I'd like to look into my family tree, how do I start?

Question

I'd really like to look up my family tree and get into Genealogy a bit. How can I get started on looking up info and what sources would I use? Thanks all.

Answer 1

Hate to dispute Josh.. but family sources are SO not the only ones you use.. in fact, family memories only go back so far, and are not always accurate.

What you will use are documents and records.. the trick is that the exact record will depend on the person, the place, the time. You can use your birth certificate to document your own parents, and yes, you do this, EVEN when you believe you know the right info.  On the other hand.. your gr grandmother born in 1873 in certain places, won't have a birth certificate, as they were not required. Her birth date will come from such things as death record, tombstone, census, or anything else that is reliable. These records will not always agree.. thus, you get as many as you can.

Yes.. you can talk to your family, and get leads. But that is what they are, until verified. Obviously, if your dad is mistaken regarding his grandfather's birth place.. you can spend years looking in the wrong state for his parents.

Your info normally will start within family documents, since normally living persons have the right to privacy. Don't look online for them. You CAN look online for where to send off for a death certificate.  As you go along, it will become more clear which records might be online, and those that will not be.  And, there will be some cost.  You balance that by doing a bit at a time.

Oh, yes.. expect to be addicted. It can be a lifelong passion.

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

Cyndis list is my personal favorite, both as a starting point, and encyclopedia of the thousands of sources out there.

And we always love having new persons make themselves at home here, to get advice or tips (even lookups) along the way.

Answer 2

Begin with your parents and their parents and if you are really lucky your great grandparents; you can request birth and death certificates which will show where they were born and or were buried; these lead to other names of their parents.  

then use familysearch.org and other genealogy sites to look up the names of your ancestors; also go to the Mormon Church if you have one in your area and look for birth and marriage records for your family names.

write down everything you can; name, date and place of birth; parents, place of marriage; who married; date and place of death, cemetery.  for each person

work your way backward from yourself as far as you can.  you will be very surprised how easy it is if you dedicate yourself to this task.

good luck.

Answer 3

look at previous answers, approximately 10000 of them on the same topic.

Answer 4

The only way your family tree would be online is if some family member has done it and put it online.

Now, you might find some of your family lines.  However, you have to be very careful about taking as absolute fact everything you see in online family trees whether they are on a free or paid website.   They are usually not documented or poorly documented.  Even when you see the same info repeatedly by many different subscribers that is no guarantee it is correct. A lot of people copy without verifying.  The information can be valuable as clues as to where to get the documention.  

Wendy gave you some great information.

I feel, Ancestry.Com is the best for its records. They have all the U.S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 and later are not available to the public yet. They also have U.K. censuses. They have lots of immigration and military records.  They have indexes of vital records from various states.  

If it is too pricey, your public library might have a subscripton to it that you can use.

Also a Family History Center at a Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church has records on people all over the world, not just Mormons.  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.

Just call them or visit their free website at FamilySearch.org to find out their hours for the general public.

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 that has used their resources. They are very nice and helpful.

Answer 5

ummmm, the only sources you can use is YOUR family, cause its YOUR family tree. i don't know how far back you plan on extending your family tree, but to get it as far as you can, talk with the oldest people in your family on your mother's and father's sides of the family. but you possibly might be getting some boring talks if you decide to go through with that plan though

Answer 6

You could start with creating a family tree on any online site. Add names of people you know. You can try www.tribaljunction.com for creating your family tree. You can more information from various genelogy sites. Here are names of few of these sites:

www.genealogy.familyeducation.com

www.familysearch.org

www.rootsweb.com

www.ancestry.com

www.cyndislist.com

These are free online sites. Here you can get information about your ancestors.