’s a wonderful project for someone who can talk to parents or grandparents about their immigration experience. But what about students whose ancestors have been here for 100+ years? It can take years of extensive (and expensive) research to find that type of information. Even going back a couple generations can take months; and that’s assuming you have the money and the know-how to do it. So I’m wondering… are the teachers who assign these projects not aware of what’s involved in genealogical research? Or are the students misunderstanding the assignment? Are they given other options, if finding their family origins isn’t feasible? I love to see kids become interested in family history, but I feel bad for these students. They’re under the impression that they can click on a website and find their family tree, but it just doesn't work that way.

Dr. David Livingstone's family...? I'm trying to compile a family tree and trace my genealogy. I'm having a hard time finding all the names of David Livingstone's children (the famous Scottish missionary and explorer of Africa: he is my 5th great uncle) and any other family information on him. If anyone has any good information I would greatly appreciate it!

Tracing Genealogy outside of America? Have traced my family tree to the very first immigrants that had come to America. I want a website or info on where to look for legit help to trace my family back to their European origins and hopefully find a family crest.

I'm interested in tracing my family tree, but...? ...it's really frustrating b/c I don't have a lot of info to work with. I'm wondering if any of the websites that offer genealogy services (i.e... ancestry.com) are legit and worth the money. I've tried rootsweb.com, which is free, but didn't get very far. I really just want to know specifically WHERE in Ireland my family came from. Any info would be appreciated!

Help with genealogy? I don't know how to get information for my family tree!? I have a somewhat broken family tree...I know my grandparents names, and some of my great grandparents names and birthdays as well...I have never had a connection with my father's family, or most of my mother's distant family since they have passed on. I just want to know more about me, my history, and my family. I really want to be able to at least trace a few generations back, but keep hitting roadblocks with these ridiculous sites that want $20 a month to do the research I want to do. I just dont know where to start getting information about births, birth places, marriages, etc. Any ideas how I can do this without going bankrupt on these "tree" websites??

I have a question regarding family genealogy, please answer? I recently became interested in doing a family tree and have been able to trace it back all the way to my great great great grandma. However after that, I cannot find anything. I have tried ancestry.com and I am not able to find out who my great great great grandma is to trace it even further back. I know this may sound kind of crazy, but is it possible that she may have been a slave and therefore it was not recorded. I am going as back as far as I can, but it seems like my search is over. :( Are there any other good websites besides ancestry.com

Genealogy traced back to Poland? want to trace my family tree back to Poland. Where can I go or look to search this for me?

Is it possible to get a birth certificate using only a social security number for genealogy purposes? I'm tracing my family tree and found a great great great grandmother in the SSDI (Social Security Death Index) but it has her married name. I'd like to know her maiden name so that I can continue tracing the line.

Free service to trace Genealogy?? I would like to look at my family tree but it all costs Moola. Are there any free sites out there that could at least get me started? Thanks!

Would changing the Genealogy to Genealogy/Ancestors help clarify the confusion? Or any other suggestions to clarify the meaning of Genealogy. There are so many questions under this category that pertain to genes or related subjects that doesn't have anything to do with tracing your family tree. I have sent suggestions to Yahoo! Answers twice in the past. But, I guess one persons opinion is not enough to change something. Thanks for any suggestions and feedback!

does any one know a good--free--website on genealogy? i would like to trace my family tree and i need a good free genealogy website

Do Genealogists get paid well? I have become very interested in genealogy after tracing my family tree back to the year 1345. and found I was in blood relation to James Dean, Jackie "O", Judy Garland, Jesse James and a few others. I started taking some workshops. I want to know if it is worth becoming certified, will I make a decent income or is it a waste of time? What Do genealogists usually make for building someones tree or tracing an ancestor?

Any suggestions for a website with a really good template for a family tree? I DO NOT want a website that traces your genealogy, I found a bunch of those on Google. I'm trying to make one myself but I'm having difficulty showing who married who and what not. I'm doing my mother's side and father's side so I'm not sure how to make them connect and I'm doing at least four generations and I'm showing cousins aunts and uncles, everyone!

