How Can I Get My Ancestry Done?
The increasing popularity of genealogy has spawned a wealth of resources for use in tracing your ancestry. Use online or hard copy materials, or a combination of both; living relatives often are a good source of information about family ancestry as well, and usually are the best place to start your search. If you don't have the time or interest to pursue this yourself, professional researchers are available on a fee basis. Contact your local library or genealogical society to find a genealogist or researcher for hire, or go through a professional organization such as the Association of Professional Genealogists.
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Things You'll Need
- Names and vital information of recent ancestors
- Established family tree information
Instructions
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First Steps in Tracing Your Ancestry
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Talk to your parents, grandparents and other older relatives. Ask specific questions about their family members' names, birth and death dates, marriages and parentage. Write down or otherwise record all information. You can create your own formats for recording the data, or download free forms from a site such as Ancestry.com to help organize your material as you collect it. Make notes of street addresses, cemeteries, churches, or other specific locations your relatives mention as these will be useful for further research.
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Ask family members to give or lend you family pictures, letters, records and Bibles. Each of these sources may contain valuable information about your ancestors. Request land records, wills and military records as well, if those exist.
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Go to a major online genealogy information site; these have subscription costs (see Resources). Enter the name of a known relative to begin your search. Carefully review search results; save or record those related to your relative.
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Find a Latter-day Saints (Mormons) Family History Center in your area (see Resources); these are valuable sources of the extensive records maintained by the Latter-day Saints Church in Salt Lake City, and you can use copies of their specific materials, such as census records, parish records, or military rolls on microfiche, in your research.
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Go to the county seat to review some vital records, land ownership records and wills. Criminal records also are sometimes available. Visit local churches in the towns where your ancestors lived -- churches usually kept thorough records of marriages, baptisms and burials. Visit the cemeteries where ancestors are buried to note data on the tombstones and photograph the stones.
Professional Resources to Trace Your Ancestry
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Contact your local library, or county or state genealogical society, to find researchers for hire. Costs will vary depending on the experience and qualifications of each researcher; most charge an hourly rate. Provide them the basic information you have and clearly outline what you want them to research on your behalf. Researchers you are likely to find this way often are volunteers or general researchers rather than professional or certified genealogists so are likely to charge less than professionals.
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Go to the website of the Association of Professional Genealogists or ProGenealogists to locate professional genealogists for hire. Search by the state, area or specialty relevant to your family history -- for example, African American history, Irish immigrants, or the New York city area. Costs for these professionals likely will be higher than for those located in libraries.
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Have your DNA tested to determine your general ancestry characteristics, such as racial makeup or general ethnic and national origins. Prices will vary depending upon the level of specificity you seek. You cannot use DNA evidence to definitively prove relation to a specific past ancestor, however, unless DNA from that individual is available for testing and comparison.
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Tips & Warnings
Talk to your living older relatives for names, dates, and anecdotes about your ancestors.
Write down or record all the information they give you to avoid future confusion or memory lapses. Even stories or vague recollections might prove useful in piecing together an overall picture of your ancestors or their lives.
Family letters, pictures, or Bibles are all good sources of information about family members and their times. Treat these and other old records with respect and care and return them in undamaged condition.
Do not assume everything in the online resources is accurate; some of these sites rely on information entered by individuals doing their own research, and the degree to which this research has been verified or confirmed with official documentation varies greatly.
No legitimate genealogist will guarantee specific results, since records' existence and availability vary widely. Do not hire anyone who promises to "find you 10 generations of ancestors" or makes similar claims.
References
Resources
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