Family Search – What are the first steps?

Family Search….If genealogists’ from 1900 were able to time travel to the present time, the technology involving genealogy now and the availability of research tools would be overwhelming.  But even it genealogy research tools have changed, Genealogy itself has not, and therefore, research strategies remain the same.

To begin your family search you do not require more equipment than a sharp pencil, a rubber and a paper as you should start by writing down what you know of your family tree starting by yourself and going backwards.

Once done so, you should search at home for things like scrapbooks, birth, death and marriage certificates, school records,  family bibles, diaries and letters, old photographs, and memorabilia boxes.

After this, you can continue checking whatever information or extra documents might have the oldest members of your family.  You will surely find they will be more than happy to collaborate and share their stories with you. Some family members may have old genealogical information from other relatives who have also worked on the family history.  This can help jump start your family search! Care should be given that the information is verifiable and is not word of mouth information; this can create a lot of problems for you later down the road.

A tip from my personal experience: pay special attention to handwritten notes on the sides of any document and on the back of old photos. You never know where they can take you. My father was wise enough to take notes on pencil on the back of the photos he used to take or receive from his family in Europe.  This is something he learnt from his father and has been quite useful to me in my family search journey, cause without such notes I would have never been able to guess who was who on certain photos, or that a certain house in a certain photo was the natal house of my great grandparents in Pontevedra.   He even got to know he was registered as a Spanish citizen by his father because a note I found out in 1990 in a photo of both -his father and himself as a little boy- that had the seal of the Consulate of Spain in Uruguay and a handwritten note on the back mentioning this was the passport photo. This finding made me guess his father -that was born in Spain- might have registered my father –born in Uruguay- as a Spanish citizen at the time of including him on his own passport he renewed for taking his family to Europe in 1936.  When I shared my guess with my father,  he energically denied so, as he had memories of his parents discussing whether if he should be registered as Spanish as per my grandfather or as Italian as per my grandmother.  My father was convinced that nobody won the discussion and that he never got a second nationality, but in fact he was mistaken.  Following my guess, I went to the Spanish Consulate in Uruguay, and found out that my grandfather, with or probably without my grandmother´s approval, registered my father as Spanish.  And thanks to this finding, my father at the age of 59 got his own Spanish passport, and so did the rest of the family.

Other tips:

• Search your family tree online to find out if another relative has started the same family search.  This can save you a lot of time and money. And why not, you may end by working together.

• When building your family tree, best focus on one family lineage at a time. Or identify a potential story about a family member that calls your attention to begin exploring.
• Watch self-help YOUTUBE videos related to family search to get ideas of how to start  building your knowledge base of records and methods for tracing your family tree.

Putting the information together

• Once you have gathered the necessary information for a basic family tree, even if it includes some guesses, you might try using the help of online family tree software and build your family tree on line, on a place like ancestry.com or myheritge.com.
• One clear advantage of using family tree software offered by places like com is that you can work both on proven facts and on guesses. Ancestry.com provides you with hints that help you find out the actual information.  The more information you feed ancestry.com with, the more hints ancestry.com gives back to you.
• As mentioned in a previous article, for those just getting started on their family-tree research will be better to begin by using web-based software which generally offers a more-attractive, less-overwhelming interface, and in this sense, the two options mentioned above are convenient ‎
• However, there are also some downloadable resources for family tree building like WinFamily, Genbox, and AncestralQuest14 –also discussed in previous articles- that could be workable for newbies.

Is it hard to get this information?

• Depends on what information you require and what countries of origin your ancestors came from.  Information in some countries is incomplete, or in some war torn countries this information could have been destroyed over the years.
• Language can also be a barrier with foreign countries and you might require the services of a translator.  For informal and low cost translations,  you can post requests online in places like upwork.com

Have a great journey digging in your own history!!!

