How Do I Start My Family Tree?

Some of you may know that my husband and I are genealogists.  It is not a profession for us, but rather, a hobby. We are passionate about it, but it can be exciting, fun and frustrating.  We only research our own families.

I began my family research in 1974; my husband began his in the early 1990’s. I research the various branches of my mother and father’s families.   My family descends from European Jews.  My husband is adopted and his family is also Jewish Europeans.

My husband’s biographical is much more exciting.  We have met and become very close with his bio family, which has been wonderful.  In my hubby’s family, there have been kings and many well-known historical figures.  In fact, we have records going back to before Christ.

So, I’ve given you a very brief overview of the work my husband and I have done.  However, I know there are many people who would like to research their own family trees but have no idea how/where to start.  So I’ll give you a few tips on how to begin.

The most important thing is, right away, today if possible, talk to your oldest relatives - your grandparents or great Aunt Susie.  I started too late, after my grandparents were gone.  Many people like to talk about their childhood and family members who have passed.  Get as many first and last names of deceased relatives, and dates if you can.  Birth and death dates are important, but so are dates of immigration, marriage dates and dates of any important events your family can remember.

I highly recommend that you record the conversation for future reference and to keep in your records.  Allow your relative to tell stories if they like.  If they fought in a war, ask them about it.  Ask the name of your grandparent’s parents, and further back if they know them. Not only can the stories be fascinating, but they can also provide lots of helpful information that you may not realize was important until later.

The next thing I recommend is to visit a Family History Center near you.  Many cities have them.  They are operated by the Mormons (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), because family research is intertwined with their beliefs.  They have millions of records on microfiche and microfilm and more still in books.  There is always a volunteer that will help you get started.  If records you want to see are not at the location, they can order them from Salt Lake City at a nominal fee.

If you cannot get to a Family History Center, a huge amount of their records is on their website https://familysearch.org/. They have literally millions of records available to see on their site.

There are many great genealogy websites.  Some charge fees, and some are free. 

·        The largest and most well-known is http://ancestry.com.  This is a paid (and rather expensive) site, but you can research a few things on the site at no charge.  Many libraries have access to ancestry and you can use their service free.

·        http://findagrave.com has helped me on many occasions.  It is free.

·        http://ellisisland.org has phenomenal immigration records that often provide a great deal of information about the individual you are researching as well as their family.  Free.

·        http://cyndislist.org is like a directory of thousands of other genealogy sites.  Free.

·        http://myheritage.com provides links to others’ records.  This site is not free.

·        http://deathsearch.org is similar to findagrave, but they each have some records not found on the other.

·        If you have Jewish ancestry, there are two fabulous sites to research.  http://jewishgen.org and http://www.yadvashem.org/, which has many records from the Holocaust.  Both of these are free.

There are probably hundreds of other genealogy websites, but these will give you a good start.

To maintain your records, you can put everything on paper and/or use genealogy software.  I use Family Tree Maker, which is not among the less expensive.  There are free programs available online that may not have all the features offered by the expensive one, but they are a good place to start.  Check with the Family History Center to get the forms to complete about family members.  I believe you can download them from their site as well https://familysearch.org/.

I hope this information is helpful for many of you considering genealogy.  I do not do anyone else’s research, but if you need help with how to research, feel free to contact me.  I hope you enjoy tracing your own family tree as much as I have with my own.

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, in Russia, in Brazil…

Some of you may know that I have been researching my family history – genealogy – for nearly 40 years.  I am not a professional; it is just a hobby.  It is often frustrating, but it is also very exciting and interesting.

My husband also is researching his family tree.  He is adopted, but he knows his biological family well.  So he has been researching both is adopted and bio family. 

Because of the internet, genealogy is much easier today than it was when I first began.  My husband has found records for his bio family back to before Christ!  He didn’t conduct the original research.  Others did, but they shared it online.  I have not found any records for my own family beyond the 1700’s.

I have been asked by people here on IBO and others how I do my research.  For those who are thinking of starting their own family history or who have just begun, I’d like to share some suggestions.

The very first thing anyone should do when they start genealogy is to speak to your family, particularly older members of the family.  Interview them about everyone they remember, like their grandparents or great-grandparents.  It is great if you can record the interview to return to at any time, but certainly write down everything they tell you.  So much of the information I have acquired came from my parents, aunts and grandparents that I know I wouldn’t have nearly as many records as I do without their help.

There are hundreds of genealogy websites.  Most charge a fee, and some of the fees are very high.  Nearly everyone has heard of http://ancestry.com, which is one of the largest collections of genealogy records you’ll find.  If you subscribe to all their records, it can cost you well over $100.  They offer a seven-day trial for free if you want to just check it out.  However, many public libraries subscribe to ancestry.com and offer it as a free service.

Many of you may know that the Mormon’s (The Church of Jesus Crist of Latter-Day Saints) have a huge genealogy collection as well.  Researching their ancestry is part of their religion.  “We do it to obtain names and other genealogical information so these temple ordinances can be performed for our kindred dead.” (http://mormon.org/values/family-history) Both Mormon’s and non-Mormon’s can visit their Family History Centers throughout the United States (likely worldwide).  Volunteers will help you get started with their records.  They also have a genealogy website, http://familysearch.org where you can conduct research without charge.

Another great free genealogy site is http://rootsweb.ancestry.com.  You need not subscribe or pay here. 

If your more recent ancestry leads you to New York, you may find more free records at http://italiangen.org.  My family is Jewish with no Italian connection, but I have found many records there.