Connecting the dots on the Casteen/Castine family tree.? My father has been fascinated with genealogy for as long as I can remember and recently his passion for family history has rubbed off on me. He and a few other family members have done an amazing job of finding grave stones, census records, birth/death certificates and other documents having to do with our family. From what I can tell the 1st of our ancestors to come over from Europe was a French Baron by the name and title of Jean Vincent D’abbadie, Baron St.-Castin. We can trace our family back to the 1700's through documentation,in the form of a will and testament, but there is an 80ish year gap from the Baron to the will in which our family jumped from Main (in the town of Castine) to VA and NC. In the records we have the family name changes from Castine to Casteen somewhere around the Civil War. The Baron had between 5-15 children, depending on web page I visit, and I am trying to find which one so I can start my way down the line. I know it was one of his sons because of the retention of the family name but past that I am lost. I am guessing I only have 3 or 4 generations to find, which is frustrating because I am so close and yet I am at a dead end. Dose any one have any information on this family or know where I could look to find some, short of taking a trip to New England?

What suggestion do you have to keep track of a large family tree? I have traced mine back to 180 AD.? I have been keeping track of my family tree on paper. I like to show people my genealogy but don't want to have to pull out a computer every time I want to show someone. That and my computer doesn't have enough memory to hold all of my genealogy info. What do you suggest? Get over my computer reservations or continue to track on paper? I have 3, 3" binders full of detailed sheets of my family history. Help!!

Does anyone know of a good FREE Genealogy Site ? For tracing family history - making a family tree ! Looking for a totally FREE site !

African-American Genealogy: What are some good sources for family information? I was half adoped, so I don't know much about my real dad, who I've never met, and who was mixed race. My mom's white family has lots of information, but the mixed -African-american, White, and/or Native American- family members on my dad's side seem to be impossible to learn about. After 30 years of not knowing anything, suddenly I received this small photo album in the mail with some pictures, and a small family tree of deceased relatives that only goes back to my great grandparents, all of which died in the 1930s and 1940s. I'd like to learn more. How do I trace them, or find out who my great-great grandparents may have been? How do I find out the maiden names of the great-grandmothers? I haven't even been able to find an actual birth date for my dad (or anyone), (my mother, who is in her 50s knows almost nothing about him) though it is suspected that he is around 80 years old! I'm so frustrated, I don't know where to start. How do I find the birth and death dates of everyone? My grandma, who supposedly died in 1988 according to the tree, was one of 12 children, but I can't find records of any of them. (I'm guessing they were born around 1900) How do 7 boys, whose last names don't change, and 5 girls disappear completely and leave few to no descendents or record of ever having existed? Ancestry.com has been basically useless. Are there better resources? What is the first step? If you know about African-American Genealogy, please help. It would mean so much to me. Complete strangers always ask me "What are you? Where are you from?" I want to be able to answer their question.

Eastern European Genealogy? My wife is from Romania and we would like to build her family tree. Does anyone know of any websites or orgs that cater to the Eastern European genealogy community? She can only trace her family back on paper a few generations due to destruction of records. Her last name is Pitaru.

African Americans: How far back can you go in your family tree? My father is African American with some Afro-Caribbean mixed in and we're trying to trace his roots. On my grandmother's side, we can go back go Georgia in the 1850's but on my grandfather's side we can only go back to Mississippi in the 1890's. Tracing African American genealogy can be challenging because of slavery, admixture, etc. Do you have any advice on how I might be able to learn more about my ancestors? Serious responses only, please. Responses from all posters are of course welcome as long as they relate to the topic. Thanks.

Swedish Genealogy Question? This question is for anyone who has knowledge or experience with Swedish Genealogy. I am working on my family tree, and have traced a part of the tree to Sweden. I am finding various references to something called the EmiHamm. I have tried to figure out what the EmiHamm is, but have only come to the conclusion that it is some sort of database. I am wondering if someone can give me more information. Where can I find this database? What kinds of information can I find in this database, etc. Thanks. Please only serious answers. Thank you!