By, Carmen Vazquez Sibils

Family Tree or Genealogy Software

Genealogy Software – As you learn more about your ancestors and family history you will start to feel the need of saving the specifics of their lives as carefully as possible. The more advanced amateur genealogists -as well as professional genealogists- help themselves with downloadable genealogy software besides other tools available at genealogy websites.

A little bit of history:

1. The first genealogy software available to the public (1979) was “Genealogy: Compiling Roots and Branches, by John J. Armstrong”. It was written in Microsoft BASIC for the TRS-80 by Radio Shack.
2. Another genealogy software -PAF Version 1 – was released in 1984. It was written in BASIC for the IBM PC (also Microsoft) and did not include GEDCOM.
3. Commsoft’s Roots II came out in May of 1984 for the IBM PC.
4. Just in 1986 PAF 2.0 was released and it was the first genealogy program to include GEDCOM exchange.

 

• Genealogy software makes research, data organizing, source citing, document transcribing, conclusion making, proof arguing, report writing, and chart making easier, minimizes paper storage and saves a lot of time.
• Genealogy software allows online research by accessing websites, capturing document images, adding source citations, etc.
• Genealogy software also facilitates the creation of your genealogy web pages.
• Most of the software will let you print out charts of ancestors, descendants, family trees, and more.
• Some genealogy software offers integrated sources that can match members of your family trees and automatically add information you confirm to your tree. Others require you to copy and paste data, and some don’t link to sources at all.
• Most genealogy software links directly to popular genealogy sites like FamilySearch, Ancestry.com and MyHeritage.
• Last but not least, genealogy software allows for the export of data in the GEDCOM format (short for GEnealogical Data COMmunication), that is a standardized format that enables to easily upload all or part of a family tree data in a way that is compatible with other genealogy software and therefore allows to share this information and facilitates collaboration.
• More advanced features include:

1. The ability to restrict the information that is shared, usually by removing information about living people out of privacy concerns;
2. the import of sound files
3. the generation of family history books, web pages and other publications
4. direct access to public census records, but as of now, you can only search records up to 1940, so you may need to build several generations before you find anything relevant.
5. the ability to handle same sex marriages and children born out of  marriage.
6. In general, the most thorough programs also let you run reports to help you figure out what you’re missing, and they can flag inconsistencies and duplicated people, as well.

Since many programs perform the essential functions and the best choice for you often depends on personal preference and what Operating System you using, Windows or Mac. Web-based programs are obviously compatible with all platforms.

What family tree genealogy software is available?

At present, the top family tree downloadable software available is:

• Legacy 8.0 Family Tree.  This is probably the best family tree software available at present.  It has an in-app browser that allows you to research your family online directly from the software, and when you find new information, the program can import it directly to your family tree. Legacy creates appealing charts and reports that help you visualize your family line and share your research with others.  Last but not least, it has an excellent quality/cost relationship ($29.99 U.S.) and is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux. Download available at: http://purchmarketplace.com/pc-software-legacy-family-tree-deluxe-8-0-download?&ICID=ttr-cid|48|pid|452|pos|

• Family Historian 6. This genealogy software helps you to find information easily and quickly: it has automatic internet data matching, a map window that maps locations of places and a timeline to register events such as birth, marriage, divorce and death. The lack of background templates and aesthetic tools make the software’s charts best for online publishing and record keeping. While it allows GEDCOM import/export, it doesn´t allow direct import from other programs. There is a standard version that is free but doesn’t include many of the best features. Of course you can always download its full version – just for Windows- at $49.95 U.S. at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q8VI7YG/?&tag=ttr_genealogy_soft-20&ascsubtag=[site|ttr[cat|48[art|NA[pid|457[tid|NA[bbc|NA

• RootsMagic 7. This genealogy software is very easy to handle: the search fields in the browser are simple and only ask for a given name, surname and a date range. Features include, searching the web directly from Rootsmagic and publishing the results to your web page or CD etc. You can also search directly through the software on general search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. Download is available for Windows and Mac at $29.95 U.S. at: http://www.rootsmagic.com/download/rootsmagic-7

