Where can i find my family tree?

Question

Where can i find my family tree?

Answer 1

You have to create your family tree yourself. Family trees are graphical maps for tracing one's genealogy. There are various sites which provides all the necessary information about how to create your family tree. Some of these sites provides free information. A few of these sites includes:

http://www.tribaljunction.com/

http://www.rootsweb.com/

http://www.ancestry.com/

http://www.genealogy.com/

Answer 2

Researching it starting with yourself and work back.  I have a feeling you are one of the many people who have heard you can find your complete family tree online, or someone has stated they found their complete family tree on line.

There are lots of websites.  Some of your family lines might be on one or more if some family member has put it onlilne. However, you cannot take as absolute fact everything you see in family trees on any website, free or paid.  The information is submitted by folks like you and me and mostly 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 is only valuable if it is used as clues as to where to get the documentation.

So, if someone has told you their Aunt Sallie has found their family tree online, you tell them unless Aunt Sallie has verified it she cannot be certain that everything she has found is accurate.

The first thing you do is get as much information from living family as possible, particularly your old folks like me.  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 out to be very significant.

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

On genealogy websites or any public forum, people are very reluctant to put information about living people due to identity theft.

Go to your public library and find out what all they have. They might have a subscription to Ancestry.Com you can use.  Ancestry.Com has lots of records and seems to be 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. They have U.K. censuses also.

A Family History Center at a Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church has records on people all over the world, not just Mormons. You need to call and find out their hours for the general public.  Actually, you might find their hours on their website, FamilySearch.org.   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 that has used their resources.

While you are at your library and the Family History Center, you will probably have an excellent opportunity to talk with other researchers and that is a good way everyone has of learning, talking and sharing ideas and experiences.

Just don't expect to put a name on line and up pops your family tree.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

You don't "find" it; you have to create it.

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.