I need to kno who my ancestors were and what ethnicity they were how can i do that?

Question

I need to kno who my ancestors were and what ethnicity they were how can i do that?

Answer 1

if you know some of your more recent ancestors you can look at ancestry.com or rootsweb.com. I like rootsweb better, but ancestry.com can help you connect some of the missing links

Answer 2

Wendy's answers are rarely worth adding to, but I would say, start with your OWN birth certificate....  if you don't find any surprises, then ask for your parents to share their birth certificate with you.   If you have living grandparents, etc.   or ask your parents if they have put away old papers of their deceased parents or grandparents....

Answer 3

The only way to do that is to trace your ancestry starting with yourself and working back one generation at a time.  

There are DNA test but they are not specific as to ethcnicity. They might show Northern European, East Asian etc but not a specific national origin.

Also the only type of DNA test that will give you a complete picture of your origins would be with autosomal DNA.

Y DNA goes from father to son only.

Mitochondrial DNA goes from mother to both sons and daughters, but only the daughters pass it on to their children.  

Y & Mitochondrial are used in genealogy to match people's family lines with each other as they go back a specific line unchanged.

Most of your DNA is autosomal which you get 50-50 from both parents.  It is the only DNA that relates a female to her father or anyone to the spouses and their families of those in their direct Y & Mitochondrial line.

The number of people you directly descend from pyramids as you go back.   If you get back to your 6xgreat grandparents, barring any duplicates, you are directly descended from 510 individuals.  Of those 510 individuals you get your Mitochondrial DNA

from only 8 and if you are a male, your Y DNA from only 8.  However, you get your autosomal DNA from all 510.  Autosomal DNA is what determines your physical characteristics, pigmentation, height etc.

Answer 4

Welcome to genealogy... it is what we do, here. And, in libraries, courthouses, cemeteries, etc.  

The cheap version of Wendy's tutorial... start with you, work back from you *always* using some document or records to be certain of your facts.  Don't worry about looking for a surname.. look for RELATIVES who are individuals. Don't believe everything online, and don't expect it to be all online.

Whew.

If you ask your parents for their birth certificates, you have started researching.  Death certs.. obits, funeral home records.. what ever there is.  Yes.. talk to your relatives to get leads, but don't accept everything until backed up. Once you get to 1930 in the US (1901 in the UK), you'll be able to find family in the census records.  When those run out, you work with church/baptisms, history books, land records, etc.

Hang out here.. we always have someone who enjoys helping.  I also suggest making friends with Cyndi-

http://www.cyndislist.com/

Answer 5

You can have a Ancestry DNA test done. I've heard they are really helpful.