Does anyone know where to start when trying to put together your family tree?

Question

i want to make my family tree, and go back as far as i can to my ancestors to see what the history in my family was like and where i came from etc.

anyone have any ideas of where to start?

Answer 1

Finding out all of your parents, then grandparents, then great grandparents surnames and origins is the start i think

Answer 2

Hello,

Start with you immediate family, work your way back.

Do not forget the family bible. Back int he day this was used kind of like a family tree before the word came out.

Good luck, it gets addicting lol!

Answer 3

http://rwguide.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS.. start with the present and work back, using documentation (records) to prove the connection. That is an absolute.  Example.. your name is Joneshopper. You look for the "first" Joneshopper to come to the US, and try to work forward to you. Will not work. You may find the first Joneshopper immigrated from England in 1750, while YOUR ancestor is distantly related to him, back in England.. but did not come to US until 1893.  All your efforts on the old guy in 1750 would be worthless.

You connect "you" to your parents with a record, like a birth certificate. Immediately, your basis is solid. No guessing. Next, connect parents to their parents (and siblings). Again, no guessing and you know the work is accurate. You have 4 grandparents, each of those will have their own facts and parents. now, you are up to 8 persons.

EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, YOU KNOW IT IS RELIABLE.

No matter what name you run into.. you are not looking for a surname, you are looking for the parents/ immediate family of YOUR ancestor. You don't get distracted by millions of Smiths (or whatever) who lived no where near your ancestor, and are not involved with you. Focus on the person and their facts.

You can keep your info in a program, but as long as you know exactly what you are looking for, you can determine where it can be found.  No getting lost.

Answer 4

www.freebmd.org.uk is a good tool - and it's free!

Answer 5

Start with what you know, start with yourself,  add parents siblings and move on from there, keep every thing organised you will soon start amassing a lot of data.   If you get stuck come back here someone should be able to help.

Answer 6

I would definitely suggest going to: http://www.tedpack.org/yagenlinks.html for some really helpful tips on getting started and links to all the good sites.

Good Luck!

Answer 7

umm.. they have technology now where you can give your dna to the scientist people and they will see who your ancestor was. i don't know... ask your grandparents?? and your parents?

Answer 8

Start with yourself.  Interview everyone in your family that you can.  Many of us who started late wish we had the foresight to ask questions when grandparents and parents were still here.

Keep good records.

There is a plethora of websites that can help.  Some are free, some are not.  Just check the web.

I use Ancestry.com, which is not free.

Good luck, have fun and keep in mind that ancestor hunting can become addictive.