Trying to research my Genealogy. What is proper etiquette for contacting certain relatives? I'm looking to trace my family tree, but have never met a lot of my family, and the ones I have met, I've basically cut ties with, over something I do not wish to go into online. Right now, I'm as far as my cousins (met all 3) and located 2 of them on Myspace. I want information from them, but do not want any sort of relationship with them. Yeah, that might make me sound like a bad person, but trust me, I have my reasons for doing so. The information I want to know would be, if they had any kids, and if so the names of the kids, along with who fathered the kids. I am also in need of their fathers real name. I have met my "Uncle Stan" as a kid, (their father) but their parents have since divorced and I have no clue what Stan's real name was, but I do know Stan was not it. How do I go about contacting my cousins, without looking like a stalker of some sort? Is it proper to explain that I do not wish to have them be a part of my life after I get my wanted information? I could possibly handle an online only relationship, as long as they are not too clingy, but with them only 30 minutes away, I'm worried they might want more than that. I also do not wish to cause waves in this side of the family by explaining why I cut ties, since it has to do with me being abused as a child. Should I lie if they ask why I cut ties with my family? Do I "out" the relative that abused me? I also don't want my own psychological health to be harmed by this contact, but I really want to discover my roots, so to speak. Truth be told, I've never done street drugs in my life. I was abused sexually, and this is why I no longer have ties with any of my family. Don't go judging and assuming before you know the facts!

Trying to research my genealogy. Need proper etiquette for contacting certain relatives? I'm looking to trace my family tree, but have never met a lot of my family, and the ones I have met, I've basically cut ties with, over something I do not wish to go into online. Right now, I'm as far as my cousins (met all 3) and located 2 of them on Myspace. I want information from them, but do not want any sort of relationship with them. Yeah, that might make me sound like a bad person, but trust me, I have my reasons for doing so. The information I want to know would be, if they had any kids, and if so the names of the kids, along with who fathered the kids. I am also in need of their fathers real name. I have met my "Uncle Stan" as a kid, (their father) but their parents have since divorced and I have no clue what Stan's real name was, but I do know Stan was not it. How do I go about contacting my cousins, without looking like a stalker of some sort? Is it proper to explain that I do not wish to have them be a part of my life after I get my wanted information? I could possibly handle an online only relationship, as long as they are not too clingy, but with them only 30 minutes away, I'm worried they might want more than that. I also do not wish to cause waves in this side of the family by explaining why I cut ties, since it has to do with me being abused as a child. Should I lie if they ask why I cut ties with my family? Do I "out" the relative that abused me? I also don't want my own psychological health to be harmed by this contact, but I really want to discover my roots, so to speak.

Question regarding genealogy. I am looking for the correct ethnicity/nationality and spelling.? I was adopted and my birthfather THINKS he has the last name of HIS biological father. He can tell me that this man was mostly of Mexican and Native American Indian descent. His last name was something along the line of Herhendinzen (this is how it is pronounced, but not necessarily how it's spelled). I know this is a very hard question, but I am just looking for leads to try and trace our family tree. To me, the first two syllables sound Hispanic, but the last two sound more Western European... I honestly don't know. Please tell me if you think this is the correct spelling or what you think it should be, and what you think the nationality of this man by this last name would be. Thanks for the tips! Thanks thats an interesting idea, but the man's first name is David. If that helps? lol

What is the Best Geneology Website out there? I am doing a Genealogy project for my Civics class, and i cant seem to find a useful website. We have to trace our family back to at least the 19th Century and create a family tree.

Genealogy? is it important? My children attend church with there grandmother on sunday's and last week they were asked to go home and make a family tree to show everone this sunday. anyway, we helped our son as best we could, we started with him and his sister at the bottom, then branched of my husband and myself and after that is where everything went ppttt! I know who my biolgical mother is, however I do not know for sure that my dad( the one that raised me) is 100% my biological father. I do know that he is one of several posibilities. on my mothers side, I know who her mother is however there is question to who her biological father is....on my husbands side, we can trace his mothers side back pretty far thanks to his grandmother who has done all the work, but on his dads side we run into the same kinda probles listed before. So I was wondering other then knowing your ancestory, is there a religious reason or any other reason for tracing your genealogy?

Why do i even do genealogy anymore? If you really think about it, once you have completed your family tree it is a bit boring. Is there anything I can do with my information. I have traced all sides of my family to at least my great great great grandparents with reliable information from the city records not just other peoples family trees. So exactly what do i do now?

