How to Start Your Family Tree
Many people are interested in finding out more about their family.
The study of your ancestors is called genealogy.
Some genealogists have traced their family back hundreds of years.
You may be wondering how you can get started tracing your family tree.
Getting started is generally easier than people think.
Here are a few easy tips and steps to get your started on finding your elusive ancestors.
The first thing you should do is print out a couple blank pedigree charts and a few blank family group sheets.
You can find free copies of these forms at genealogy websites like Ancestry or Rootsweb.
These two forms will help you keep track of what ancestors you have found, and where they fit in your family tree.
You will also want to start a research log to keep track of where you have searched and what you have found.
Once your pedigree chart, write your name and information, or the information of whichever person you are starting with, on the line farthest to the left.
This is person 1, or the root person.
Each new column of lines represents the previous generation.
So, the next two lines should be for your father (male line always on top) and mother (on the bottom).
Continue filling in this pedigree chart with as much information as you already know.
If you need more generations, start a new sheet.
You will see that underneath the names of the final generation on this chart is a place for you to put a number.
This is a way to identify which chart continue this particular line.
The family group sheet contains information just one family.
If you are starting your family research with your family, fill this form out accordingly.
You will put your father and mother's information in the tops slots and you and your siblings in the bottom section (children).
As you do your research, fill out one of these forms for each family in your family tree.
Once you have the pedigree chart filled out as much as possible, you can look at it to see what info you are missing.
Perhaps you don't know your grandparents names or when they were born.
Before you start searching through the records, take some time to talk to your family members.
As easy way to get information is to give them a pedigree chart and some family group sheets as ask that they fill both out as much as possible.
Though you will still need to track down the records to cite as evidence of this information, you will at least have a starting point.
If no one in your family has any information to help you, it's time to hit the documents.
It's usually easier to find a male, rather than a female, because female last names change when they marry.
The easiest way to start searching the documents is to go online.
There are a variety of websites for genealogists.
The biggest site, with the largest collection of online document is ancestry.
com.
You will need to purchase a membership in order to access the scanned originals of the records, but you can still perform searches for free.
You can either start by creating a family tree in Ancestry or by doing a search for the person you are looking for.
If you start a family tree, Ancestry may come up with "Ancestry hints" for your person.
These are either possible matches in their document databases, or possible matches in the hundreds of family trees that others have already entered.
If you choose to search, Ancestry will provide all possible matches, including alternate spellings of the names and more.
Be wary of copying information straight from other members' family trees.
Some people do not pay attention to what they are doing and just add people to their family tree willy-nilly.
There are people who think they've actually traced their lineage back to Adam & Eve.
You'll find Roman emperors that supposedly died in British Columbia, Canada.
Obviously, the validity of these family trees is suspect.
The best way to avoid adding false information to your tree is simply not to add anything that doesn't have evidence attached.
Census records, birth, death and marriage records, WWII registration cards, and much more count as real evidence.
Family tales passed down from generation to generation have a habit of changing drastically, so don't count them as truth until you can back it up with documentation.
Tracing your family history is a lot of fun, though it can be frustrating when you hit a brick wall.
Fortunately, with more and more historical documents being scanned and added to genealogy databases on the Internet, you may be able to break through that brick wall and find those elusive ancestors.
The study of your ancestors is called genealogy.
Some genealogists have traced their family back hundreds of years.
You may be wondering how you can get started tracing your family tree.
Getting started is generally easier than people think.
Here are a few easy tips and steps to get your started on finding your elusive ancestors.
The first thing you should do is print out a couple blank pedigree charts and a few blank family group sheets.
You can find free copies of these forms at genealogy websites like Ancestry or Rootsweb.
These two forms will help you keep track of what ancestors you have found, and where they fit in your family tree.
You will also want to start a research log to keep track of where you have searched and what you have found.
Once your pedigree chart, write your name and information, or the information of whichever person you are starting with, on the line farthest to the left.
This is person 1, or the root person.
Each new column of lines represents the previous generation.
So, the next two lines should be for your father (male line always on top) and mother (on the bottom).
Continue filling in this pedigree chart with as much information as you already know.
If you need more generations, start a new sheet.
You will see that underneath the names of the final generation on this chart is a place for you to put a number.
This is a way to identify which chart continue this particular line.
The family group sheet contains information just one family.
If you are starting your family research with your family, fill this form out accordingly.
You will put your father and mother's information in the tops slots and you and your siblings in the bottom section (children).
As you do your research, fill out one of these forms for each family in your family tree.
Once you have the pedigree chart filled out as much as possible, you can look at it to see what info you are missing.
Perhaps you don't know your grandparents names or when they were born.
Before you start searching through the records, take some time to talk to your family members.
As easy way to get information is to give them a pedigree chart and some family group sheets as ask that they fill both out as much as possible.
Though you will still need to track down the records to cite as evidence of this information, you will at least have a starting point.
If no one in your family has any information to help you, it's time to hit the documents.
It's usually easier to find a male, rather than a female, because female last names change when they marry.
The easiest way to start searching the documents is to go online.
There are a variety of websites for genealogists.
The biggest site, with the largest collection of online document is ancestry.
com.
You will need to purchase a membership in order to access the scanned originals of the records, but you can still perform searches for free.
You can either start by creating a family tree in Ancestry or by doing a search for the person you are looking for.
If you start a family tree, Ancestry may come up with "Ancestry hints" for your person.
These are either possible matches in their document databases, or possible matches in the hundreds of family trees that others have already entered.
If you choose to search, Ancestry will provide all possible matches, including alternate spellings of the names and more.
Be wary of copying information straight from other members' family trees.
Some people do not pay attention to what they are doing and just add people to their family tree willy-nilly.
There are people who think they've actually traced their lineage back to Adam & Eve.
You'll find Roman emperors that supposedly died in British Columbia, Canada.
Obviously, the validity of these family trees is suspect.
The best way to avoid adding false information to your tree is simply not to add anything that doesn't have evidence attached.
Census records, birth, death and marriage records, WWII registration cards, and much more count as real evidence.
Family tales passed down from generation to generation have a habit of changing drastically, so don't count them as truth until you can back it up with documentation.
Tracing your family history is a lot of fun, though it can be frustrating when you hit a brick wall.
Fortunately, with more and more historical documents being scanned and added to genealogy databases on the Internet, you may be able to break through that brick wall and find those elusive ancestors.
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