• Ancestral Quest 14. This is one of the easiest and most versatile genealogy programs to use. It is perfect for the beginner and powerful enough for the advanced genealogist. Easy data entry, keyboard shortcuts, scrapbooking, and sourcing capabilities. A good thing about Ancestral Quest is that it has several tools for calculating relationships and searching for individuals in a huge database. However, the program does have issues with catching errors and design. Download is available from $29.95 U.S. for Windows and  $38.95 U.S. for Mac at: http://www.ancquest.com/orders.htm?url=http://www.ancquest.com/orders.htm&affiliate=Ropelato&merchant=gaylonfi

• Heredis 2015. This genealogy software is very user friendly.  Combines its software with a genealogical database which can help you research and create your family tree, lineage charts and entire books to map your family If you work closely with online sources and share your research often, Heredis is a good choice. This genealogy software has Wi-Fi and USB syncing, as well as web capabilities that sync your material to another PC, Mac or other iOS device. It also has a knack for recognizing different devices that plug directly into your computer. The most important feature is undoubtedly the search tool for online Archives as it gives you access to departmental and municipal archives, military records and libraries all around the world. Heredis also connects to its own genealogy search, Heredis Online, in addition to popular genealogy search sites like FamilySearch, Ancestry and MyHeritage. However, it has a “but”: is not compatible with DNA test results. Download is available at $49.99 U.S. for Windows at: http://www.heredis.com/en/heredis-2015-for-windows/ and for Mac at: http://www.heredis.com/en/heredis-2015-for-mac/  A demo version is also available for download.

• Family Tree Heritage™ Platinum 9. The strength of this genealogy software lies with its organizing and sourcing tools. Besides this, it brings access to billions of records. Features include one-click searches for records, organizing findings into custom lists, creating a family reunion contact list and publishing a family book. Even if it covers the must-haves of ancestry software it has room for improvement with its customizing and publishing features. Download is available for Windows only at $24.99 U.S. at: http://purchmarketplace.com/family-tree-heritage-platinum-9-download/?&ICID=ttr-cid|48|pid|59884|pos|

• Brother’s Keeper. This genealogy software is not for beginners but for serious genealogists who want to build an accurate family tree, keep a research log, and create extensive charts and reports, as even if charts on Brother’s Keeper are basic they can fit up to 1,200 nodes for a pedigree chart. The outdated look of this program makes it hard to navigate. However, research and recording is unlimited, and it has room for up to 100 million people in the genealogy database. Download  is available for $45.00 U.S.  just for Windows at http://brotherskeeperstore.sotres.yahoo.net/brotkeepforw.html

• Genbox family History. This user friendly genealogy software has all the best software features: family tree charts, genealogy research reports, search, media, full source citations, and much more. You can add parents, spouses and children to an ancestor with only a few clicks. In fewer than 10 clicks, you can also export or import a GEDCOM file. Most genealogy software either produce great graphical charts or offer useful tools for organizing your family history but not both: this is not the case of Genbox as it handles both things properly. If you want a basic genealogy program that allows you to chart, organize, and build a database quickly Genbox can be your choice. However, be aware that there is not a problem-spotting tool in this program, leaving Genbox unable to catch obvious mistakes.  Download is available for $29.95 U.S. at http://www.genbox.com/  Before making up your mind you can download a free trial that remains available for 30 days.

• Win Family 10 edition 10.0.2.0 (feb 2015) is one of the easiest genealogy programs to work with. As beginners get the quickest start into the world of genealogy, professional genealogists find all the functionality they expect. WinFamily puts the focus on each individual in the family tree, allowing you to create a highly detailed profile for each person. This program is tricky to navigate, but data entry features like custom categories allow you to tailor your database the way you prefer. Unlike other programs, there are no web search options, in-app browsers or web hints available in this software. Of course, you can still use a browser of your choice to look through genealogy sites; however, you can’t import the information you find into WinFamily directly. You have to cite them in the program as you come across them. Download available just for Windows for $87.00 U.S. at:  http://winfamily.com/?page_id=2    A demo version is also available for free with full functionality for 21 days.

