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How to Research Your Family Ancestry - Hints and Helps

Start with Yourself
Fill out a pedigree chart (left), which begins with you and maps your family backwards. You can download one for free (and get more helpful advice) by registering at www.ellisisland.org. "Go as far back as you can," suggests Peg. "Sometimes you know more than you think."

Interview Your Oldest Family Members
"Relatives who were immigrants don't necessarily talk about their experiences," says Peg. "But if you ask them, they can be a treasure trove of information. And be sure to tape the conversation." Also, they may know other family members who've been looking into your genealogy.

Pore Over Old Bibles, Letters and Other Family Files
Lois Hickey of Cozad, Nebraska, who has been researching her family tree since 1981, says that her half-aunt provided her great-grandfather's Bible. "He came from Switzerland at age 13 in 1855 and settled in Iowa," she says. The pages, inscribed in German with his parents' and children's names, enabled Lois to find his mother's gravesite on a trip to Iowa.

Go to the Library
Before you invest money in your research, Jan Alpert, the volunteer president of the National Genealogical Society, recommends heading to a local library. While some of the websites mentioned in this article charge for access, you can use, for example, www.Ancestry.com for free at many libraries. And because genealogy is so popular, a lot of librarians are skilled at helping with these requests.

Get on the Web
Ancestry.com, the largest family history site on the web, lets you create detailed shareable family trees, look up historical documents (like military records, passenger lists and old newspapers) and—through their new AncestryPress division—make professionally printed family history books (left). "In 2006, when Ancestry.com had an offer of three free days, I hardly went to bed at night," says Lois, who received a subscription for Christmas this year. "I filled a whole notebook in just those days." www.RootsWeb.com connects people who are looking up the same ancestors. "I've found cousins and cousins who are searching the same family," says Lois.

Keep Digging Online
Other useful sites include www.USGenWeb.com (for free resources sorted by state), www.CousinConnect.com (to track down relatives), www.FindAGrave.com (for cemetery records), www.Linkpendium.com (for lists of links), Cyndi's List (for links sorted by location and topic) and Linkpendium.com (for historical documents).

Look Up Birth, Death and Census Records
Census records were taken every 10 years starting in 1790, and on the rolls you'll find information such as the names of all of the members of a household, occupations and parents' birthplaces. Check out the 1880 census records for free on FamilySearch.org, the website of the Family History Library, which is based in Salt Lake City and run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Also on the site, birth and death records will help confirm names, dates and locations.

Trace Immigration
Forty percent of Americans can trace their roots back to someone with records in the Ellis Island database. Once you have a name, plug it into the search on EllisIsland.org. If you find your ancestor, you'll be able to take a look at a picture of the ship, the passenger record and the ship's manifest (a list of passengers with answers to questions such as "calling or occupation," "married or single" and "whether in possession of $50, and if less, how much?"; left ).

Visit the Family History Library
Genealogy buffs from all over the world make pilgrimages to this library because it has some of the most extensive records in the world—with collections ranging from old censuses to Australian criminal records. Make the most of a trip by preparing in advance: "Get as much family information as possible so you have names, dates and places to work on. Chart the information to see what you're missing," advises Elaine Hasleton, the manager of library public affairs. "Records are generally sorted by locality. Before you arrive, go to our website to see what catalogs we have for the places where your ancestors lived."

Browse the Stacks at Other Libraries, Too
Some of the other libraries recommended by the experts in this article include the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research at the Houston Public Library; the Library of Congress (especially for military and census records); the Newberry Library in Chicago and the New York Public Library (check out the genealogy room at the main branch). State libraries and historical societies have documents such as naturalization records, and the New England Historic Genealogical Society holds extensive records on families in the region.

Pull Court Records and Church Histories
These sources will help you uncover family stories, including what happened to family land, which children fell out of favor, who ran into trouble with the law. Also, keep in mind what was going on historically: Was there a war going on? Was there a large migration westward? Knowing the historical context will help you piece together richer stories. "You'll have surprises," adds Jan. "One of my ancestors was one of the witches who was hanged at Salem—I had no idea."

Read County Histories
Once you know the counties where your relatives lived, look up a county's history in the state's library: Many counties did a history at the centennial (in 1876), and you might find a paragraph on your family, says Jan. Also, try Google Book Search—they've got many of the volumns in their archives of published material.

Get Un-Stuck
As you find your relatives, be sure to jot down all of their spouses, children and siblings. "If you can't find someone, look up their siblings," suggests Elaine. And try different name spellings. "It was not standard procedure to change names at Ellis Island—that's a common misconception," says Peg. "People were recorded with the name they came over with, and many names were changed at naturalization." To zero in on name spellings, check census records, which also sometimes list naturalization date. Then, look up the naturalization records in the National Archives. To locate people in between censuses, search tax lists.

Build a Database
"You really need to create a database to keep everything straight once you get going," recommends Jan. "I have several thousand people in mine, going back to the late 1500s in England." To start, she suggests the Personal Ancestral File software offered by the Family History Library. Later on, you might invest in more complex software that creates ged.com files (the type of files that serious genealogists use to store and share information).

Look Up Records for a Specific Race or Religion
For example, search African-American ancestors through the Freedmen's Bank records on ProQuest. After the Civil War, many African-American families received loans, and the records (sorted alphabetically by state) contain a great deal of information about the families who received the loans. JewishGen.org is a good resource for researching Jewish relatives.

Get More Involved
Lois participates in a local genealogy club and took three college classes on the subject. Joining a society or taking a class is a great way to meet people, says Jan, who adds that the National Genealogical Society offers conferences, newsletters (with information such as reviews of software and advice on tracking down certain records) and online courses.

Learn About Deep Ancestry
National Geographic's Genographic Project charts the migration patterns of our first ancestors. "When your DNA is copied in each generation, sometimes there are tiny little changes—like typos—in the sequence. Those changes become markers of descent that link people back to a common ancestor," explains Spencer Wells, PhD, the director of the project. By analyzing the DNA of indigenous cultures (who always lived in the same places), the researchers can pinpoint where the changes originated. Already, they've uncovered evidence of very tiny populations in Africa that date back 200,000 years—prehistory that no one knows about. They can also see the impact of more recent historical events, such as the Crusades.

Get Your Own Analysis
If you'd like to learn about your own ancestors' migration patterns, order a cheek swab kit for $100 at www.nationalgeographic.com/genographic. Your DNA gets analyzed and stored anonymously, and a portion of the proceeds will go toward projects aimed at preserving indigenous cultures. You'll get information on the ancient journeys of your ancestors and an interactive map. As the project continues and more information is revealed, you'll be able to log in to the Genographic Project's website with your anonymous ID and learn more about your history.