How to Find Out Birth Information for Your Ancestors

Finding information on your ancestor's birth will help you trace your family tree.

According to the Genealogy.com website, the term ancestor refers to "a person from whom you descend." Even though you obviously descend from your parents, they are not usually referred to as your ancestors. The line begins with your grandparents and great-grandparents, and goes backwards to your 2nd great-grandparents then to your 3rd great-grandparents and so forth as far as you can trace your family tree. To begin the search you will need to locate birth information on your ancestors to keep up the search and verify you are tracing the correct branch.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pencil
• Genealogical forms
• Flash Drive

Instructions

1. Choose which branch of the family tree you want to trace first. It will either be your mother's side, or your father's side. Make a list of all the relatives on that side that you can think of. Include any nicknames they use, or used, if they are no longer living.

2. Ask whichever parent is from the branch you are tracing to look at the list, and make any additions or changes they can think of. Fill in any birth dates, or birthplaces and also any places of death, and any other towns and or states they may have lived in. Even an approximate date will help in your search.

3. Download or copy Family Group sheets and pedigree charts from the Internet or genealogy books you have purchased or borrowed from the library. Keeping organized records from the beginning will help you trace your ancestors and make sure you are on the right track.

4. Search federal census records for additional names and ages, and also for the state or country of your ancestor's birth. Look at online newspaper archives to find obituaries that may also list valuable information. If the town where your ancestor lived does not have an online newspaper archive, you may have to either travel to the town to view microfilm or microfiche records, typed newspaper abstracts, or even bound copies of the original newspapers to find the information, or pay a researcher to do it. Some public libraries and historical societies may search for you for a donation or set fee.

5. Check with the library, courthouse and historical society to see if any additional resources are available. Consider contacting churches to see if they have any records of christenings. Genealogy is becoming so popular, there may already be some completed family trees either online, or in some type of print form that distant relatives have completed.

6. Determine when your state began keeping birth records on file. You may be able to request a copy of some ancestors' birth certificates for a fee if they were born in this country. Unfortunately, not all states began keeping records at the same time.

7. Document the location of any and all information on your ancestors that you locate during your search. It is important to know where the information came from in case you need to verify something or retrace your steps. Set up a separate e-mail account for correspondence pertaining to your search for birth information and other records. Also save a copy of any records you download to a portable flash drive so you have a back-up and an easy way to carry your genealogy records when you travel.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that birth information listed in newspapers often did not list a child's name, just its sex, and also that the women were often listed by their husband's name instead of their own (i.e. Mrs. Harold Jones instead of Julia Jones).

• Be aware that names were often misspelled, even on legal documents. Look for variations or similar names and keep a list just in case.

References

• Genealogy.com: Glossary
• The Complete Beginner's Guide to Genealogy, the Internet and Your Genealogy Computer Program by Karen Clifford, A.G.; 2001Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore MD
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Genealogy by Christine Rose and Kay Ingalls; 2005, Alpha Books, New York

Resources

• Familysearch.org: Free Family History, Family Tree, and Genealogy Records
• Cyndi's List of Genealogical Sites on the Internet