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Question: How do I start looking for my family tree!?
My parents are both passed away and I am looking for more info on their family tree!. Last name Bradley and Butler!. Covering the North Carolina area!. Where do I start!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
May I suggest that you invest in a book called unpuzzling your past by Emily Croom!. She takes you step by step!. It's only about $20 and and excellent book!.

Use the net only as a tool as there is so much bad research out there and it can lead you down the wrong road quickly!. Always use documents such as birth, death, marriage certificates, obits, family Bibles, etc for your documentation!.

This is not a cheap hobby by any means but well worth every minute of time you spend looking for your roots!. I have spent the past 20 yrs and still have a lot of holes but have found some really interesting stuff!. Wish I had paid more attention in history class!. A lot of this stuff would make more sense to me now!.

Good luck in your questWww@QuestionHome@Com

Holly gave you a great answer!. Don't expect to find it all online!. also, names by themselves will not necessarily give you your genealogy as not everyone with the same surname comes from the same root person!.

A good website for original source records is Ancestry!.Com!. They have all the U!.S!. censuses through 1930!. The 1940 and later are not available to the public yet!. They have military, land, immigration and other records!.They have indexes to vital records of many states!. Not all records are online but the ones you can find will save you time and money traveling all over North Carolina going to courthouses, libraries etc to get them!.

They have transcribed the records but you can view the original images!. There are errors in their transcription, particularly on censuses but when you view the original images you will have pity on the transcribers!. Censuses from 1790 through 1840 listed heads of household but from 1850 onwards, all family members are listed!.

Just a word of caution, they have family trees and family trees on their website or any website must be verifed!. They usually are not documented or they are poorly documented!. They are submitted by the subscribers!. There are errors!. You will see different info on the same people from different subscribers but even when you see the exact same info from different subscribers on the same people that is no proof it is correct!. A lot of people copy without verifying!. The information can be useful as clues as to where to get the documentation!.

I am always warning people about this and a week ago I really had confirmation when I was looking at a family tree and found me, my sister and my brother-in-law were all dead and we died in Newton, Sussex County, New Jersey!. The only time my sister and I were ever in New Jersey was back in 1956 when we drove through going to and from New York!. Looking at the tree, relatives on both sides of my family married and died in New Jersey!. My ancestry is primarily southern American colonial except for some Irish ancestors that immigrated to Savannah after the uprising of 1798 and a set of great great grandparents with my great grandfather who immigrated from Prussian Poland through the Port of New Orleans in 1853!.

If you set up your family tree on Ancestry!.Com's website, they will give you hints regarding records on people that appear to be in your tree!.
Make sure it is the same person!. also they will give you hints regarding people in someone else's family tree that you have in your tree!. Be careful!. Don't automatically add spouses and children without checking it out!. Genealogy!.Com use to encourage people to merge other person's trees into theirs!. I don't know if they still do, but Don't do it!. People who do that are too interested in getting a lot of names in their tree rather than a good verifiable family tree!.

A good free source is a Familly History Center at a Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church!. They have records on people all over the world, not just Mormons!. In Salt Lake City, they have the world's largest genealogical collection!. Their FHCs can order microfilm for you to view for a nominal fee!.

I have never had them to try and convert me or send their missionaries by to ring my doorbell!. I haven't heard of them doing that to anyone else that has used their resources!. Just call the nearest Mormon church or visit their free website, FamilySearch!.org, to get their hours for the general public!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

go to geni!.com !!!!Www@QuestionHome@Com