Just because you are called a royal pain now and then, does not necessarily mean you descended from royalty. Or does it? One way to find out is to trace your family history. Genealogy is the study of one’s roots and is a fascinating adventure into the past. Before the Internet, most family histories were created from hand-me-down stories told by elder family members or notes scribbled in the family Bible. They contained some truth, and a lot of hearsay. Today, genealogists have access to all kinds of records through the Internet, which helps produce more accurate and detailed pedigree charts (or family trees) than were ever possible before. The government has been keeping tabs on people for generations and much of this information is accessible through these sites, including census data, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, immigration data, and much more. On these sites, you will also find tools that make it easy to organize and compile the data you unearth. A genealogy search is a fascinating project, whether you descended from a long line of kings … or not.
- Ancestor.com (http://www.ancestor.com)
- Genealogy.com (http://www.genealogy.com/)
- OneGreatFamily.com (http://www.onegreatfamily.com/)
- FamilySearch.org (http://www.familysearch.org)
- Gov-Records.com (http://www.gov-records.com)
Tips:
- Before you get started, gather documents you may already have: family bibles, birth/death/marriage certificates, obituary notices.
- Contact relatives, asking specific questions to help you in your quest: i.e., When and where was Aunt Martha born?
- Check on the Internet to see if anyone has already produced a family history that connects a branch with one or more of your relatives.
- Approach the project as a detective, armed with patience and perseverance.