If you are trying to verify that you are related to a specific ancestor, then the YDNA for a male ancestor or mtDNA for a female ancestor are the way to go. Note that since only men have a Y-chromosome, women who want to use the YDNA test will need to have a close male relative, such as a father or brother, take it for them instead. Y-DNA tests are particularly useful for people whose ancestors changed their surname at some point in time.
The test used most often in genealogical research is the autosomal DNA test, because it is the most useful for linking you with close living relatives. Because of that, an autosomal DNA test is only useful for those related within about five generations third cousins or closer. For the purposes of this guide, we'll mention three companies that do genealogical DNA testing. In fact, there are several.
Beginners Guide to Genealogy
Watching the methods and resources used in these shows can be a great introduction for beginner genealogists. Finding Your Roots can give you a good overview of different methods genealogists use in tracking down information. Not only that, it has gone on to ten other countries as well, including the U. Like Finding Your Roots, Who Do You Think You Are features a different celebrity guest on each episode and uses a range of genealogical methods and resources to trace their family histories.
The people featured in the show are not celebrities, but everyday folks who have been searching in vain for years for their missing relatives. Another PBS offering, Genealogy Roadshow visits historically important locations, where the hosts help those with specific genealogy problems find their answers. Get one good basic guide, such as Genealogy for Dummies.
If you know you are going to be doing a lot of research on a specific area, consider picking up a guide for that area. Here are a few books that I highly recommend. There are many other good sources out there, but these are ones I know are great. Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills - documenting your sources is essential in genealogy, and this comprehensive guide shows you how.
Organizing Your Family History Search by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack - helps you plan out your genealogy searches in advance, saving countless hours of wasted time. Long Distance Genealogy by Christine Crawford-Oppenheimer - find and obtain documents and family records from libraries, archives, family history centers, microfilm, and the internet, all without leaving home. Courthouse Research for Family Historians by Christine Rose - helps you navigate the often confusing but vitally important records located in county courthouses.
They are often available at your local library as well, especially if it has a genealogy section. In most cases, the only time you should need to hire a professional genealogist to help you is if:. If you do decide to hire a professional, you should look for one who has been accredited by one or more bodies. So there you have it, everything you need to get started on what for many is a lifelong hobby, and for some even a profession. Genealogy is all about understanding the history of your family. People get started with genealogy for a variety of reasons: Genealogy is the study of our ancestors: Family History Some people will tell you genealogy and family history are the same thing.
Both genealogy and family history rely on the same records and the same research methods. Why You Absolutely Have to Start Today When I was 13 years old, all four of my grandparents and five of my great-grandparents were still alive. By the time I was 23, every one of them was gone, together with their stories and memories. The longer you wait, the more will be lost.
Records get destroyed, on purpose or accidentally; people pass away. Organize Your Findings Ready to jump right in? On Paper Regardless of what else you do, you should have a way to file physical documents.
6 Reasons You’ll Love Genealogy!
On the Computer There are a variety of computer programs you can use to organize your genealogy, too. Always use the surname she had at birth. Start with the Census Many folks just starting out in genealogy start with census records, and for good reason. When it comes to genealogy, you cannot ignore the world that your ancestors lived in, either. Was there a war, civil unrest, famine, religious persecution? Why did your ancestors settle where they did? Why did they move when they did? Always be learning One of the best things about genealogy is that you're constantly a student.
Census Records What Is the U. Information Available from the Census From to , census takers listed the name of the head of each household, together with the number of people living in each household divided into age ranges and by sex. S census click to enlarge. In general, the later the census, the more information it includes. How Information Was Gathered One of the most important considerations in using census records is understanding how the information was gathered.
One of the most common reasons was that no one was home. Census Date One thing to keep in mind is the date that the census was taken. S census residence section. To make matters worse, the official census date has not stayed the same. From to , the date was June 1 actually June 2 in , because June 1 was a Sunday. Be aware of the official census date and how it might affect your search. Places Change From one census to the next, your ancestors could be living in a new township, a new city, a new county, or even a new state, all without moving an inch!
A town may adopt a new name. A county might be split in two. New states were being formed even into the s. You need to be searching in Union County instead. Is it Worth It? Absolutely, without question, yes. While the census may have its issues, it is very easy to search. Birth certificate for President Obama. Some states have them online, others you may have to request by mail.
Before around , many birth records were kept by counties rather than the state. They may also include lists of friends or relatives who were witnesses for the marriage. Counties and states maintain marriage records, and many are now digitized and online. These are mostly only found in church records.
