Conducting a Family Search

The purpose of genealogy has remained thethe family search. Older relatives who have done
same -- to find your ancestors. However, thethe work can be passionate about their genealogy
advancements for genealogy have changedand that will be a positive force for you as you
greatly, attracting newcomers to start theirbegin searching. Contacting them to assist with
genealogy work and assisting experiencedthe genealogy work is a continuing service for
genealogists with a surplus of resources.your descendants and an advantage for your
Depending upon how much information you knowfuture posterity.
about your ancestors, there are many different3. Visit a Family History Center- If you want to
ways of approaching your family search.find historical evidence of your ancestors, a family
history center can be invaluable. There are over
1. Using the Internet - The Internet provides1,800 centers in the U.S. that offer patrons
valuable resources with numerous family searchaccess to a family search. When I visited a family
sites. The site that I visit most frequently requireshistory center, I had helpful access to archived
that you know the first and last name of anmicrofilm. In one section of the center there were
ancestor who has been deceased for over aaisles of microfilm stored according to surname
year. I looked up my deceased grandfather'sand year of birth. After I found the correct
name and the site provided his date of birth,microfilm from a 1920 census, I located my
birthplace, the date of his marriage, and his dategrandmother's surname. In what appeared to be
of death. It also included his parents' full namesher father's handwriting was his name, his wife's
and his wife's name, all of which were hyperlinked.name, as well as the names of their young
The hyperlink advantage meant their nameschildren. My grandmother was four years old and
included their own history. I clicked onto myher family was residing in Hawaii. It was
grandmother's name and found the identicalexhilarating to see a sample of my
information of her birth and death dates, and hergreat-grandfather's handwriting. It was written
parents' names. I also clicked onto myduring the great depression, a time period which I
great-grandparents names and could examinestudied extensively in grade school. Tracing my
their history. While I received a lot of informationrelatives back into time helped me to personally
from just typing in my grandfather's name,identify with my ancestors during that historical
detailed information is not always available. Inera.
many cases, the amount of available informationThe genealogical advancements are continuing to
relies on the amount of work that the family hasincrease. Passionate genealogists have even gone
done.to great lengths to prove relationships through
DNA testing. Because of the advances in
2. Contact an older relative - Getting a relativetechnology, it is easier than ever to find relatives
involved will be the best personal support to helpand confirm relationships. With just the name of
start your family search. My aunt is an avidan ancestor, you can discover a line of relatives,
genealogist and through correspondence on aand educate yourself about your descendants.
family website, I was able to confirm ancestorsMany tools and resources such as the Internet,
and also discover other relatives from theyour relatives, the library archives and even
searches on the Internet. Your older relativesscientific advancements are available to assist you
have connections and knowledge of yourin your family search pursuits.
ancestors and this helps the discovery process of