How do I find ancestors i don't know?

6 Comments

1. Justme says:

   June 23, 2010 at 8:35 pm

   You will need to know names date of birth and city they were born in also it i good to know what they did for a living. Ancestry is good but cost about $300 a year, you can try this site it’s free

   http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Search/frameset_search.asp
2. Cheryl says:

   June 23, 2010 at 8:35 pm

   I use ancestry.com, which is very helpful. I started off as a free member, and then eventually purchased a U.S. Membership because it’s easier to access the records that way.

   You need to have at least your grandparents’ names, and preferably your great grandparents’ names.

   If you have any more questions about it that aren’t answered, or would like some help, please feel free to email me. I enjoy helping others discover their ancestors.
3. wendy c says:

   June 23, 2010 at 8:35 pm

   Genealogy is the process of finding who they are. The whole goal/ challenge. It is like a bingo, every time you find a new connection.
   Good for you to know that records are involved.. but that does not always mean a website. Remember, genealogy and your ancestors lived long before computers.
   Pull out your birth certificate (yes..even though you know who your parents are). You just started the process. You used a record, which creates the habit. Now, mom and dad’s birth certificates name their parents. If a grandparent is not living, you order their death certificate. Those born pre 1930 in the US can normally be found in the census. Other records include wills, probate, church records, biographies in history books, tombstones, photos.. it is huge list, and what applies, is dependent on the person/place/time. This is not the same at all as sites that have "family trees" which can be wrong. You want the documents. The key is imagination as to WHAT DOCUMENT works. By always working from you back..you know each step along the way that yes, those are the right parents..now, for the parents of that one. Skipping steps means possible errors.
   There are thousands of sites to use..don’t limit yourself. I do offer http://www.cyndislist.com as source for those thousands of sites. You will have some costs along the way, but your skill determines how much you spend at a time, and for what.
   And we are free, by the way. We do best with "I need to find the burial place for grandma Mary Jenkins, who died in 1875 in Missouri". This tells us who to look for and where. So, we are not spinning wheels looking in Irish records.
4. Jesstine says:

   June 23, 2010 at 8:35 pm

   You can try it here http://www.recordsdetective.com.
5. Michelle F says:

   June 23, 2010 at 8:35 pm

   one i use sometimes is family search.org which is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ( Mormons) it is free and quite extensive in its database
   i would start with you do know and go backwards which is what my mum did in researching our history. talk to people like cousins of and aunts or uncle’s of either of your parents and your grandparents and ask what they know or remember as this is often your best bet before going online
6. Nothingusefullearnedinschool says:

   June 23, 2010 at 8:35 pm

   Ah, this is fun. You want records; unless they are "personal", such as "family Bible", they only go back about a century and a half (2 generations for my ancestors)
   But, if you just want to look, try these:
   You should start by asking all your living relatives about family history. Then, armed with that information, you can go to your public library and check to see if it has a genealogy department. Most do nowadays; also, don’t forget to check at community colleges, universities, etc. Our public library has both http://www.ancestry.com and http://www.heritagequest.com free for anyone to use (no library card required).
   Another place to check out is any of the Mormon’s Family History Centers. They allow people to search for their family history (and, NO, they don’t try to convert you).
   A third option is one of the following websites:
   http://www.searchforancestors.com/...

   http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739...

   www dot usgenweb dot com/

   www dot census dot gov/

   http://www.rootsweb.com/

   www dot ukgenweb dot com/

   www dot archives dot gov/

   http://www.familysearch.org/

   http://www.accessgenealogy.com/...

   http://www.cyndislist.com/

   www dot geni dot com/

   Cyndi’s has the most links to genealogy websites, whether ship’s passenger lists, ancestors from Africa, ancestors from the Philippines, where ever and whatever.

   Of course, you may be successful by googling: "john doe, born 1620, plimouth, massachusetts" as an example.

   Good luck and have fun!

   Check out this article on five great free genealogy websites:

   www dot associatedcontent dot com/article…

   Then there is the DNA test; if you decide you want to REALLY know where your ancestors came from opt for the DNA test. Besides all the mistakes that officials commonly make, from 10% to 20% of birth certificates list the father wrong; that is, mama was doing the hanky-panky and someone else was the REAL father. That won’t show up on the internet or in books; it WILL show up in DNA.
   I used http://www.familytreedna.com which works with the National Geographics Genotype Program.