Trace My Family Tree: Finding Ancestors and Making a Family Tree

Like many Americans, my ancestors came from all over the globe. Even my last name is comprised of two different languages. Instead of feeling like a European mutt, I decided to trace my family tree to perhaps uncover a lineage to be proud of.

At some time in life most of us wonder about who our ancestors were and where we came from. For some people that interest sparks when we are young; for others, later in life.

Thankfully, I have more than one relative who is fascinated by genealogy and family history search. Several of my aunts have been studying public records and building our ancestry tree for several decades.

Because of all of their work, tracing my family tree was fairly simple. I can look back over many generations to see where my family came from and how they came to be in America. If you go back far enough you can even find a United States President in my family tree. That certainly was more than I had hoped to discover and a heritage to be proud of for sure.

If you want to know more about your ancestors, building a family tree is a great way to get those answers. There are many public records to access that can help you begin to build your family tree. You have free access to birth, death, and marriage records. You may even think about trying one of the many genealogy websites out there that can help you build a family tree.

You can get a good family tree starter kit here for less than $9.00. It is available for immediate download and comes with step-by-step instructions to show you exactly how to complete a family tree on your own. This one is so simple, even students can use the templates for a family history search school project.

I had a good start to find my ancestors with the charts my Aunts have. Still, I was surprised when looking online, that somebody else out there had started building my ancestry tree. You may also find that a detailed family tree already exist with your name on it.

Other popular web sites include OneGreatFamily.com and Ancestry.com. These web sites are used by millions of people trying to build their own family tree. They also contain an endless amount of records that you can pour through to see if your ancestors are included.

Knowing who you are and where you came from can be an amazing gift. Many people do not know who their ancestors are and are unable to put together a complete ancestral history for themselves. Why not be the one in your family who puts all of the pieces together?

Just like in the TV show “Who Do You Think You Are?”, knowing how your family came to be in this country and where their ancestors lived before can open up a whole new world for you. We live in an amazing age of technology in which so much information is readily available for our use. I was glad I got online to trace my family tree and you will be too.

 
Where to Start Family Tree Searches?

Before you begin an ancestry search, you might start with talking with your living relatives about your history. Unfortunately, unless someone else has already done a lot of the work, that will only take you so far. Still it is a good place to start providing bits and pieces of the puzzle.

The next step is to get an ancestry tree template to fill in the names as you do your research. When I began to trace my family tree, I looked at a nicely drawn lineage chart that my relatives already had. However, I wanted my own template that I could use online.

You might also want to download a template and instructions on how to fill it out from genealogy websites. Then you can begin your family tree searches.

I might suggest that you not have too high of expectations as to what you will uncover. While tracing genealogy is interesting, it can also be frustrating at the same time. You may get far in tracing your family tree, but you will always find that you come upon a wall once in a while.

No matter what you do, you can’t seem to find any more information. Sadly, even though you are thinking, “I really want to find my ancestors,” your search will come to a screeching halt without the next name on the tree. In my personal experience, these searches can take you in a hundred different directions. You will need some spare time if you want to get anywhere.

Before you embark on a trip out of town to visit a court house to follow up a lead in your ancestor search, check things out on the Internet.  The most advertised genealogy website is Ancestry.com, but there are several others to look at as well!

Using some of the fee sites for your family tree searches can be helpful, but they often are lacking some of the information you need. You can use the web to help you search for the name you can’t seem to find anywhere else. Things may come up, but remember, you may be sent through a tangled maze of sites to find what you need. Nonetheless, it might just be buried out there somewhere.

Just remember to back up each time you add new information from your family tree searches. Losing everything might make you put your project away for another time out of pure frustration. I know that has happened to me.

Really, this is when genealogy software and an online family tree template and easy genealogy guide comes in handy. It means you can leave the messy paperwork behind and save everything on your computer. The last thing you want to do is to lose the names, dates, locations, and other valuable clues that you may have found along the way.

Interested in getting the companion guide to the TV series? Go to Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History. Features step-by-step instructions from one of America's top genealogical researchers. Answers questions on how to trace my family tree and covers everything a beginner needs to know. - A Find My Ancestors recommendation.