How can I find out more about my great granmothers history?

Question

she died years ago when I was roughly 5 yrs old, and her daughter (my grandmother) is no longer alive, I can't even ask my father as he is no longer alive, but I do want to find out more about who I really am

Answer 1

Are there any other relatives you can talk to? It's not weird to call your fourth cousin who you've only seen a few times to catch up a little and mostly learn about your family. Also, you might be able to find some journals or other memorabilia that would give you some insight into the life she lived.

I really bet there are some people still alive who know a little bit about her. And also it's great that you want to know more about your family history. Kudos for trying to find out.

Answer 2

your question didn't say whether you know any names, dates, places, etc. if you know her name (or your grandmother's) and where she was living in 1930 or earlier, you may be abole to find her in the u.s. census. if you post some names and other info i may be able to help you since i subscribe to ancestry.com.

Answer 3

First, just google in something like "smith family genealogy" and see what you get. Don't forget to check local libraries, state libraries, state museums, etc.  And then:

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.