If your family immigrated to the USA through New York, you may find the manifest of the ship’s passengers at http://ellisisland.org.  Ellis Island was in operation from about 1890 to 1921, and millions of records are on the site.  Prior to that time, http://castlegarden.org has some records.  There have been many other points of entry over the years, including Boston, Philadelphia, British Columbia (Canada) and more. 

If you have Jewish ancestry, you’ll want to check out http://jewishgen.org.  They have a fabulous collection of records as well.  If your family was in Europe during WWII, you may want to also visit http://www.yadvashemusa.org/.  Their records cover Holocaust victims and survivors. 

Of course, if you can travel to your ancestors’ homeland, you can find even more.  There are many more genealogy websites, but the ones I have provided here are the ones I use most often and find valuable.

Good luck with your research!

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Genealogy Trip to BC

I have written about some of my genealogy research in the past.  I wanted to share one of the interesting “finds” my husband and I found yesterday.

We began exploring a particular branch of my husband’s family a few weeks ago.  They live in the South.  We’ve seen pictures of his great grandparents.  They could have posed for the painting “American Gothic.”  In the last hundred years or so, his ancestors have definitely been “hicks.”

We logged onto ancestry.com and began our search of the name Morgan. Over the past month or so, we discovered that, through his Morgan branch, my husband is related to Princess Diana and her sons, Humphrey Bogart, Daniel Boone and Sir Henry Morgan.  Henry Morgan reportedly was a pirate, and you’ll see his picture on bottles of Morgan’s Rum.  Springfield, Massachusetts has a statue erected of Miles Morgan, one of my husband’s ancestors.

We began yesterday’s journey through history where Martha Morgan married Joseph Perkins (both of whom are my husband’s 5^th cousin, 9 times removed).  We found that many others have researched the Morgan family, and there are dozens of trees completed and shared on ancestry.com.  Some had conflicting information, and they cited no sources for their information.

We looked at several trees until we found one that had written out phenomenal sources.  His search, apparently, was done in libraries, churches and government records.  The majority of my research is done online, because I don’t have the time or money to travel the world seeking records.  His records are public, so I used them, stating that he was the source.

So, we began using this one particular tree to see how his information matched ours and whether it went any further back in history than ours.  We began by selecting Martha Morgan’s father, and then we chose her grandfather.  We continued clicking on the father of each person we brought up.  We were excited when it kept going back further and further and the family members were from Wales.

After about 10 generations back, their last names disappeared.  They were not missing.  Last names are a relatively new thing.  In ancient times, for instance, my name would have been Julie daughter of Saul.  Everyone’s name ended with son of or daughter of ________.

We continued our travels back in time, and the names became so strange, that I really had to concentrate to spell them correctly in my records.  How about Lughaidh Sriabhn Dearg mac Fineamhas?  Or, Pedur ap Cyngar.  (Ap means son of; verch means daughter of.) Pedur’s father was Cyngar ap Gwrthefyr. 

Well, little by little, we went further and further back in history. The family went from Wales to Ireland.  We were soon at double-digit years of birth, and then single-digit years.  Can you imagine being born in the year 7?

It took several hours, but the tree finally did come to an end.  The earliest person we found was born before 142 BC in Ireland, and he died in 130 BC.  BC!  Can you imagine how long it took for this guy to trace the history for this family tree?  His sources were volume upon volume of books, many history books, bibles, church records, and government records.  It must have taken him many years to complete.

We did find a few, but very few errors in his records.  For instance, one person died at the age of nine, leaving behind a wife and two children.  Or individuals who were born years after their father died.  One woman had children starting when she was six years old. I’ll have to contact the author to notify him.

My husband’s Morgan line includes many Kings, Lords and Knights.  It was a very exciting journey through history.  And my husband’s descendants are recorded back to the year 142 BC!

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You Are Related to Whom?

I have written before about my husband and my interest in genealogy.  We only research our own history as a hobby, not as a business.

Being of Eastern European Jewish descent, although I love finding new family links, there are no well-known, famous or infamous people in my family tree.

My husband’s family, on the other hand, is amazing.  We have known for a long time that he was distantly related to the actor James Dean, Daniel Boone, one of the “Manson” girls (if you are unfamiliar with the name, you are fortunate), Abraham Lincoln, American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman and Robert E. Lee.  It is exciting to make these discoveries.

Over this past week or so, we began tracing another of my husband’s family branches and found that he is related to far more prominent and legendary people.  It has been such fun!

Among the kin to my husband are the American actor Humphrey Bogart who was his 13^th cousin, once removed, privateer and pirate Sir Henry Morgan (his picture is on bottles of Morgan’s Rum), and the late Princess Diana Spencer and her sons Harry and William.  Diana was my husband’s 14^th cousin, once removed.  Other historic figures who are related are U.S. President Millard Fillmore, and Miles Morgan, a Pilgrim whose statue was erected (and still stands today) in Springfield, Massachusetts to honor his services in settling the town, governing the colony, and fighting the Native Americans during the King Phillip's War. 

On the subject of wars, John Hunt Morgan, a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.

Also related is J.P. Morgan, a powerful American banker who financed railroads and helped organize U.S. Steel and other major corporations.

Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III, the playwright who wrote “The Glass Menagerie,” “The Night of the Iguana” and many others, was a distant cousin as well.  “Speaking” of writers, the poets John Robbinson Jeffers and Archibald MacLeish were also cousins of some sort.

Genealogy is a fascinating, frustrating and amazing hobby.  Going back another generation is always exciting to me, and when we discover names we know from history, it adds to the excitement.

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