Ultimate Beginners Guide to Genealogy
Baptism record of President Martin Van Buren. Wills and Probate Records These records vary widely in the information they contain, but can be great sources for names of children or other relatives, and clues about where to look for property or other records. Deeds and Land Records Deeds and other land records track land ownership, and will list the name of the buyer and seller as well as the date.
Passenger Lists If your ancestors emigrated to the United States, they had to get there somehow, and for most of history, that meant a ship. These columns often reveal invaluable information about close family members. Naturalization Records Once your ancestors arrived, they likely wanted to become citizens.
Draft Cards Several drafts have taken place in U.
Guides to Genealogy Research for Beginners
City Directories Before there were phones and phone books, there were city directories. These can tell you not only where your ancestors lived, but their occupation as well. Some city directories are available online, while others can be found in local libraries. Family Bibles If you can track down an old family bible, you may find a treasure trove of genealogical data. Cemetery Records Cemeteries keep records of every interment which may include a lot more information than you think, including not only date and place of death but the place of birth, parents, spouse, and even names of children.
It helps you feel a direct connection with your ancestors. Just as important, going in person gives you the chance to check other graves nearby. And finding photos of your ancestors may not be as hard as you think. Others places you might find photos include: Many libraries and historical societies have photo collections, too.
Interviews Written records are not the only source of information; one of your best sources is other family members. Interviews can also help you understand why some records contradict. There are three big keys to interviewing: Where to Find Common Records Online Resources There are literally hundreds of thousands of websites dedicated to genealogy and family history, but not all are created equal. Here is a rundown on some of the most important and useful websites for your research. FamilySearch is entirely free for anyone to use.
You may even find a drawing or photo of your ancestors if you're lucky. Some libraries maintain a subscription to the site, too. If your ancestors ever served in the military, you have a good chance of finding them there. Fold3 not only includes official records, but photos, stories, and personal documents as well. The site also includes forums where you can ask all your grave hunting questions. Find A Grave is free to use. It basically lists every genealogy site on the web. Yes, every single one over , at the moment.
And it is constantly updated as new sites appear and old ones vanish. Family History Library The Family History Library houses the largest collection of genealogical materials in the world. This includes books, magazines, microfilmed documents, and more. National Archives The U. National Archives in Washington D. Examples of records you can find in the National Archives include: While many of these records are now available online, many others are not. A trip to the National Archives can help you learn a lot, but only if you plan ahead.
One of these might be a much closer, less expensive trip if they have the records you need.
How to Get Started Researching Your Family Tree
State Libraries Each state maintains a state library, and they are often a good place to start looking. Some records that you can expect to find at state libraries include: Local Libraries Your local library may have more than you think, especially if your family has lived in the area for several decades.
Local libraries are great resources for: Courthouses The county courthouse where your ancestors lived likely contains some valuable records that may not be found anywhere else, such as: But in some cases, they might be your only source for births and deaths, too. Unfortunately, most church records are not available online. Worse, many of them have been lost over the years to fires, floods, or simple neglect.
Still, the rewards can certainly be worth the effort. Genealogical Societies Every state, nearly every county, and even many towns have a genealogical society. State genealogical societies will carry many of the same kinds of records as state libraries. A Note on Searching Outside the United States Chances are at some point you are going to trace your ancestors back to when they arrived in the United States.
Every country has organizations and resources similar to the ones already mentioned. DNA Tests Over the last ten to fifteen years, DNA tests have become a popular way to pursue ancestors and locate long-lost family branches. But how do they work, and what do they actually tell you? There are three types of DNA tests, and they all tell you different things. Autosomal DNA looks at how similar certain sections of DNA are to other living people, and works best to locate cousins and others who are related to you within the past four to five generations. YDNA testing examines only the Y-chromosome, so it only works in men, but can trace a male line back for many generations.
YDNA is only passed from father to son ie your father, your father's father, and so on You order a kit You use the kit to collect a DNA sample either a saliva sample or cheek swab You return the kit to the lab, which creates a genetic profile In roughly six to eight weeks, your results are emailed to you. An autosomal DNA test can help your genealogical research in two ways: It gives you a general idea of your ethnic background — that is, the regions from which your ancestors came It can connect you with others who have been tested and are a close match.
The further back you go, the more mergers have taken place. On the other hand, mtDNA changes extremely slowly. You can choose from any of the three tests You have the option of using a tool to connect with others but only if they are using it, too Considered the most accurate for determining regions of origin through mtDNA or YDNA testing.
You can choose from any of the three tests Lets you contact and be contacted by everyone with matching markers Allows you to upload data from tests run by other companies Considered the best overall by genealogists for autosomal DNA tests. The show uses genealogy to connect relatives who have never met one another before. Genealogy Roadshow Another PBS offering, Genealogy Roadshow visits historically important locations, where the hosts help those with specific genealogy problems find their answers. So here are my general recommendations: Buy one guide for organizing your research, and one for documenting it Then stop, and consider the states or countries you expect to research.
