How Can I Retrace My Family Tree?

Retracing your family tree helps you discover your heritage.

Genealogy, or the study of retracing your family tree, is an interesting way to discover your roots. The rapid development of the Internet, combined with massive amounts of public records such as birth, death and marriage certificates being uploaded, has made it easier than ever to discover your ancestry. Retracing your family tree can be rewarding and enlightening for you and your family to help you understand where you are from.

Instructions

1. Create a list of family members you are aware of such as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and others.

2. Navigate your Web browser to a genealogy site such as Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org.

3. Enter your name into the boxes as well as the names of any relatives you know of and click "Search."

4. Add names to the list you created based on the results found online.

5. Cross-reference results from Ancestry and FamilySearch to confirm accuracy and fill in missing gaps.

Tips & Warnings

• Knowing birth dates, places of origin and other things will help make retracing your family tree faster.

• Public records up until the 20th century were not always properly kept, so depending on your origins, it may be more difficult to find accurate information.

References

• Ancestry: "The World's Largest Online Resource for Family History Documents and Family Trees"
• FamilySearch: "Discover Your Family History"

Resources

• The USGenWeb Project: "Free Genealogy and Family History Online"