How do i find out what nationality i am?

Question

i know that i am white. but my mom was adopted and my father died when i was 2 so how can i find out what blood line i am from. it seems my mom has a bit of indian in her by her color and cheack bones. (altho it could be sun damage due to her tanning in the sun so much when i was a child) so is their any way that i can find this out without having to pay?

Answer 1

You are of whatever nationality where you were born, unless you have been naturalized elsewhere.

As to your ancestry, try:

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.

I have heard that some sites/places offer free DNA testing, but I do not know of any personally.

Answer 2

The usual route to finding your ancestry (that is, the origin of your family) is researching valid records, that document their vital facts.  That is where the information shows up.

With adoptive situations, that is not always an option, unless you can determine who the bio parents were. It is more of a challenge.. and not always impossible.  If you have any correct info about your father, then you can work his ancestry.

The alternative is DNA testing, and in your case, it would be more logical for mom to do this (since you can find dad's info). It does not show what persons always expect. For instance, it may show Native genes.. but it will not say Cherokee, Apache, so forth.

Sorry, but DNA testing is a business, and it does cost. For that matter, there are costs related to genealogy as well.

Answer 3

lots and lots of research of birth records. thats why alot of people pay for a family tree to be done. i'm lucky enough to have one my grandfather had done though that side is easy cause they are all italian.