How to Trace European Roots
Americans tracing their family ancestry eventually have to take their research out of the country. For many, this means the "old country"--that is, Europe. Trace your European roots with the help of genealogy societies, online records and original records that go back centuries.
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Instructions
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Pull together information that you already have about your family history. Family Bibles, pictures, letters and Grandma's stories can provide you with the basics to trace your European roots. Learn how each European country treated surnames, as names didn't necessarily stay the same from generation to generation or country to country.
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Check with the LDS Family History Library and Centers for extensive databases, indexes and microfilm. The Family History Library includes an exhaustive supply of European resources, including 18th-century church records from Hungary and Slovakia. See Resources.
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Be aware of the many boundary changes and immigration shifts Europe experience over the centuries. For example, a true country named Germany didn't come into being until 1871; however, Germanic people lived throughout much of Europe for hundreds of years earlier. Eastern European countries experienced many boundary changes as well.
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Access ship passenger lists for information about when your family first arrived from Europe. Your chances to trace European roots in this way increases if family arrived in the late 19th-century versus colonial times when records were limited.
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Log on to the Internet and try your luck. Some countries have done a great job in making genealogical records available on line, particularly Scandinavian countries like Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands.
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Trace your European roots through government records or civil registration first. These will be the most recent records. Before this, churches often kept the records of births, marriages and death.
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Research your ethnicity and religious background as well as specific locations. For example, Jewish people experienced religious persecution, and as a result, moved often.
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Tips & Warnings
Various calamities over the centuries damaged many records. Fire was often the culprit, but Europe also saw many bombings during World War II that obliterated records. The American Red Cross Holocaust and War Victims Center is one place to look for records of relatives missing after World War II.
Outside of the United Kingdom, records from other European countries will be in that country's language. If you aren't fluent, you will need to hire a translator. Early records, particularly church records, may be in Latin.