Conclusions:

• Ease of use is crucial when it comes to software. Those just getting started on their family-tree research will likely fare better with Web-based software which generally offers a more-attractive, less-overwhelming interface. In this sense ancestry.com and www.myheritge.com would be smart choices. ‎However, some of the downloadable resources mentioned above might be considered by beginners (WinFamily, Genbox, AncestralQuest14)

• On the other hand, professional genealogists and the more advanced hobbyist genealogists looking forward to organizing it all, will find in the downloadable software mentioned above a better way to fill their needs.

By, Carmen Vazquez Sibils

Where can I find information about genealogy websites?

 

Where can I find information about genealogy websites? You feel proud of your family history and of course, a sense of responsibility might make you preserve the past for future generations. You are in need of finding distant relatives or find long lost family relations for different reasons. Or perhaps, you just feel curious about your family history and origins, or you are thinking about adopting genealogy as a hobby.  Whatever your reason might be, achieving results in this field will provide you with a great sense of self-satisfaction.

Hobbyist genealogists usually help themselves with genealogy websites among other tools.  For more advanced ones, genetic ancestry is also an important tool, especially when there are blanks to be filled out.

To demonstrate kinship and pedigrees is not an easy task, but technology helps us in our investigative attempts to be our own family genealogists.   Researching online saves a lot of time; we all know this.  But even if it sounds easy, it isn´t. To get the right answers we need to pose the right questions, and sometimes even this is not enough: genealogical research is a complex process and reliable conclusions are based on the quality of sources; ideally, original records.  So if you are willing to embark yourself in this exciting but also difficult issue, get ready for following different clues including indirect or circumstantial evidence and for sometimes getting answers quite different from the ones you expected.

 

What information do we need to gather? Is it hard?

In the early days of “pre-internet” family search needed to be done by hand; we had to collect information, write it out or maybe record some testimonies from different family sources, get documents, try to make handmade trees out of the information obtained, etc.

Nowadays, it is much easier to get this information, even though still a lot of manual work needs to be done.  Genealogy sites help us in this task.

• Start your research by collecting family documents and testimonies. This creates a foundation for documentary research.
• Begin with the present and work backward in time.
• There are a number of genealogy websites solely dedicated to genealogy and family history, like com that even include a lot of tools to make your work easy, for example, taking not only the information you have but also accepting your guesses and helping you to verify them.
• Records like family trees, vital statistics, birth, marriage and deaths, census, immigration, military, school yearbooks and telephone directories etc. are available online by a number of websites.
• In case you feel like digging deeper, there are a number of professional genealogists out there that can help.

Nowadays, some of the top genealogy websites are:

• www.familysearch.org -FamilySearch is a genealogy organization operated by the Genealogical Society of Utah (“GSU”), the genealogical arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch maintains a collection of records, resources, and services designed to help people learn more about their family history. FamilySearch genealogy website includes many resources and offers free access to them even if you don´t share their religious beliefs.

• www.ancestry.com -This is the most used subscription based genealogy website: anyone can click on the Learning Center tab and then First Steps for a site orientation. Many how-tos in the Family History 101 section are free to use, too. Once you have a membership, you can search digitized records and indexes from around the world. Use the Family Tree tab to create your family tree and post photos and stories, which you may share with others.

• www.onegreatfamily.com -OneGreatFamily is an online genealogical service which allows everyone to combine their knowledge and data to build one huge, shared database.

• www.mytrees.com -Their mission is to provide a platform where genealogists from around the world can share their research with others. To be a comprehensive research center they are indexing sites on the Internet of genealogical and family history value.

