How to find ancestors, and where they came from?

Question

Know any good sites on how to do that?

And does anyone know where the "Horne" family comes from?Or any people from long enough ago with the last name of Horne came from?

I know it's hard to get info, and will take time.But anywhere?Or Just some tips on the matter?

I'm in the USA, Missouri to be exact.

Thanks.

Answer 1

I've used ancestry.com census records a lot, but you have to pay to use them!

for free:

HeritageQuestOnline.com is awesome, but you need to access it through an "authorized institution."  For me, that was the Boston Public Library.  Check with your local library website - it'll have genealogy information and will most likely let you access heritagequest if you have a library card.

All you have to do from there is search through the census records by name.  You can start with the ancestor you know of from the furthest back.  Once you find them in the census,  you can use info about them to search further, like the family members they're listed with, job titles, years immigrated, street address, etc.  you just have to be a detective and try to use every little detail they give you on there!

Also, the Census (depending on the year) will tell you what country the person was born in and the coutry their mother and father were born in, which can help determine the country of origin.  Also, Immigration records help with that.

Answer 2

A few sites to start out with are: www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search

www.worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.co...

sss.usgenweb.net

Information on the meaning of your name is as follows:

Horne Name Meaning and History

English, Scottish, and Dutch: variant of Horn 1–4.

Norwegian: habitational name from any of several farmsteads mostly so named from the dative singular of horn (see Horn).

Swedish: variant of Horn.

Place of

Origin Horne Immigrants

England 129

Ireland 68

Scotland 47

Great Britain 17

Germany 16

Sweden 7

In 1840 the majority of the Horne families were in North Carolina, Ohio and Georgia.  There were 12-21 families at that time.

Answer 3

Try Ancestry.com.  It's a subscription website but extremely resourceful.  It's unbelievable how much I've learned  about my family genealogy.  The elderly family members NEVER wanted to talk about ancestors.  But I have a treasure trove of information from the census.  Genealogy.com and Familysearch.org are good free resources and so are some links to the Latter Day Saints Archives of Utah.

Answer 4

It really isn't as hard as you might think, but one important thing is to follow the basics-

Don't worry about tracing the surname, or trying to find the "first" Horne who existed, or came to America.  All Hornes will not be related. As long as you work from YOU backwards, and document as you go.. each step, you will be certain that you have YOUR family members.  That is.. your father and his parents (and mom, and hers.. they won't be Hornes).  

Once you get to the person born prior to 1930, you normally can do a huge amount in the census records.

http://www.cyndislist.com/beginner.htm

I highly reccomend this site. The main thing about it, is to realize how many sites are out there. Of course.. since you followed my advice at step one.. you will know immediately that you need to look in Missouri records, not Florida.

It all falls into place as you go, and learn what records there are.

edit-

I can't say much about where they were in 1840. When you trace YOUR line, it might be that they did not immigrate until 1920.  Don't get sidetracked with generalizations.