anybody ever research their family geology??

[THE HITMAN]

I haven't, but my wife is into that. She had loads of books, brochures, pamphlets, etc. you name it. I am not sure how far pre-Ellis Island she got, but she can even tell you how much change our ancestors had in their pockets when they came over in the very early 1900's. You can find out almost anything.

 

[Ravenous]

Shamrock, when I was in high school I started to research mine. It can be a lot of fun. If you have oodles of time, you can do a lot of it yourself for free. It is also the type of thing you can do for an hour here and there, with weeks or months in between.

Try to find the oldest living relative you have and get the address of every family member you can. If you write to them and tell them what you are doing, they will generally reply and want a "copy" of the final product. You might find that a second or third cousin has already started on the project. Many years after I had quit doing it, a cousin of some degree found me. I gave him my information, and he shared his with me.

My aunt had done a family tree when she was in grade school. She got the information from her grandmother, my Great-grandmother. I started with that.

My Great-Great-Grandparents had 12 kids, so I tried to write to one person in each sibling group, even though 10 of the 12 were dead. I visited with the 2 who were still alive, and they were thrilled that someone cared at all about their history. Everyone was willing to share information. You might also find that someone else has started the project.

It was fun to start to figure out how I was related to old people I only met a few times at funerals.

If your ancestors were religious, that can be a big help. Churches have baptismal, marriage and funeral records. They will generally share the older information with you, if they know why you want it. The baptismal record includes the parents' names, etc. Marriage records typically include a reference to where the parties were baptized. You can use that to find their baptismal records, which might lead to their parents' marriage information, etc.

If there is a Mormon Church in your area, go there. They have a lot of research tools. I don't know about now, but in the past you had to order the stuff from Salt Lake City, but it only took a week or so to get here, and it was all free. It might be online now.

Also, the National Archives has a lot of information. They have a Soundex Indexing system, which can help you find ancestors with similarly spelled names. I was able to get a copy of the ship's manifest (passenger list) from when my great-great grandparents came to America. It was cool.

Also, look for an old census. The U.S. used to do it every five years. I don't think the current ones are public, but the ones from the 1800's certainly are. They include a list of everyone who lived in the house, complete with age and some other information. I think it included how many years of education they had, whether they spoke English, and whether they could read and write. It also included information on their professions. It was cool to see how they changed the spellings of names. (E.g., Klara became Clara, Francis became Frank)

The local register of deeds may also have information. Around the 1st World War many non-citizens filed affidavits disavowing any allegiance to the king of the area from which they came. I have a couple of those and they are cool.

The Courts have marriage licenses. These are generally public records, and usually include some good information. The Court also have probate proceedings. When someone dies, they have to notify all the heirs. One man's heirs are another man's relatives.

If you can go to these places the info is usually free and the copies are a dime or a quarter. If they have to do the research they will soak you. Most of the time the people who work there are willing to help.

Put your research on your computer. If you have Mac, then Geditcom is the ONLY program to consider. It is $50, but upgrades are free forever. It is the best software. I have a couple of PC's, too, but I don't like any of the PC software I've found. The Mac file can be exported to PC format with ease.

I haven't worked on it for years, but I still have my information around. My kids don't care, but I am proud that they can trace back ten generations.



P.S., Amhlilhaus, you didn't get much closer to spelling "GENEALOGY" correctly.

 

[Happy Hippo]

I did extensive research on this while I was in high school. On my father's side I traced it back to Anabaptists in Germany, some of whom were martyrs.

My mother's side I traced back to my royal bloodline...this man was my great xxxxxxxxxxxx grandfather...

Egbert, King of Wessex from 802 until 839.

My grandparents actually still have the original engravings that were made on paper of his shields.

You never know who you may have descended from - I think it's really interesting stuff...I am thinking about going back to England soon to reclaim my throne.

:hail :hail

I'm not sure how I traced it - mostly through family records and library research I think. I did it all back in the "olden" days of green computer screens and no internet...

 

[IntenseOperator]

I was hatched

 

[buddy]

King Egbert Of Wessex

 

[IntenseOperator]

King Egbert Of Wessex

looks just like Agent without the blond streaks

 

[3 Seconds]

You could always just pay someone to do it & save yourself the hassle......

 

[shamrock]

Amhlilhaus, you didn't get much closer to spelling "GENEALOGY" correctly.

ravenous, I noticed he also butchered the word, but saw no need to retaliate. Was really just looking for some information & opinions about Family history. For the record, I can spell somewhat, no brain surgeon or anything, but did get excepted to Brown, Dartmouth, West Point and some others.

With Dragon dictate software, you speak software types, mistakes are plentiful, and easy to correct, sometimes like anything else you just miss them.

Anyway ...... thanks for the many helpful answers ravenous, hh, va nurse etc. va nurse, maybe I will take you up on some assistance, thank you for the offer.

Ravenous, exactly as you mentioned, I was just thinking of this as a hobby, and as you said, it's something you can do in spare time, or whenever without constraints. I only have 1 grandmother still living who is somewhat ill, so I figure if anyone was to start this in the Family, now would be the time.

3 seconds, I realize I could pay someone, but that would really take from the experience. I would imagine it's somewhat interesting and fulfilling to learn of your ancestry and Family roots. I would imagine learning your Native American roots would be very interesting. Went to college with a full blooded Narragansett Indian. As I remember, it struck me at the time how much he knew of his family history. He was still very active in going to Narragansett meetings & events with "elders" etc. that had evidently told him much about his ancestors.

