Archive for March, 2011
Finding My Ancestry – Where Do I Start
The interest in genealogy and family history research has exploded over the last 15 years or so. People are discovering that it can be an interesting and fun activity or hobby. The availability of information on the internet continues to rise at an amazing rate. More and more information previously stored in the archives is being made available for the hungry public. Some of this information is free, but a lot of it attracts a fee, so it is becoming a huge business, and is likely to continue to grow in the coming years.
Often the decision to get involved in finding your ancestors and documenting your family history comes when we lose a parent or grandparent or both! Let me tell you it is better to make a start while they are alive and able to assist you. Once they are gone, it is a real tragedy if you have not recorded the valuable family history that they have stored in their memories. You will also find that elderly relatives will be delighted to offer their assistance as it gives them the great opportunity to reminisce on a bygone era.
Step 1 – Interview Family and Friends and Record it
I guess I have already began to mention this above in my introduction, but it is to get a hold of your elderly parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties and friends and interview them in great detail about your ancestors and how things were when they were young. It may even be a good idea to use audio or video equipment to make a proper recording of this interview. Get out old photos, documents or letters to help jolt their memories, and find out if they have any such items that may also assist. If they have birth, death and marriage certificates, find out if you can get copies! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: history and genealogyRelated posts
Family Genealogy Search
Any time you take the time to learn about something the fine lines that distinguish things become more obvious. This is the case with a family genealogy search as well. To most people researching their family history is nearly the same as making a family tree which seems nearly the same as a family genealogy search. If you plan to speak to others, especially specialists, about the process you are attempting to complete, you will need to know the differences. You will also need to use the proper terms, otherwise there may be a large amount of misunderstanding.
Genealogy
Genealogy is really focused on the names. For instance your genealogy is all about the fact that your mother is your mother. Technically, that is all there is to it. People are quite a bit more than their names though. What this means for many people is that they will be wanting a bit more than a name alone. You mother may be a five feet seven inch woman with dark hair that loves the smell of lilacs and smile when she tastes peanut butter. That is all parts of who she is. In your family genealogy search all that you may need to research is what her name is. In a complete genealogy you may want to have an adequate concept of who she is as well, but that is only in so far as identification is concerned. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: history and genealogyRelated posts
Family Genealogy – Dig Into Your Past
Today, over 6.5 billion call planet Earth home, and our population is growing at a rate that was inconceivable even 100 years ago. One thing has not changed. No matter what era, no matter where, family is the basic building block of human society. No matter who you are, where you live, or what you do, your family history – including those long-gone ancestors – makes you what you are. A popular saying applies: history is destiny. In a way, family history is personal destiny.
Primitive man banded together in families to procreate and survive. These families were the base from which all civilizations sprang. Scientists claim to be able to trace all of mankind back to one mother. In a very real sense, we are all related.
Today’s busy, largely urban societies seem worlds away from that past. It’s easy to feel alone and isolated. Family units have shrunk from larger groups with grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins to what we call the nuclear family – mom, dad, and the kids. And in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia where immigration built modern populations, families are even more separated from their traditional routes. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: history and genealogy