Genealogy - Finding my Ancestors
I started this project over ten years ago after my parents passed away. I felt the need to find out more about the ancestors of my parents. I didn’t start out with much information. My parents didn’t really tell us about relatives other than our immediate aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I didn’t expect to find much without my parents being here to ask questions. I decided to start with opening an ancestry account. After doing some research, it seemed that ancestry had much more documents such as census reports, birth and death certificates, marriage licences, and so much more. I’m sure there are other genealogy apps out there, but I have been pretty satisfied with ancestry.
After I got started searching, I would sometimes get to a point where I was just stuck. I realized that I needed more information from a family member. I contacted an aunt in the family on my dad’s side, and she had old scrapbooks and pictures that helped me so much to answer a lot of questions for me. She even told me some stories she had heard that had been told to her. It was really enlightening to hear the stories. It was at this time that I wished I had started this project when my parents were still alive so I could ask them so many questions I had. So my advice to anyone that wants to search their ancestors, if your parents are still alive, ask them lots of questions about your family. Seek out some of your oldest family members because they will probably be able to help you so much in your search. I am so grateful for the information my aunt shared with me, because she recently passed away. So far, I have been able to go as far back as the 1700’s and 1800’s. I have around 10,000 people on my tree. It is quite an accomplishment, but I continually work on it. There is always new information to add to your tree so I am never really done. Another feature that is wonderful is that you can add stories about the people on your tree. I enjoy reading the stories others post on their trees, and it’s very helpful to explain certain family situations and relationships.
Some other tips I have when searching your ancestors on ancestry are:
- Be careful with names. Always read the documents carefully and check not just the name, but the birth year and birth place. There are so many names that may be the same as your family member, so you really have to read through all the documents to be sure they belong on your tree. I have made this mistake, and you will spend a lot of time researching someone, only to find out that they don’t belong on your tree.
- Put the maiden name of the spouse on the tree. This really helps when you are viewing your tree and trying to find someone. It helps to know the maiden name. If the husband and wife have the same last name, you would have to click on that person to find out their maiden name.
- I sometimes get messages from people that have some of the same people I have on my tree. I have gotten some useful information by responding back. I have also found some distant relatives through messaging. So it’s a good idea to respond to people when they message you.
- One problem I ran into with the ancestry app is having duplicates. There is a way to look for duplicates if you make a habit of checking for duplicates when you add new people onto your tree. I believe Ancestry has an option for them to check for duplicates, but I think there is an extra charge for them to do that.
- What I found useful when researching my family history was there are sometimes copies of original death certificates. This was useful to me because it gave me an idea of my family’s medical history. For instance, I found that many people in my family had heart disease and diabetes. I also found that several people in my family from an area in Pennsylvania had tuberculosis. This may be something you might want to look at for your family history.
This journey I have been on has been so informative and enriching. When I research, I can sometimes imagine those times they lived in. I often wish I could have met some of my ancestors because some of them lived very interesting lives. This is one of my favorite hobbies because I believe I am leaving a legacy for my family for many years to come. I always want my children and grandchildren to know their family history, even though at the moment they aren’t so interested in it, but I believe one day they will want to know and my tree will be there for them. I really hope this has been beneficial information for you should you decide to start your own tree. It is truly a rewarding experience that I would recommend.
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