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Question: How hard is it to determine your ancestry!?
My family has little information for me as they could care less about the details of our ethnic background or family history!.They don't remember their mother's maiden names!.
So my question is: How difficult is it to trace your family back to where the originated in, for my case, Europe starting out with only your grandparents' names!? Are there public-accessible records one can use!?
I'd love to do this, but have no idea where to begin and don't know if it's even possible!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
It all depends on where your ancestors are from, who they were, and how far back and detailed you want to be in your research!. Some of my ancestors were very easy and I have tons of information on them, others are simply brick walls that don't want to come down!. There's a reason why you meet lots of folks around here that have been in the hobby for 30+ years!.
To get started, write down everything you can find out from your living relatives!. Even if it seems scant, you'll be surprised how much it gets you started!. Next, download a free genealogy software program or buy one!. You can get the free one called PAF at http://www!.familysearch!.org!. That is a good site to start your research!. I'll post more in sources!.
Contact your local genealogical society or LDS family history library to find out about seminars in your area!. They'll really help with what's available where!.
Essentially the goal is to find birth, death, and marriage information but there's lots of other records you can use as clues: censuses, obituaries, passenger lists, immigration documents, guild or union lists, city directories, parish records, wills and probate records!.!.!.!.too many to list in full!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
The attached source has suggestions on how to research geneology!. It can be difficult!.
- You will have holes in your research!. The Queen of England knows her complete family tree for only five generations, beyond that there are holes!. However, she can trace certain lines back to over 50 generations to the time of the Romans!. These particular lineages are some of the longest recorded in the world!.
- My grandfather confused us by saying he came through Ellis Island, when in fact he landed in Philadelphia!. The church records in Spain were burned in a fire in the 1930's!. Records in Syria have been completely lost!. When one distant cousin tried to track down my great grandfather in Paris, it turned out his surname was Italian, so he must have come from Italy to Paris in the 19th century!.Www@QuestionHome@Com