Will Humans (Homo Sapiens) become extinct in another million years? The human genealogy is a diverse family tree that traces our origins from the Austropithicus from Africa to the Homo Sapiens of today. The evolution of the human species suddenly ended after the emergence of the Homo Sapiens--approx. 500,000 years ago with the last remaining Neanderthal dying out circa 40,000 years ago. Is it plausible to think that Homo Sapiens will extinct as a "Species" with the introduction of far more superior hybrid of humans in the next million years? If so, are we gradually evolving as we speak?

Was there a popular route from Virginia to Tennessee that families used to migrate in the late 1700's? I have had a very hard time trying to trace my family tree from North Alabama/Tennessee before the earlier 1800's, mostly, I believe, because we have such a common surname (and sketchy record-keeping from that era). However, we found "clumps" of our surnames with another less common surname in what would appear to be a travel pattern from Virginia, through North Carolina and into Tennessee and finally into Northern Alabama. I have used LDS database, Rootsweb and other genealogy websites but have not found enough concrete information to form strong conclusions. So, I'm trying various "workarounds." Unfortunately, I seem to be the only person in my family who is interested in tracing our tree. I'm wondering if I-81, I-40 and/or US Route 11 are based on the remnants of an old highway that served the purposes of migration back then.

What do people expect to find in their Genealogy? Recently a dinner guest shared how she and her husband are building a family history tree to see if their linage takes them back to being related to Jesus Christ. The reason they believe they are, is because one of their relatives traced her Genealogy back to Mary, Jesus mother. With that said, I am a greenhorn novice when it comes to this subject. But later that night, my wife and I joked and laughed about tracing our genealogy back to a shoemaker that sold Jesus his first pair of shoes. In other words, even if there is royalty in our bloodline, what does it matter to us today. Would it change anything about who or what we are? Which is why I post this question: What do people expect to find in their genealogy? ♫♪¸¸.•*¨*• So many excellent responses from some obviously skilled and knowledgeable people. Thank you all. ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ ((((ASKER FEEDBACK)))) Tukmyhamster - Great answer, made me smile. And its nice to meet a genealogist who can't claim a king or a president in their tree.” Shirley T - Obviously you know what you’re talking about. I find the subject of genealogy fascinating. Yet, I have never had more than a passing desire to chart a family tree. Mike I - Yes! Great answer, “we are all equal.” Ted Pack - So true, “do it for the fun of it.” Just Be - Interesting indeed! Do you know what I like about you, when you say things like this: “Truth be told, we are all children of the highest & greatest authority & lineage.” If this was an R&S question, I’d give you Best Answer. Maxi - Your knowledge of genealogy aside, your response was like reading an email from a dear friend writing to me in an as-a-mater-of-fact fashion. Thank you, and I hope you will answer many more of my questions. LongToot - I think you do know why it brings you pride and a sense of who you are. Sometimes its easier to see where you’re going when you know where you came from. ((((THANK YOU & GOD BLESS YOU ALL))))

VALEROS GENEALOGY - Do you know ? I'm making a research about the family name Valeros. unfortunately, I don't have the funds to travel to different parts of the world and the trace the origins of this clan. for sure, I've known some people carrying the surname but they have little info about thier ancestral backgrounds. I reallly need to find connections between different clans related to the surname and eventually find the roots from the stories on how this name became established in the different places, behind generations and of course those of you who can give me any knowledge about some accounts you might have heard from your grandparents if ever you are related to the name. family trees or connections you might know is very helpfull in this research. I will appreciate everything you wish to give. thank you so much...

