Getting To Know Yourself Through Your Family's Genealogy

by Michael Beardon.

Genealogy or the study of one's line of descent is often something that we have all looked into at least once in our lives. I'm sure the thought of being related to someone famous or a past President has crossed your mind. Apart from that, it is always interesting to know the personalities that make up your family tree and the different stories surrounding them and how they shaped who you are today.

A lot of old families have their family lines well documented. But how does someone like you go about finding out your ancestry? Here are a few tips to get you started on finding your roots.

Start with the Internet. The Internet is a vast storehouse of knowledge, but finding the information you want can be tricky when you don't know where to look. There are specific genealogy sites which are easily accessible and user-friendly. These sites provide various documents that are vital to knowing our past. Documents such as marriage records, birth certificates and the like are a great way to start your journey into your family's past. Examples of these sites are rootsweb.com, ancestry.com and myheritage.com.

You have to already know a little bit of your history though in order to have a fruitful and accurate search. This is true especially If your family has a common name like Smith or Jones. It would also be useful to know where your other relatives lived or migrated to, so that you can zero in on those places.

The Internet lets you gain entry to the records of faraway States or cities. For instance, if you have neither the time nor the patience to take a boat to Ellis Island, but would like to check if your ancestors were one of those who first settled into the island, you can check out the records online. Just remember that these records are transcribed from logs written by hand, thus the possibility of wrong or differently-spelled names is very high.

Court houses also store marriage and birth certificates, death certificates and the like. These documents will provide a lot of the information you need because they state the person's parents, spouse and children.

The state department also has records and files that have not been transferred to the Internet as of yet. So it would be a wise idea to check out your state department as well.

Another option is to visit cemeteries and funeral homes, which always have information on the family of the deceased. Tomb stones for example, will state a person's spouse and children. So it is wise to visit these places too.

Not only is tracing your genealogy a fulfilling project but it will be a great help to your other family members too. It is a journey worth embarking on and it will really be worth the effort.



Michael Beardon is an expert on Genealogy. If you want to learn more about Genealogy you should check out his amazing tips on genealogy at http://familytreeguidebook.com.

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