Genealogy..i wanted to find my background??

Question

i live in cali..and i want to know about my family ...i know my dad's side is american indian and mexican but don't know what tribe i know it's in arizona though...and on my mom's side is mexican ...i want to learn but just don't know where to look or how to start...

can anyone help

Answer 1

No need to find out your background..you may waste your time...Just go ahead in your life...Life must Go On...!!!

Answer 2

Arizona? perhaps a Pima...

You will have a difficult time trying to find out which tribe, unless only a generation or 2 ago.  Reason: tribes often married other tribes (i.e., a man would marry a woman from a different tribe, then live with her tribe).  So, the tribes were really mixed up!

However, if you do some research, you may be able to find out.

You should start by asking all your living relatives about family history.  Then, armed with that information, you can go to your public library and check to see if it has a genealogy department.  Most do nowadays; also, don't forget to check at community colleges, universities, etc.  Our public library has both www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com free for anyone to use (no library card required).

Another place to check out is any of the Mormon's Family History Centers.  They allow people to search for their family history (and, NO, they don't try to convert you).

A third option is one of the following websites:

http://www.searchforancestors.com/...

http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739...

http://www.usgenweb.com/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.rootsweb.com/

http://www.ukgenweb.com/

http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.familysearch.org/

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/...

http://www.cyndislist.com/

http://www.geni.com/

Cyndi's has the most links to genealogy websites, whether ship's passenger lists, ancestors from Africa, ancestors from the Philippines, where ever and whatever.

Of course, you may be successful by googling: "john doe, born 1620, plimouth, massachusetts" as an example.

Good luck and have fun!

Check out this article on five great free genealogy websites:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

Then there is the DNA test; if you decide you want to REALLY know where your ancestors came from opt for the DNA test. Besides all the mistakes that officials commonly make, from 10% to 20% of birth certificates list the father wrong; that is, mama was doing the hanky-panky and someone else was the REAL father. That won't show up on the internet or in books; it WILL show up in DNA.

I used www.familytreedna.com which works with the National Geographics Genotype Program.