How to trace back to my roots?

Question:ok so i'm really interested about learning aboutmyself.

i want to find out:
what countries my ansestors came from
how far i can trace my ansestors
am i slavic?

details: i am bosnian. that's in southern europe. i need to know if i'm in anyway slavic, if some of my ansestors are turkish or any other culture.
THIS IS NOT FOR SCHOOL. this is for myself.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: ok so i'm really interested about learning aboutmyself.

i want to find out:
what countries my ansestors came from
how far i can trace my ansestors
am i slavic?

details: i am bosnian. that's in southern europe. i need to know if i'm in anyway slavic, if some of my ansestors are turkish or any other culture.
THIS IS NOT FOR SCHOOL. this is for myself.

Start with your parents, then their parents, and then their parents...

As I am unfamiliar with the culture in Bosnia, I will give you information that worked for me here in the U.S.A.

Try these:
Free sites: there are several to choose from. Start with:
http://www.searchforancestors.com/...

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

http://www.usgenweb.com/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.rootsweb.com/

http://www.ukgenweb.com/

http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.familysearch.org/

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

http://www.cyndislist.com/

To find out for certain what bloodline you have, take a DNA test. I used www.familytreedna. They sent me a test kit with 2 swabs I used to swab the inside of my cheeks, I sent the kit back and about 3 weeks later they sent me the results. I tested both yDNA (Dad's side) and mtDNA (Mom's side). I received a written report and have access to their website which lists folks with similar DNA and countries of origin of my ancestors.

Much of the results of the DNA test follows along with the paper trail. I have traced my ancestors from Greenland, all over Europe, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Egypt, Africa, Asia, South America, Australia, Polynesia and Atlantic Ocean Islands (such as the Canaries.

From what I have read of the history of Bosnia, I would imagine your DNA trail covers a lot of countries in Europe and the Middle East at least.

its simple really if you know your own last name, maiden names of your mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, etc. etc. etc.
type their names in google.
i know when i type my last name in google it comes up with a bunch of irish things.

For starters, I would use a search engine... i.e. yahoo, google, etc., type genealogy your surname and go from there. Then goto a web site such as Cindi's List...many links for other genealogy web sites. Then try a large web site such as genealogy.com or ancestory.com

You start with your parents and go from there. Make sure you keep good notes because you'll forget where you found the info and it'll take hours to track it again. Ask parents and grandparents about their lives. You'd be surprised by the wealth of info you get. I picked one of my surnames that was unusual and that was much easier than searching for say Smith.

There are bulletin boards where you can ask for help. People who are searching for the same names share info. It's much easier with the internet!

www.rootsweb.com is a good website to start with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosniaks#Su...
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http://www.distantcousin.com/Links/Ethni...
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these are some sites that might help you
but to start what you can do is start with you as the first person, then your parents and any siblings
grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins.
a good place to keep a record is www.ancestry.com, they have a way you can do a free family tree. if you look at one you know exactly what you need in reference to information. there was a program that is free that i use from ancestry, i dont know if they still have it but is called ancestry family tree once you download it you can use it online and offline to enter information, also ancestry has a free 14 day trial to give you a chance to try it out. hope this helps..good luck

First of all, get as much information as possible from living family members,particularly your seniors. Tape them if they will let you. They might be confused on some things but what might seem to be insignificant ramblings and story telling might turn out to be very important.

Go to your public library and see what all they have in genealogy. Some libraries especially in large cities have a lot. Your library might have a subscription to Ancestry.Com of which you can avail yourself. Ancestry.Com has lots of records.
They have all the U. S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 is not available to the public yet.

Now be very careful about taking as fact everything you see in family trees on any wesbite, free or paid. Most of the information is not documented. Even when you see the same information over and over by different submitters, a lot of copying is being done without verifying. Use the information as clues as to where to get the documentation.

Call your nearest Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church and find out if they have a Family History Center. They have lots of records on people all over the world, not just Mormons. In Salt Lake City, they have the world's largest genealogical collection.
Their Family History Centers can order microfilm for you to view for a nominal fee.

They are very nice and won't try to convert you. I have never had them to send any of their missionaries by to ring my doorbell.

Courthouse records, deeds, will etc.

Vital records, births, marriages and deaths will usuually be at the county courthouses and also at the Bureau of Vital Statistics with the state. Now, different states handle these things differently.

It wasn't until the first quarter of the 20th century that vital records were recorded by any governing body in the U. S. Some states started later than others. Also even after the governing bodies within the states started recording the information, a lot of people born or died at home were not recorded.

FamilySearch.org(LDSsite) and Rootsweb are two free websites. However, the internet only has a small fraction of the records available.

Good Luck!