• www.wikitree.com -Wikitree’s mission is to grow a free family tree that connects us all on a free basis. Balances privacy and collaboration so that living people can connect on one world tree to common ancestors.

• www.findmypast.com – Some services in searches for findmypast include: census, immigration & travel information, birth, marriage and death registers, information related to military service, etc.

• www.myheritage.com – This genealogy website includes several innovative features and many are free: build family tree, run simultaneous searches across major genealogy databases, create a family website, find help on message boards and more. MyHeritage charges for some search results and once your family tree reaches a certain size.

• www.geneanet.org -Geneanet represents a community of nearly two million members who share and exchange free genealogical information: more than three billion people listed in family trees, acts scanned postcards, family photos, civil recounts accessible through powerful search tools, a wiki and a blog.

• www.geni.com -Geni aims at building the definitive online family tree. Using the basic free service at Geni.com, users add and invite their close relatives to join their family tree. All Geni users can share photos, videos, and documents with their families and merge those into the single world family tree, which currently contains over 100 million living users and their ancestors.

• afrigeneas.com -Afrigeneas provides resources for those researching African-American roots. Start with the Beginner’s Guide under the Records tab, then search marriage, death, surname and slave data databases under the same tab. (Also check AfriQuest.com <afriquest.com>, a free online archive for users to share items relating to African-American genealogy and history.)

• archives.com -This service gives you access mainly to US censuses, vital records and old newspapers in the United States, and some in the United Kingdom. The Help Center answers basic questions about searches and account information. The Learn tab leads you to how-to articles and video tutorials on many topics, including how to construct a family tree to share with relatives or post on Facebook. This inexpensive site is a fantastic beginner option.

• familytreemagazine.com – This genealogy website offers a lot of tools and how-tos for beginners. The Get Started tab introduces you to the research process. An on-line archive of how-to articles is keyword-searchable and packed with content from past issues of the magazine and web-only extras. Even if a lot of the content of this website is free, paying members have access to more features.

• findmypast.com -You don’t have to be a member of this genealogy website to access the site’s Get Started section, which offers a user-friendly guide to the research process, or its Learn More section with more advanced how-to articles, but subscription gives you access to more resources.  You can search records (best for the United Kingdom and growing for the United States) and build your family tree on the site.

• jewishgen.com –Make this your first stop for tracing Jewish roots. Under the Get Started tab, choose First Timer for an introduction to Jewish research and the site. Search databases of Jewish surnames, family trees, towns, Holocaust victims and burials. Contribute your data to the centralized “family tree of the Jewish people.”

• mocavo.com -This search engine is just for genealogy. It provides a central tool for searching records in other relevant locations on the internet, and lets you upload your own trees and documents. Basic searches are free (great for uncommon names); more-detailed searches require a subscription.

Please bear in mind:

• The efficacy of each site with reference to your own search depends on where your ancestors are from, among other things.

• Genealogy websites may be geared toward a specific religion, with fields relevant to that religion, or to specific nationalities or ethnic groups, with source types relevant for those groups.

By, Carmen Vazquez Sibils

Find your genetic ancestry or blood relatives

How to find your genetic ancestry or blood relatives? We as human beings are all part of the human story, a history yet to be revealed in many ways. We know our ancestors migrated from their African homeland to populate the earth thousands of years ago, but from then on, there are a lot of questions still to be answered, like the role of the Crusades in dispersing genetic lineages across Europe and Asia.  Since the human genome was decoded, big projects are running so as to start answering these kind of questions on a macro level, and combined genetic ancestry test results from many people are being used by scientists.   Genetic ancestry testing is, at the same time, being offered to private individuals by several companies and organizations that also provide online forums and other services to allow people who have been tested to share and discuss their results with others.

How can genetic ancestry be helpful to you?