Stop there for now. You can always buy more later, or, to save money, borrow them from the library as you need them. Books Here are a few books that I highly recommend. Here are just a few of the most popular: All of these have websites, so you can get an idea of what they cover. Hiring a Professional Not sure you want to do all the work yourself, or that you even can?
You might consider hiring a professional, but it will cost you. In most cases, the only time you should need to hire a professional genealogist to help you is if: You can find lists of accredited genealogical researchers at: The Association of Professional Genealogists www. One general rule of thumb is to use birthnames; people change their names for various reasons, often for marriage, and consistently using birthnames will make it easier not to confuse people.
Same goes for nicknames—maybe your great-grandmother went by her middle name instead of her first, or everyone called your distant cousin by a nickname. This tree will serve as a valuable framework that helps you keep track of everyone and the relationships between them. Sort of like making a character map for a complicated work of fiction like Game of Thrones! Ask them to share stories about their own lives and about their parents, grandparents, and other members of the older generations.
Do they have old photos, records, or historical items they can show you? Jump to our section on oral history below for more tips. These records tend to be very accessible: Census records are therefore an excellent first foray into the vast world of family records and documentation that awaits you. Here is an overview of the many and varied kinds of records you will use to learn more about your family.
The census is a solid record of people living in the United States all the way back to the 18 th century. There are gaps in census records however—for example, most of the census went up in flames! They are accessible online through Findmypast. You can also check in with your local public library to see if it has census records available, or if it can order them for you through interlibrary loan.
Because of the way the census is set up, it can sometimes be hard or impossible to tell that two people are related simply by census records. It can even be tough to determine who was married to whom. It should be noted that before the 20 th century and in some areas even later, lots of people could not read or write, so you can expect some creative name spelling in census records. Plus, some people with foreign names had trouble getting them spelled correctly in the records. The fictional Gatsby was born to a poor farming family with the name Gatz, but he changed his name to Gatsby at age 17 so he could fit more easily into American high society.
These kinds of name changes were quite common, especially among German, Jewish, or Irish immigrants trying to avoid discrimination. As a side note, the myth that immigration officers at Ellis Island took it upon themselves to change immigrant names is just that, a myth. In fact, immigrants themselves were most often the ones who decided that a name change was in their best interests. There actually is a way to get around the issue of inconsistent name spelling. In this system, Smith and Smythe will both appear in the same group of names because they are simply alternate spellings of each other.
Soundex even adds some more unusual variants of names. It really is the best way to sort your way through the confusing maze that can be English spelling before literacy rates increased substantially. Many people did not keep track of birthdays, so you can expect ages to be rough or even contradictory. John was 19 in , so how is he 24 in ?! This may all sound discouraging, but as long as you keep in mind that census data is flawed in some cases, it can be incredibly useful.
The census gives you names. The census gives you dates. The census gives you places. Louis, Missouri for , and San Francisco, California in , they were probably chasing after the gold rush. The census allows you to see where they were and when they were there. Later censuses also include some additional information.
Censuses conducted after supply information on every person in the household, including age and where they were born. This makes later census data a lot more useful as it allows you not only to track individuals, but their families as a complete unit. As you do this, be aware that towns change their names, new states form, and counties split, change names, or move.
So if you know you had an ancestor in a certain area but cannot find records online, try to find out if the place they lived has changed names over the years. Where do you go now? Well, since you should now know where they lived in a given year, try the official courthouse records of that town or city. Some but certainly not all of these records are now online, available through sites like Ancestry. Local courthouses themselves typically have records on paper if you still live in the area or are willing to travel.
Court records include birth and death certificates , documentation of marriages and divorces , adoption records , deeds and property transfers , records of legal issues , tax records , and wills —basically anything that attracted the interest of the government enough to be written down. Looking to track down some old family heirloom? Court records of wills may be able to help you with that one. Of course, as the records get more recent, they also tend to get more complete and detailed, as already noted regarding census data.
These books may or may not mention the ancestors in question, but they will almost certainly provide valuable background information which can help you narrow your search. Land records are some of the most interesting records for learning more about the lives of your family members. If your ancestors went West in the 19 th century, for example, they may well have used the Homestead Act of to acquire their land from the Federal Government.
If this is the case, then there should be a written record of the transfer, and the BLM should have a copy. A note on African-American ancestry: Another interesting aspect of land sale records is that after the Civil War, quite a few freed slaves decided to abandon places where they had been previously held in bondage and go West. The edge of the expanding nation offered them opportunities that they did not have in the post-bellum South.
