How do I find what countries my family came from?

Question:

How do I find what countries my family came from?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Start with your name and those of your parents. See if they or your grandparents have any information. Pick their brains a little about any stories, etc. When I got started, my mother got out the family tree her grandmother had helped her make years ago. It went back a couple more generations (still in the US), and there was a small note that my great-grandma had written that said something about that line being from England according to family legend. So I started researching that line online, and it turns out there are lots of descendants, and found out that they were indeed from England - but also some up that line came from Germany and the Netherlands, and possibly France. This was only one line of my ancestry, too. It's fascinating!