Familly tree

How to Trace Your Family Tree

How to Research Your Roots

1. A great way to start piecing together your family tree is to write down what you know. Trace back your earliest memories. Do you remember your great grandfather telling stories of his father? Write down the details, even if you aren’t sure of their accuracy. You can fact-check with your living relatives and other resources later.
2. Locate family photo albums, journals, and letters. These will be helpful in answering questions you have and will allow you to identify people you want to know more about.
3. Next, call your relatives. Chances are, someone in your extended family has already begun recording their side of the family’s genealogy. Gather stories, names, birthdays, hometowns, and details about the marriages of your ancestors. Now is the perfect time to live out any dreams you’ve had of being a journalist, because asking questions to your siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles will help you collect stories and give you a peek into your lineage.
4. Have you come across any veterans in your research? Request military service and pension records from the National Archives. These can help you learn more about your ancestors’ military ranks, medical histories, and immediate family members who inherited their pensions.
5. Explore local resources relating to genealogy. For example, many towns, cities, and states have historical societies and genealogy clubs. Our friends in Tennessee might wish to join the Tennessee Genealogical Society. If your family lived in a particular area for a significant amount of time, you could visit that county’s historical society to learn more about them. In addition, be sure to ask about your local library’s genealogy resources and online newspaper archives.
6. Take advantage of online tools such as the Ellis Island Passenger Search, the U.S. Census, and online newspaper archives by looking up your ancestors’ names. Check with your local library before purchasing a subscription plan on newspaper archive sites, because libraries often have subscriptions to online databases that you can access. Always keep basic Internet safety rules in mind before making online purchases.