How do you trace your family back in time?

Answer 1

Tracing one's family back in time is a mater of interviewing relatives, conducting research in libraries and archives, and keeping good records of where you have looked and what you have found. In recent years, many resources have been made available on the internet but for most people, research beyond the internet will eventually be required. The basic process is as follows:

* Start with yourself and record your birthdate and place of birth (and those of your siblings and cousins). * Your birth certificate (or that of your silings or cousins) should have your parents' names, ages, and date and place of marriage. * With this information, seek their Marriage Certificate, which will show their names (including your mother's maiden name), birth dates, and birth places. * Then get the Birth Certificates of your parents, aunts and uncles. * In turn that should show the names and birthdates of their parents. * So gradually extend your research back as far as you can go. Different countries established registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages at different times, and different cultures may also offer additional resources. Native Americans may find records in Tribal Enrollment records; Jews may find parents' and grandparents' names on grave stones and religious marriage documents.

* When you can't get any further with the National Register, you have to search Church and Parish Records, land and tax records, migration records, etc. * The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints (The Mormons) have a religious imperative to understand their family history. To support this, they have gathered and continue to gather relevant civil and religious records throughout the world and make them freely available to all through their Family History Library in Salt Lake City and their Family History Centers, several thousand of which are operated by volunteers, both Mormon and non-Mormon, throughout the world. While engaged in this research, many people want to flesh-out the basic recitation of names and dates with information about how they lived, how they made a living, what life was like around them, etc.

Answer 2

I would recommend first getting as much information as you possibly can from your living relatives. You will need to know their names and their parents' names, their places and dates of birth, and all the places they've lived. Additional information like brothers, sisters, etc. can also be helpful. Start building your family tree with yourself. Then list your mother and father, then their mothers and fathers, and so forth. I have found the use of the website www.ancestry.com to be incredibly helpful. Quite a few of their tools are free, too. You just put in the name of your relative and then let the site search for them. As you build on your family tree, the work actually gets a bit easier, as more and more people are potentially related to the ancestor you are researching. Good luck!