Heritage Album

How do I trace my family tree?

In many cases, researchers need to know the name of an ancestor in the 1800s or that crossed over to america or something. I can't do it that way. I need to be able to trace my tree from recent names. I know my great grandmother and great grandfather's names, and all the ones that came after them, but I don't know how to go back any further. How can I research my family tree using what I know, and somewhat recent records?

Public Comments

1. Finding your heiritage is a bit like putting together a puzzle. Ancestry.com has a free 14 day membership where you can search through a variety of different records and other's family trees for the names of your ancestors. Often you can find other family members through census reports other sites you might try: familysearch.com genforum.com usgenweb.com
2. well start with your parents then their parents and go back as far as you can.. if you get stuck on someone who you dont no much about but you no their name and where they came from further up the line.. call wherever they came from and were born and order a birth certificate.. i was helping my uncles work on this (im 17) and we have made it back pretty far and we are still tracing.. we are back to the 18th century now, but it is getting tougher.. now im trying to work on my fathers side alone.. but i havent even made it past my grandparents parents because its really messed.. someone cheated on someone and it gets confusing so im just finding what ever i can.. but yes it can be really tough.. so where ever your family came from (unless you still live there) get any birth certificates, go to any libraries (my family is in history books) maybe yours could be to.. I wish you luck because I know how tough it is.. and how expensive it really can get (my family came from england and scotland and all around there and im in Canada) good luck..
3. ancestry.com offers a 2 week free guest search. It's easy to use and will help you get started. Print any data, you collect, for future reference. Start with yourself and work backwards; parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. Do not list women by their married names, use their maiden names or leave it blank if you do not know it. Some of the best sources are your older relatives. Make a list of questions and use a recording device to collect family information and stories. Local libraries have a genealogical section. Family Bibles, public records (death certificates, marriage certificates, baptismal records) are excellant sources. You can not obtain birth certificates for anyone, other than yourself or your child, due to identity theft. Military records are not available until 75 years after the persons death, unless you are the widow/widower or next of kin (child/grandchild). Federal Census records are collected every 10 years and are available from 1790 to1930. When visiting graveyards, photograph the tombstones, as it is far too easy to transpose a date, and the photo will be visible proof. Local historical societies and geneoalogical societies have preserved many of the older records. Everton Publishing, Logan, Utah, has an excellant selection of forms, that can be used to collect data from library sources or from family members that have to be contacted via mail. Chances are, someone has already done a great deal of the work for you. And with the Internet, it's probably on-line, somewhere. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has an extensive collection of family histories and their libraries are open to the public. The researchers are very knowledgeable and helpful. Contact them, in your area, for hours. Be prepared for this to, quickly, become a passion and then an obsession. Never think of it as a hobby. It's much bigger than a hobby. And, no matter how much information you discover, it will never be enough. Good hunting!!
4. with all respect, you do have it backwards. It is standard (and the only reliable way) to start with YOU (ie recent), and work back, one step at a time. That is how you build a correct foundation. You can 'prove' you to your parents; your parents to theirs, so forth. One example of errors made by new researchers.. they "find" John Smith who immigrated in 1700, assume he must be their ancestor, and spend years trying to find the 'connection'. In fact, their immigrant ancestor was another Smith, who did not come to the US until 1850, which they would have found, had they worked the connection from the known, backwards. So, when you say you can't do it 'that way', you are really on the right track. If you have names of persons born before 1930, they should show in the census records (open for research from 1790-1930). Between 1930 to now, you will use things such as birth/death certificates, possible family items, marriage records so forth. The more recent (ie living persons) will not be online, but can be accessed (ordered) by authorized persons. Other things to use pre 1900, will be land records, cemetery records, wills or probate... whatever there is. You will learn what these are, as you go, AND depending on the time and place. Rather than a list of sites to help, I usually suggest one.. http://www.cyndislist.com/beginner.htm cyndi (a housewife in Washington) has been collecting genealogy resources for over 10 yrs. When you get a bit down the road and find a topic that you didn't expect, she will probably have the source for you. ancestry.com is the best known, but there are many others that are of help. It is worth the fee for the census records. You can sometimes use it free at your local library. And, there are usually people here, who can answer things as you go, too. Have fun. If you forget to have fun, you miss the point.