This searchable website offers a wealth of records, including land records as well as information on military service and family matters such as births and marriages. Land sale records may tell you where some of these former slaves went to build new lives for themselves.
Were they Oklahoma Sooners? Or maybe they eventually traveled as far from their old oppression as they could, and participated in the Alaskan Gold Rush in the Yukon. Land records have real potential for revealing not only when and where individuals were, but also some of their motives. Unlike the census, land records on their own tell a real story. The census simply shows who lived where and when. But land sale records show where people moved. You may have to speculate, but these speculations will be grounded in solid historical evidence. Perhaps your ancestors escaped slavery in Georgia and moved to New York, left New York due to debt, and then acquired land in what is now the state of Kansas.
And then if you find them leaving Kansas and buying land in Wisconsin in , they may well have been fleeing Bleeding Kansas , the violent prelude to the Civil War. Could they have been part of the historic Rapp Road community? Most people who now call themselves American have ancestors who came to the country by ship from somewhere else. How should you go about tracking your immigrant ancestors through history? Since most immigrants arrived by ship, passenger lists are a good place to start.
Depending on the list, you may find information such as: Naturalization records will show you when and where your ancestors were accepted into the United States. Where to find these kinds of immigration records? You can find this index through World Vital Records. Some passenger lists and naturalization records are now available online. To find applications for naturalization, try local court records.
By knowing when and where your family members came into America, you can begin to track them as they moved through the nation. Once you know where your ancestors began their lives in the United States, you can use census records or land sale titles to pinpoint them further as they carried out their lives. Of course, given the chaotic nature of war, records may be incomplete, but this is a great place to start.
You can also ask people within your family, since military stories are often the type that get passed on through the family for generations. Though your grandmother may have only been an infant in the First World War, she may well have sharp memories of what her father told her after he returned. This gets a bit more into the category of oral history, so more on that later. Where else to look to find further details on your family so that you can have a real story about their lives?
These records will naturally include births , baptisms , marriages , divorces , deaths , burials , and the like, but may also have details on education. Also, what if you think you have a link to someone who lived very, very long ago? For instance, a medieval European ancestor? Well, in the pre-industrial West, churches were effectively the best in some cases only source of written material. Using some of the sources above, you may manage to track some of your ancestors all the way back into the 16 th century or beyond.
Medieval and early modern genealogical research is tricky—more on this topic below. It might be morbid, but death records have a lot to teach us! These sources include death certificates , grave markers , and obituaries. The first is a good way to find where, when, and in some cases how your ancestor died. These are almost always stored in a local courthouse, but as already noted, websites like Ancestry should have these records in digital form for ease of reference.
Grave markers are a bit more personal and are typically not included in online databases unless they are special or unique in some way. Nonetheless, try searching Findagrave. Grave markers of course include names and dates, but may also contain additional facts, details, or quotations which either the deceased or the family thought significant.
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Many tombstones include details like military unit, profession, or major achievements. They are often grouped by family, so you can find entire family units together in one place. This is great, because now instead of knowing plain, dry facts, you can actually catch a glimpse of what the person was like. Obituaries can do the exact same thing if written well. Obituaries not only give information on birth, education, career, and death, but often include more personal details. What music did the person like? Tastes in art or literature?
Obituaries, again, if they are well-written, can work wonders in not only giving you plain facts, but in humanizing the person in question. Among records of death, obituaries possibly have the most potential to take your ancestors from names etched on headstones to real, breathing ghosts of who they once were. If you are searching not only for dry facts and dates, but also for details that bring your ancestors alive in your mind, then obituaries are likely to serve you well.
The simplest way to go about collecting photos is to call your relatives—odds are someone has an old photo or two floating around. In addition to asking your relatives, you can wade through online collections of old photos: Online photo collections are hit-or-miss, but definitely worth a search. If you get the chance, visit the National Archives in Washington D. The Archives are a phenomenal resource to any genealogist. Many of the kinds of records described above are housed here. Visit their website to get a sense of how the collections at the National Archives can help you and to start planning your visit.
On a more local level, consider a visit to your State Library , as these libraries contain similar records census data, old newspapers, and so on and can put you in touch with librarians and other genealogists. Genealogical research can be painfully time-consuming, but there are websites that have done some of the work for you by collecting and compiling data.
These sites include the well-known Ancestry. Struggling to find the exact database you need? Remember that many of these sources charge a subscription fee, which can be hefty and also add up over time. To keep your expenses low, check with your local library or university library, which probably has a subscription to all sorts of sources.