Genealogy: What is the best way to find adoption record for a deceased relative? I am working on my family tree and my father's mother (my grandmother) was adopted. She did not know this until late in her life when she went to get a passport to travel out of the US. She was born in 1925 or 1926, and the only record I can find of her online is the 1930 census, in which her information is filled out as if her adoptive parents are her true parents. Apparently it was a big "hush-hush" secret that her adoptive parents tried to convince her of her whole life, so she never had any indication of being adopted until late. How can I use genealogical resources to locate her adoption record or birth record or both? My ultimate goal is to find out the names of her birth parents to begin tracing their ancestry. Thank you in advance! Edit to add: Thank you so much for all of the great information already. It's kind of discouraging to know that the odds aren't good, but at the same time I'm glad to know the facts so I don't make any assumptions and get frustrated after years of searching in vain. A few thoughts though...what are the thoughts on DNA heritage tests? I know Ancestry.com offers a DNA test that can help show the heritage of the test-taker by identifying trends in the gene structure common to certain geographical locations. I do know the heritage of my grandmother's adoptive parents...are these DNA tests accurate for this purpose? The countries they are said to have immigrated from are not common to my family tree...I would hope that if those countries somehow appear on my DNA test that it might be a hint that I am somehow related to her adoptive parents...I'm neither a professional genealogist nor a geneticist, so I am asking this question as well. Thanks again.

Genealogy Question! What is the best way to find out if I have famous relatives? I am signed up with ancestry.com and have traced my family name back to the early 1600's. I was wondering what the best way to find out if any of them were famous for something in their time. I know I can do individual searches on each and every one of them, but with more than 500 individuals that seems like it will take forever. Does anyone know of a way either on the website or a place I can import my tree into?

Genetic Tracing to my 2nd Great Grandfather? I've been doing genealogy for quite a while now, and I have the use of ancestry.com and have a lot of my genealogy listed out on Family Tree Maker. Well a certain part of my genealogy has had me stumped for a long while. My great, great grandfather, Sylvester Rufus Allen, I can find nothing on except that he married Faith Wilbur Ostrander in 1901 in Portsmouth, VA. She was born July 25, 1883 in Rensselaer County, New York and died June 01, 1960 in Portsmouth, VA. They had four kids. Ruth Louise Allen, my great grandmother (born October 30, 1903 in South Norfolk, VA (?)), Luther L. Allen (b. Abt. 1904 in Virginia), Richard Cline Allen (b. Abt. 1906 in Virginia) and Teresa Mae Allen (b. May 17, 1909 in Portsmouth, VA). I've looked at Ruth's death certificate (she lived and died in Beaufort Co, NC) and it does confirm that her father was Rufus Allen (but it does not list where he was born). Aunt Tessie Roberts (Teresa Mae Allen) died in February 1997 in Troy, Rensselaer County, NY. My hope is that someday I can go to NY and find her death certificate and see if it tells something new about Rufus. (ancestry.com doesn't have some death certificates on there, especially not new ones). I have a hunch though, that there's a possibility that Rufus Allen immigrated from either Ireland or England (or is the son or grandson of immigrants). I have no other relatively close ancestors that immigrated (closest would be like 7th great grandparents), so my question is, would a DNA blood test confirm that I have close Irish or English blood in me and kind of give me a hint as to where the Allen's come from? I can find no records of a Rufus Allen in Virginia, North Carolina or New York and he died around 1916 or so (so I'm told) and he married in 1901 so the only census that I'd be able to find both Rufus and his wife, Faith in would be the 1910 census; which I conveniently can find no record of with them in it.

