| Tracing your roots can give you a great | | | | be related to. It's this type of personal information |
| understanding of your past so finding out more | | | | that will really make your search come to life. |
| about your family's history can often be a | | | | Once you have exhausted your family's |
| rewarding and fulfilling pastime. | | | | knowledge, gather together copies of their birth, |
| Investigating your own history is bound to bring | | | | marriage and death certificates which will hopefully |
| up surprising and interesting facts and stories that | | | | give you some solid leads from which to continue |
| could have lain dormant for years so, whether | | | | your search. These certificates can be invaluable |
| you're looking for distant relatives or you simply | | | | to a family historian as they will tell you about the |
| want to put together a family tree, taking the | | | | circumstances surrounding these life-changing |
| time to discover your family's past can not only | | | | events and will often have exact dates and place |
| be very informative but can be great fun too. | | | | names to help with your investigation. |
| It's surprising how much your family will know | | | | Once your search is underway and you're looking |
| about their past and speaking to them will | | | | a little further back in time, try consulting the |
| hopefully give you a more personal account of | | | | national census. This record shows the name, age |
| your family's history rather than just the facts | | | | and occupation of every member of a household |
| and figures. You never know who has what | | | | so, if you can find your family, you will be able to |
| information so make sure you speak to everyone | | | | trace them through the generations quite easily. |
| to get the best perspective. Start with | | | | More recent censuses will give you more in-depth |
| grandparents, great aunts and uncles as they will | | | | information on how the household relates to each |
| have plenty of stories and names to pass on | | | | other and may even include their places of birth. |
| from their parents' generation. | | | | As a rule of thumb, the further back you go the |
| You will have to be a bit of a detective if you | | | | less information you will find. |
| want to find out more than just dates and | | | | Tracing your own family history can lead you on |
| numbers and the best place to start is with family | | | | a real-life treasure hunt throughout the past so |
| heirlooms. Ask around and see if anyone knows | | | | taking the time to research your family's history |
| the story of who bought it and how many | | | | will encourage other family members to get |
| generations it has been through. Also look at any | | | | involved while leaving a lasting legacy for the |
| old photographs you can find and see if there are | | | | future generations of your family. |
| any unknown faces in the pictures that you could | | | | |