How to Track Your Family Tree
The experience of researching your families geneology can be quite enjoyable and satisfying. If the thought of research gives you a headache, envision the process as an easter egg hunt and new discovery a big chocolate bunny.
Too silly? OK, family tree research is a lot of work but just take it one baby step at a time, then the project won't seem overwhelming.
The Family Tree chart located in Paper Valentines for Children is a useful tool for recording each branch of the family tree.
Print as many of these free family tree charts as you need and make one for each family group you are researching. Ultimately you could bind these charts into book form like a photo album for easy reading or just file in alphabetical or date order.
Here is a process that may help you arrange a workable plan:
- Free Family tree charts for children to print and color.
- Print several copies of Paper Valentines for Children's Family Tree chart
- Use the Family Tree chart and make a mini-tree for each relative that you know
- Contact family members, particularly the elders and collect names of all of their relatives, and make mini trees for each of them as well
- Add to the each name their birth and death dates and locations
- Use the Internet to search for more family members:
- www.familysearch.org Free Family History, Family Tree, and Genealogy Records and Resources from Around the World
- www.1930census.com 1930 Census Resources for Genealogists
- www.archives.gov U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
- www.ellisisland.org Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation
- www.immigrantships.net Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild - also has an adoption storyboard
- www.loc.gov Library of Congress
- corporate.ancestry.com Ancestry.com is the world's largest online resource for family history
- www.rootsweb.com Search Hundreds of Thousands of Family Trees
- www.usgenweb.com Keeping Internet Genealogy Free
- www.ancestry.ca (Canada)
- www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html (Canada)
- www.ourroots.ca (Canada) Our Roots is a library, archive, museum and school all in one
- www.pier21.ca Canadian Immigration Museum
- www.freebmd.org.uk Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales
- www.genuki.org.uk genealogical information for England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man
- http://dnatribes.com/index.html Genetic Ancestry Analysis
- African American genealogy and family history
- www.blacksheepancestors.com genealogical prison records and insane asylum records for the US as well as genealogical prison records for the UK
- www.accessgenealogy.com/native/ Native American - Indian Genealogy
- Many common names such as Smith or Jones may or may not be related
- Many names can have different spellings Smith, Smyth, Kelly, Kelley, Kallie, so be prepared for a spelling adventure!
Above all - have fun!
