Where do you find information about your ancestors online?

Answer 1

• Ask your parents and other relatives.
• Search out birth marriage and death records in the vital records offices and archives covering the places your relatives lived.
• Visit a library near you and read a book on how to do this.
• Join a Genealogy Society near where you live to learn how to do this.

Answer 2

A very good place to start would be the Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of the Later-day Saints), as they have a religious imperative to research their own family histories. As a result they put substantial resources into gathering vital records and other materials that are useful in researching family history. They make these collections available to everyone, regardless of religion, through the many Family History Centers, staffed by volunteers, that they maintain. However, it is unlikely that you will find your family tree all made out and waiting for you. You will have to research the records, as well as talk to your older relatives, to make up your own family tree. www.familysearch.org

Answer 3

Begin by downloading some forms and charts for free from genealogy websites. You'll need to keep track of your researching and sources of info so you don't waste time spinning your tires, so to speak. You might want a beginners book like the Genealogy for Dummies books from you local library or bookstores. Then start by asking your parents and all older family members questions about the family tree. Try keeping it to 2 questions at a time, and take good notes! Start with oldest family members first before you loose them. Focus on complete names (nicknames, too!) dates and places of births, deaths, marriages, christening or baptisms, residences, military service, burials and other stuff like adoptions, land ownership, education, business, etc. Many books and genealogy websites provide better lists, but this is basic. It helps to know your family's country of origin and Immigration info, like dates and ports of departure, ship names, ports of entry, etc. Tactfully enquire about information written in things like family Bibles, personal letters and diaries, funeral cards, headstones, info written on the backs of photos--the possibilities are endless. Fill out a good pedigree chart. Then fill out a family group sheet for each and every family unit. Then go online to sites like Ancestry.com to verify and continue gathering info from sources like the federal census, draft registration card info, marriage records, death records, court records, wills, birth records, obituaries, archived newspaper articles and ads, military service records, land ownership, etc, etc. A lot is out there! There might be a local genealogy society in or near your area. Ours meets at one of our public libraries. Contact them for tons of good ideas, help and organization!!

Answer 4

To find out your family history, you ask your parents, older brothers and sisters and your other relatives. Then you use the library and archives, as well as internet resources. Do not expect to find it already prepared for you. Unless a parent or sibling did it already, you will have to do at least some of the research yourself.

Answer 5

Some of the best sites, unfortunately, are not free. Many charge a fee to access their entire archive, but you can at least get started, since databases like the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) are generally available to anyone. For thorough genealogical research, I recommend Ancestry.com as a good place to start, as they have a vast assortment of documents (birth certificates, census data, city directories, where the person is buried, etc) from people all over the US and even from some other countries.

But also, I've found historical newspaper databases can contain some useful information too-- even if your relative wasn't famous, back in the old days, newspapers carried announcements of births, high school graduations, etc. And many carried obituaries of important local people. Again, some of the best sites charge a fee to use their materials, but your local public library may already subscribe to some of these sites, which means you have access with your library card. The same is true if you attend a university-- many subscribe to digitized newspapers like the New York Times (which goes back to 1851) or the Boston Globe (which goes back to 1872). And some (though not all) newspaper archives are available online via Google Books.

Answer 6

You can find general information about how to "do" genealogy in any public library and on the Internet with a Google search on the word "genealogy."

Answer 7

Simply enter your ancestors' names into the search engines. There are many web sites, both free and paid, to do this in. I would use the free databases to start with.