• to uncover your ethnic mix and get a generalized picture of your ancestry from a genetic perspective
• to discover distant relatives
• to get clues on where your ancestors might come from
• to trace your cultural roots
• to find new details about your unique family history

Perhaps you are planning a trip to Europe and you expect to take this opportunity to visit the homeland of your ancestors, and would like to check if you still have some relatives there you could eventually contact during your visit.  Or maybe you are planning to give someone in your family a very original wedding present –his/her own family story, so as to pass the legacy to the next generation. You may be in the middle of the process of making your family tree, and might have lost track of one of the branches.  Maybe you have not yet started, and have decided to gather some more information before you do.   Perhaps you just simply don´t know how to find your ancestors, as you do not have much information to make a beginning.  If any of the above applies to you, to find your genetic ancestry might be the answer. Your results could be a smart starting point for more family history research or can be a way to dig even deeper into the research previously done.

How to find your genetic ancestry?

• The easiest and more effective way is to run a genetic ancestry testing with a saliva sample that can be taken anonymously at home using a special kit.

Three types of genetic ancestry testing are commonly used for genealogy purposes:

• Y chromosome testing: it is used to check the male branch and can be performed just on men, as females do not have a Y chromosome. However, women can always recruit a male relative to have the test done. Y chromosome testing is often used to investigate questions such as whether two families with the same surname are related.
• Mitochondrial DNA testing: it is used to check the female ancestral branch.  As both males and females have mitochondrial DNA, which is passed on from their mothers, this type of testing can be used by either sex. Mitochondrial DNA testing can be useful because it preserves information about female ancestors that may be lost from the historical record because of the way surnames are often passed down.
• Single nucleotide polymorphismtesting: good for checking the overall ethnic background of an individual as this test evaluates large numbers of variations across a person’s entire genome. The results are compared with those of others who have taken the tests to provide an estimate of a person’s ethnic background.

Limitations of DNA testing and how to fill in the gaps:

Due to chromosome recombination events, some of your true relatives will not share any detectable DNA segment with you. This means that about  30% of your fifth cousins would be inaccessible to you no matter which company, algorithm, or website you use. While you do not share DNA with a large number of your 4th-5th cousins, you do share DNA with some of them. For example, you might not share DNA with your fourth cousin, but you might share your DNA with her brother. Of course, they both have a lot of DNA in common (just not the DNA that is common with you). So if you have the list of relatives for the cousin you share DNA with, you could add the brother you do not share DNA with to your list of relatives.  This way you can jump above missing DNA links in your family and get a larger number of relatives.

How can I get my DNA tested?

Once you have decided to test your DNA as part of your family history research, and which test type, the next consideration is which DNA testing company to use. There are three major direct-to-consumer DNA testing companies; all US based:

• AncestryDNA
• Family Tree DNA (FTDNA)
• 23andME

The top company is most likely ancestry.com.   You can order a kit and take a simple saliva test in your home.  Once mailed back, you will get your results by e-mail within 6-8 weeks.

• com gives you the possibility of checking your DNA against more than 700,000.00 genetic markers.

• When your results arrive, be open to surprises!!! com maps ethnicity going back multiple generations and provides insight into such possibilities as: what region of Europe are your ancestors from, or are you likely to have an East Asian, Indian American or African heritage. Your AncestryDNA results will include information about your ethnicity across 26 regions/ethnicities.

• Once you take your test, com searches the network of ancestryDNA members and identifies the people who share your DNA, thus you might find unknown relatives, some of which might even be living across your street.

As ancestry.com combines advanced DNA science with the world´s largest online family history records, it is a highly efficient resource at the time of helping you find your genetic ancestry.

By, Carmen Vazquez Sibils

Why would you try to find your ancestors?

 How to find your ancestors. At a certain point of your life, you might feel the need of getting answers to questions that have been inside you for long, waiting for the right moment to pop up.  These questions might refer to who are you as a human being, what your place in this planet is, and what your legacy will be. You could also be willing to ask yourself if you are on the right track or not.

