Finding ancestors has become a popular pastime, especially for the baby boomers. Here are some tips for tracing your family tree. It's an exciting adventure.
Searching for clues into your family history has become a hobby or pastime, if you will, for many over the past few years. It is especially popular with today's Baby Boomers. People who have the time and energy to devote to learning about their ancestors find this hobby very satisfying.
The results are not always easy to find, but the Internet has made leaps-and-bounds by publishing library records and archives. In fact, there are over 264,000 websites that claim they can help you find your family. Going straight to the Internet for information is not advisable, as the large number of websites can be overwhelming.
Steps to Finding Your Ancestors
Start your ancestry search by recording all you know about you and your family. Answer questions such as:
- Where were you born?
- Where did you grow up?
- Where did you go to school?
The next step is to record what you already know about your family members. You need to try and go back as far as you can remember. List your current living relatives, and then conduct interviews with each one of them, starting with the oldest family member first.
Be sure to keep accurate records of your findings and document your sources. Your notes should be clear, so that you will understand them when you have to refer back to them.
Look in Obvious Places
Now take a tour of your attic, basement, or other storage spaces. Look for diaries, letters, and family documents. Some families will pass down personal effects from a former relative from generation to generation. Ask other family members to do the same, and report to you the things they have found.
Learn what you can about your family history through books, courses, and conferences before going to the Internet for a family search. The Internet is loaded with information, but it can be daunting for the first time searcher.
When you have completed the above steps, you are ready to tackle the Internet. Some sites offer "how to" sections that are very useful in making the process easier.
Popular Genealogy Websites
The more popular search engines that specialize in genealogy are Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com and FamilySearch.com. Other popular portals for tracing family history include Google and Yahoo.
Don't Give Up
Sometimes your search for your family history will close some doors, and this can be frustrating. You may think that you have hit the end of the road. Usually this is not the case. You just need to know where to pick up your search and try some more. As mentioned above, this is a time-consuming hobby, but it is worthwhile every time you uncover another piece of your family's history.
