How to find my Bloodlines?

Question

How do I trace my bloodlines to see mainly my origins such as German, ect... online and free.=p

Answer 1

You can’t just go on some website and *poof*, your whole family tree is there, all completed and accurate and free. Considering the years it takes to do that, who is going to do that for you?

Genealogy is not that simple. It does not work that way.

First, you are not going to find anything on anyone who lived in the last 50-100 years. It is unethical to post anything on anyone living or that recently deceased as it protects the identity of the living from identity theft and scams. Professional genealogists know this.

Second, IF you do find anything on the internet of your family (probably starting around 1900 and going back), you cannot assume just because it is on the internet means it is accurate. The only way to know if the information you find is right is to do your OWN research from scratch. A lot of people out there copy and paste other people's bad "research" and don't verify anything. That is wrong.

Third, unless you have a great-aunt or someone who has already done some research and posted it on the net, then your family will not be on the internet. People don't usually go around researching trees of total strangers for no reason at all and just put it on the internet for that stranger to one day find their whole family tree in 5 clicks or less.

Fourth, genealogy is fun and rewarding, but also very difficult and challenging, like putting together a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. And will take longer than doing that puzzle to do.

The best thing to do is to start by asking questions of your living relatives. Collect as much information as possible regarding names, dates, places, etc. and DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.

Then start an internet search as well as doing some research the old fashion way (going to libraries, court houses, cemeteries, etc.). If you find anything on the net, you need to try to reproduce the research yourself and see if you can find legitimate documentation of the individual, dates, or event in order to be sure the information is accurate. Trees on the net are to be used as clues and guidelines......not as gospel. Ask the poster about their resources and proof. Many times, you can find scanned copies of original documents such as census records. Otherwise, I would not take their word for it that what they have is right. As far as what sites to use, there are tons of them. You will need to just google for genealogy sites and sift through them. Some are free, some are not. All are subject to many errors, inaccurate, undocumented information that you will have to sift through and find what is right and what is not. You will probably end up using a combination of free and paid sites.

Last, you will not accomplish this overnight, in a week, month, or year. It is a LIFETIME hobby and passion, that, inspite of the countless hours you spend at it, it will never be completed. There is always another piece of the puzzle to find.

If you expect it to fall into your lap, all done and completed, and accurate, and FREE, with no work or challenge at all, then you are going to be disillusioned. Besides, that takes all the fun out of it.

Answer 2

well, most folks online have figured out that there are still bills to pay and free onilne is getting scarce!

The first thing to do is to look at birht certificates, marriage and death records, or any port of entry, citizenship logs that you can find.

Your birth certificate is a good place to start.

Look at the information on it.

If there is a family bible, many records of family nature, weddings, births etc. were recorded there.

Start with your family that is still alive, and practive tracing down those records.

For the online part, you can write to different local offices of vital records, or records for cities, counties and states, both here and abroad.

There are a lot of geaology sites on the web, but they usually charge for very much information.

If there is a local branch of LDS (Mormons, or Latter Day Saints) you can ask them for some help with geneology. They have very extensive records, and very knowledgeable people.

k

Answer 3

You are not going to get all of it online.

First you get as much information from living family as possible, particuarly your senior members.  Tape them if they will let you.  It might turn out they are confused on some things but what might seem to be insignificant story telling might turn wind up being very significant.

Ask if any of your family has any old family bibles.  Ask to see and make copies of birth, marriage and death certificates.  Also depending on the religious faith, baptismal, first communion, confirmation, marriage records can be very helpful.

Go to your public library and check out the genealogy section.  They might have a subscription to Ancestry.Com you can use.

Ancestry.Com has lots of records and is getting more all the time. They have all the U.S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 and later are not available to the public yet.

Just don't take as absolute fact everything you see in family trees on any website, free or paid.  The information is user submitted and mostly not documented or poorly documented.  Even when you see the same info repeatedly by many different subscribers, that is no guarantee at all it is correct. A lot of people copy without verifying.  Use the information as clues as to where to get the documentation.

You need to start with yourself and work back one generation at a time. and document as you work back.

A Family History Center at a Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church has records on people all over the world, not just Mormons.Call them and find out their hours for the general public.  In Salt Lake City, they have the world's largest genealogical collection. Their Family History Centers can order microfilm for you to view at a nominal fee.

I have never had them to try and convert me or send their missionaries by to ring my doorbell.  I haven't heard of them doing that to anyone else either.

Also online don't expect, as a rule, to find info on living people.  Genealogist consider it a breach of integrity to put info on the living in a public forum as it can lead to identity theft.

Answer 4

The above list of websites is a good one, here's a good article containing reviews of some free genealogy websites:

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

A lot of your research though you will have to pay for. Ancestry.com has tons of resources, and you can choose an option to pay just for one month if that's all the research you're going to do.

Answer 5

Go to a public library.  Most of them subscribe to genealogical databases such as ancestry.com and Heritage Quest Online and they should be happy to help you find what you are looking for.  Normally you would have to pay for those, but they are often free at public libraries or at home from the libraries' websites.

Answer 6

"Bloodlines"?  Okay, you want to research your family history, your genealogy.  Bloodlines is perfectly acceptable; it is just that I have not heard that in quite a few years.

OK.  Start with what you know; ask any living relatives about your bloodlines for any additional information.

First suggestion: If at all convenient, go to your local public library.  Ours (small town) has a genealogy section with books, periodicals, a volunteer who can help you, AND web access to both www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com, FREE for "patrons".

If going to the library is inconvenient, you can check these websites:

Free sites: there are several to choose from. Start with:

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/

There are many other genealogy websites, some of which allow a limited amount of research for free or offer a free trial (be sure to cancel or you will be charged). Cyndi's has the most links to genealogy websites, based upon origins, ship registers, etc.

Have fun and good luck!