How can you find out if a relative is dead or alive if you've never met him/her? The quest for my family history... For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in my family tree. A few months ago, I finally broke down and purchased the Family Tree Maker program and although the price was scary at first, ($91.18 CAN) I decided it was worth the price because it gave me a 9 month subscription to www.ancestry.ca . After activating my subscription, I searched day and night for records pertaining to my family's history. My story really begins back in the 1940's, although I was born in the 60's. It seems my grandmother, Ella Rogg had an affair which resulted in the birth of a child. My grandfather, it seems, couldn't face the embarrassment of raising a child that wasn't his, so he decided to disappear, never to return to his wife and two children that he did father...one of them being my father. All my life, I wondered who this mysterious man was. I knew his name...Joseph Pierre Jean Poirier....Peter to his friends and family, and through various questions posed to my grandmother, I found out that he had a sister named Jacqueline. I also learned that his parents names were Blanche Goulet and Lucien Poirier. I was told by my grandmother that my grandfather was 11 years older than she was, which would have put his birthday around 1910. On Feb 6, my birthday, I discovered where Lucien and Blanche (my great grandparents), Jacqueline and Denise (my aunt's) were buried (Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montèal), but still Pierre Poirier eluded me. Weeks passed, and gradually I found out more and more information, (I traced my french ancestors all the way to France and King Louis VII) but my grandfather's generation was still a mystery. I was starting to believe that my grandmother lied to us all about my grandfather and who he was. Imagine my surprise upon finding out that his parents were married in 1919! Instantly, I started looking into baptismal records around 1920 and lo and behold, on March 24, I found it! His name was Joseph David Jean Pierre Poirier, born Nov 26, 1920! I was so excited to finally know his complete name, and his birthday! but at the same time, very disappointed that my grandmother had lied to us about his date of birth...I guess it was a smoke screen so we would never find him. I guess she was also ashamed of what she had done and didn't want us to know about it. One purpose of this blog is to find out information about my grandfather, Pierre Poirier. I also wish to find out about my other ancestors. Their names and some of their pictures can be found at: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/o/i/Lynn-Samms/index.html If anyone has any information or pictures concerning the following people from these places, I would be happy to hear from you: McSorley, McManus from Penniac NB, Fredericton NB, Poirier from Sainte Cunégonde or Montréal, Lalonde, Goulet, Hodson, I would be very happy to hear from you. My email address is lynnsamms@yahoo.ca Hoping to hear from lots of people!

ANYBODY know any GOOD SITES.....? does anybody know any good sites to make a family tree? i need one that can provide info such as a person's parents names and birth/death date. i am trying to trace my roots back to discover where i came from. the sites must be FREE!! please do not say ancestry.com or genealogy.com!! i have tried these already. i need new sites please. thanks. 10 points to best help.

Are the Royal Bloodlines true or could early affairs by Queens have caused mistakes in heirs.? It seems to be a fantasy and propaganda that any Royal Bloodlines of Europe or Houses could truly trace directly back by parental lineage. Is it not much more likely and easily possible that many Queens had affairs which resulted in children who were often named the heirs of Kings but in fact were not bloodline descended from their fathers? I imagine this happened on several occasions, and the family trees of Europe are actually much more complex. It seems almost a falsity and a fantasy to claim that the true bloodlines and genealogy of the Royalty of any European country is known because of this fact that many Queens had affairs and sexual relations with other men. There is really no way of knowing without doing DNA testing on remains if found, and even then...

Why don't I have a Race? Why is is that "no one is pure"? I always thought I was white, but when people talk about race, they often say that "no one is pure" if you look back far enough. I'm not sure I understand what that means. I have researched my genealogy and, as far as I can tell, all of my ancestors were from northern or central Europe. I can trace my ancestry back to Europe in the 1500s before colonial times. At that time, people were not able to travel long distances, so you can assume people almost always married someone in the same town or the next town or two away. Is that something very unique to me? I would think that most "white people" (but not all) would be the same way. I think that a lot of white people in the US have an ethnicity of e.g. German/Irish/English or Swedish/Danish/Dutch/Scottish or some combination of them. I've seen quite a few family trees from people that were like this. OK, so some "white people" might actually be 1/16 Native American or 1/32 African without knowing. I don't think it is a very larger percentage of the people who are called "white" in the US. I'm not sure how it could be ambiguous in any why to say that I "am white". And of course I could get more specific and explain where all of my ancestors were from. I'm not denying the out of Africa theory. I do believe in evolutions. If you go back far enough, every life form on Earth is related. This is not something exclusive to humans. Humans are related to dogs, mice, bees, algae, ferns, and bacteria too. When someone talks about a Siberian Tiger and a Bengal Tiger, no one makes a big fuss about explaining how they are the same species. All I'm asking is, why does everyone assume that we are all a little bit mixed. It usually is irrelevant. For an analogy, you can have red paint and it is red paint even if it is Scarlet or Crimson. Everyone would be confused if you tried to explain what color paint you have, without saying it was red and said "I don't know um it might have a small amount of of blue and um..." There is something called Pragmatics.

Dr. David Livingstone's family...? I'm trying to compile a family tree and trace my genealogy. I'm having a hard time finding all the names of David Livingstone's children (the famous Scottish missionary and explorer of Africa: he is my 5th great uncle) and any other family information on him. If anyone has any good information I would greatly appreciate it!