How to start a Family History

Have you ever wanted to know about your family history. Who were your great-grandparents? Where did they live. Start today to learn about your family history.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• notebook
• pen
• any old documents you may have available to you.

1. Get a note book. Start with the oldest family member you can remember. Write their name at the top of the page. Write down their spouses name and any kids they had(if you know they had kids,but do not know their name write that down).

2. Look through any old documentation. I found that my grandfather changed the spelling of his last name when he became an adult. It is a good source of information. I found my great-great grandparents names on my great grandparents' marriage certificate.

3. Then other thing that helped me was talking to my aunts and uncles about anyone who remembered names or possible birth information, such as approximate year of birth, month, city and state where they were born. Any of these facts could help find more information.

4. A step that helped me was going to www.ancestry.com. This website will help search census records, military, marriage, as well as immigration records. There are some parts of this site that are free, but I have joined the site where I pay a membership fee for extra access.

Tips & Warnings

• Be persistent. Keep adding facts of your family history. You can succeed!
• There are many websites that will help you fill out a tree for free. And a lot that want to you pay them. Make sure you read the fine print. Be aware of a lot of promises-- some of those sites are just trying to get your personal information.

Resources

• http://www.ehow.com/how_2269356_plan-family-reunion.html
• www.ancestry.com

[coachmac4]

on 10/25/2008 Excellent info on how to start researching your family tree! 5 stars

[HowardBThiname]

on 9/25/2008 This is a good and informative article that many people will benefit from.

Thanks for sharing this information.

[momofour]

on 9/9/2008 I joined Ancestry.com last year and have found so much information that I didn't know. I have been able to get in touch with family members as well. Being able to view the old documents is great as well. I found out the my great uncle was once a chauffeur and when I mentioned it to my dad, he said that he didn't even know the man could drive since he always had to drive him places. I dicovered it out by reading great uncle's draft card from WWII. Really neat stuff!