Anyway thanks for the insight & ideas.
Vinnie-yes, unfortunately that was true, broke my neck in a swimming pool in 1986, had just turned 21. As I said, operate my computer by voice, actually almost everything in my house I operate by voice, ...... thermostat, television, DvD, stereo, lights, doors, VCR, almost everything.
Operate my wheelchair, by breathing into a straw. Exactly how Christopher Reeves did before his passing, if you had ever seen him.

Murph-no I have never appeared on the Flintstones, although always was a big fan.:00hour

 

[JCDunkDogs]

Shamrock, when I was in high school I started to research mine. It can be a lot of fun. If you have oodles of time, you can do a lot of it yourself for free. It is also the type of thing you can do for an hour here and there, with weeks or months in between.

Try to find the oldest living relative you have and get the address of every family member you can. If you write to them and tell them what you are doing, they will generally reply and want a "copy" of the final product. You might find that a second or third cousin has already started on the project. Many years after I had quit doing it, a cousin of some degree found me. I gave him my information, and he shared his with me.

My aunt had done a family tree when she was in grade school. She got the information from her grandmother, my Great-grandmother. I started with that.

My Great-Great-Grandparents had 12 kids, so I tried to write to one person in each sibling group, even though 10 of the 12 were dead. I visited with the 2 who were still alive, and they were thrilled that someone cared at all about their history. Everyone was willing to share information. You might also find that someone else has started the project.

It was fun to start to figure out how I was related to old people I only met a few times at funerals.

If your ancestors were religious, that can be a big help. Churches have baptismal, marriage and funeral records. They will generally share the older information with you, if they know why you want it. The baptismal record includes the parents' names, etc. Marriage records typically include a reference to where the parties were baptized. You can use that to find their baptismal records, which might lead to their parents' marriage information, etc.

If there is a Mormon Church in your area, go there. They have a lot of research tools. I don't know about now, but in the past you had to order the stuff from Salt Lake City, but it only took a week or so to get here, and it was all free. It might be online now.

Also, the National Archives has a lot of information. They have a Soundex Indexing system, which can help you find ancestors with similarly spelled names. I was able to get a copy of the ship's manifest (passenger list) from when my great-great grandparents came to America. It was cool.

Also, look for an old census. The U.S. used to do it every five years. I don't think the current ones are public, but the ones from the 1800's certainly are. They include a list of everyone who lived in the house, complete with age and some other information. I think it included how many years of education they had, whether they spoke English, and whether they could read and write. It also included information on their professions. It was cool to see how they changed the spellings of names. (E.g., Klara became Clara, Francis became Frank)

The local register of deeds may also have information. Around the 1st World War many non-citizens filed affidavits disavowing any allegiance to the king of the area from which they came. I have a couple of those and they are cool.

The Courts have marriage licenses. These are generally public records, and usually include some good information. The Court also have probate proceedings. When someone dies, they have to notify all the heirs. One man's heirs are another man's relatives.

If you can go to these places the info is usually free and the copies are a dime or a quarter. If they have to do the research they will soak you. Most of the time the people who work there are willing to help.

Put your research on your computer. If you have Mac, then Geditcom is the ONLY program to consider. It is $50, but upgrades are free forever. It is the best software. I have a couple of PC's, too, but I don't like any of the PC software I've found. The Mac file can be exported to PC format with ease.

I haven't worked on it for years, but I still have my information around. My kids don't care, but I am proud that they can trace back ten generations.

Ravenous the Genealogist! Good info from someone who has obviously done more than a bit of genealogical research. Fun, isn't it? Like doing detective work, or something. And the computer makes it easier to keep track of these days.

I would only expand on your excellent outline by saying that it is wise (but slow) to start collecting BMD (Birth, Marriage, and Death) records for each parent, grandparent, etc starting with mom and dad. In this way, one may trace a line reliably, and sometimes stumble over things like adoptions.

Also, this detective work sometimes leads to creeping around graveyards. :scared :142smilie

 

[vinnie]

Man I didn't know that shamrock glad to see you get on with your life :00hour

 

[Phenom]

I am the 43rd' great grandson of Charlemagne, now everybody :hail to me.

 

[buddy]

How aggravating would it be to trace the ancestors of Sam Smith who married Samantha Smith? Or Joe Smith who married Josephine Smith? Or Tim Thomas who married Thomasina Tims?

kurby

 

[Eddie Haskell]

I heard YYZ traces back to Caligula.

Eddie

 

[VaNurse]

How aggravating would it be to trace the ancestors of Sam Smith who married Samantha Smith? Or Joe Smith who married Josephine Smith? Or Tim Thomas who married Thomasina Tims?

kurby

I ran into just this problem. Apparently the family (father's side) had a thing for the names Ann, Elizabeth and Delia. There are multiple Ann Eliza's, Delia Ann's and Eliza Ann's and it IS a bitch to try to tell them apart. There is also a lot of intermarriage between families, i.e. two brothers marrying two sisters, and duplication of the family name from cousins marrying. When I first found this, I thought I must be a redneck (family tree looks like a telephone pole), but a researcher pointed out to me that pre-automobile choices for mates were pretty much confined to the neighboring farms.

Another problem I encountered was the destruction of records that occurred during the Civil War. Many of the Southern courthouses were burned by Federal troops and the birth and death records went with them!

 

[redsfann]

My mother said she just used www.rootsweb.com and made a trip to the local Mormon temple, where they let anyone use their information to search for your family's history.

happy hunting, Shamrock.