You can either go ahead with your life and keep them as open questions, or you can try to actively answer them and even do something with the answers you get.  Most of these questions could probably be answered through deep introspection, while some others would need responses to be sourced elsewhere.

This journey, might take you to also try to find out who you are in a wider framework, the framework of your family.

If this idea crosses your mind you might feel the need of finding who your ancestors were, and maybe, not just for your own knowledge but with the purpose of preserving family´s history, with the aim of keeping family´s memory alive.  Or perhaps, you start this search for long lost relatives, because you feel the need of amplifying your family scope and wonder if there are any living relatives nearby that you haven’t connected with.  Finding ancestors can be fun, but connecting bloodlines and thus, finding living distant relatives –I can tell you from my own experience- can be really exciting and rewarding.

 What information do we need to gather to find our ancestors?   Is it hard?

The best way to find our ancestors, is to start by making a family tree.  Family trees can be done by hand, but the best and easier way to do it, is to help yourself with tools provided online by webs like ancestry.com –so easy to handle, that you do not even need to know about “computers”-.  Places like ancestry.com do also have the advantage of letting you check information on your family already posted by other relatives, as well as of providing a framework to connect with other relatives already embarked in the same journey, or willing to get involved in this adventure.  The most amazing issue about ancestry.com is that you can also place guesses, and ancestry.com will help you to find out the actual information.  A useful feature allows photographs to be incorporated. Ancestry.com is also available in the form of an app suitable for IPhone, IPad and Android.

Before starting to put your data in the web, I would suggest you gather as much information as possible.

• Contact your oldest relatives, for they surely have a lot of family stories and are willing to pass the legacy! They will make you “taste” family history and they can also be a good source for copies of birth, wedding and death certificates, baptism faiths, letters, old photos (many of them might have inscriptions in the back that are important clues!).   A wise idea would be to have in hand the app of com to check together during those visits: searching together will be a rewarding experience.  You can also find the app interviewy –available for both iPhone and iPad- to be useful for these meetings:  this voice recording app offers clear sound, good basic functionality and the option to tag audio files that you have saved. If you want to keep the interviews for posterity, using a plug-in microphone with your smartphone or tablet will improve the quality further.
• Getting certificates is great, because they are the most reliable source, as they contain full names, precise dates and places, and many of these documents do also involve witnesses that might be relatives, and might lead to other relatives as well. If you can´t manage to get copies of this kind of certificate within members of your family, you might try the app wdytya forum (Who do you think you are?) that runs on iPhone, iPad and android.  This forum app is a good place to pick up birth, marriage and death certificates.
• It might sound a little bit “dark” but the fact is that many families share family graves from where you can get relevant information, cause as certificates, they are a source of precise information on names and dates. The same happens with the papers of ownership of those places, as they have passed hands, generation after generation.  As information technology has evolved in every field, you might be glad to know that even for finding graves there are apps available.  Such is the case of find a grave, a free app that runs on iPhone and iPad and that is designed to help you search for family graves worldwide. It is so great that it even lets you post a request for local volunteers to search for your ancestor’s headstone in a cemetery! To maximize the results you can use find a grave in combination with billiongraves, another great app that’s suitable for Android and iOS.
• DNA testing is advisable, especially if you lose track a few generations up: it might help you to reorient your search.
• Finding the meaning of your surnames can also be a good idea, especially if you cross this information with results of DNA testing.
• Surf the web for census and other genealogy information available online: It is easy with today’s technology, especially because there is an increased interest in genealogy, and thus, available information grows day by day.
• You can even join a social network online (“Find my past” available in Facebook & Twitter).
• Last but not least, it could be interesting to attend local classes about family tree research: this will help you gain insight on how to expand family history resources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photography courtesy of: http://www.elrincondesele.com/

Find your ancestors, and start answering some questions about yourself!

By, Carmen Vázquez