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Learn how to explore your roots. 

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Your Family Tree #12 – Genealogy Website Resource List

Your Family Tree #12 – Genealogy Website Resource List

As we conclude our discussion on how and where to begin your ancestry research with suggestions based on my experience, I thought it would be helpful to collect the online resources in one place.  The following is a list of some of the many online sources which I found most helpful.  I also continue to stress that not all submitted family records on any given site are totally accurate.  Unintentional errors and misspellings in data do creep in.  It is up to you to seek out and prove the ac
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

2
Your Family Tree #11 – Using Genealogy Websites

Your Family Tree #11 – Using Genealogy Websites

There are many free genealogy websites which are a great resource for records and helpful family data, including RootsWeb.  This free site, part of the ancestry.com family, includes a RootsWeb Family History Wiki section with their guide to searching your family trees. Along with Hosted Web Sites, you will find great tips and websites on how to begin searching, a list of sources and where to find various records, and a list of various countries/ethnic groups.  Clicking on any of their hi-lited i
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

0
Your Family Tree #10 – Last Will and Testament

Your Family Tree #10 – Last Will and Testament

We previously briefly touched on the importance of your ancestor’s Last Will and Testament, an excellent source of family documentation.  Wills are filed at surrogate court or county clerk’s office along with estate records for those who died intestate (without a will), inventories of estates, letters of administration, and guardianships, etc.  Some older wills may be found online at Sampubco Wills as posted by W. David Samuelson from whom you may purchase documents.  This site includes wi
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

0
Your Family Tree #9 - Military Records

Your Family Tree #9 - Military Records

Anything but a boring read, military records are another invaluable source of documentation.  The first step is to determine when and where your ancestor served.  Often clues to an ancestor’s military service are found in family stories, old photos, death records and obituaries, grave markers and/or cemetery records, local town histories, and other family records or correspondence. Many military records are available at Ancestry.com.  You will find draft registration cards for WW I and WW I
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

0
Your Family Tree #8 - Census Records

Your Family Tree #8 - Census Records

As we noted previously, studying census records plays another key role in searching for ancestors.  Census records track families as they grow, move to new frontiers, into the cities, or perhaps just stay put on the farm with family members scattered within walking distance nearby. Study the old handwriting, compare unknown names or words to letters and words which you clearly know.  But, know that the old fancy cursive is different from what we’re familiar with in today’s handwriting.  I b
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

0
Your Family Tree #7 - Cemetery Records

Your Family Tree #7 - Cemetery Records

Cemetery records are another invaluable resource for your ancestry research.  Historical societies also retain cemetery records, or transcriptions, of virtually all old gravestones for every cemetery, large or small, within any given county.  Unfortunately, I have typically found this work to have been done several decades ago (often from early to mid-20th century), and desperately in need of updating.  However, with our modern technology, a great resource not available when I first began my res
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

5
Your Family Tree #6 – Historical Society Records

Your Family Tree #6 – Historical Society Records

County historical and genealogical societies are another great repository of data to aid in your research.  Among their resources are town and county historical books which often include brief lineages of early settlers, donated private family records, old family Bibles or transcripts of family data, transcribed census records, church and cemetery records, microfilm of various records including old newspapers, donated copies of wills or abstracts of wills, maps, rare books, donated specialty ite
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

0
Your Family Tree #5 - Brick Walls

Your Family Tree #5 - Brick Walls

In researching your ancestors, you will hit brick walls – guaranteed!  When you do, think about who the most recent known ancestor was.  Remember that we discussed previously how the Dutch used a specific naming pattern.  Each child was named after the grandparents, alternating back and forth to include each of the child’s grandparents, great-grandparents, then aunts, uncles and parents, the parents' names, etc.  Other ethnic groups, including the Germans, often used a similar pattern, but did n
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

2
Your Family Tree #4 - Document Everything!

Your Family Tree #4 - Document Everything!

As you begin your research, document everything, every step of the way.  Keep some paper files readily accessible, but enter data in a genealogy computer program; I have an older Family Tree Maker version.  I also have “tons” of file folders filled with family research data gleaned from online resources and reputable books, emails with fellow researchers, data from visits to or purchased from historical societies, cemetery data from personal trips, etc.  And then there’s the shoebox filled with
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

0
Your Family Tree #3

Your Family Tree #3

Okay, let’s start researching!  As you ponder a few names in your ancestral tree, the burning question may be, “How do I start looking for ancestors I don’t even know about?”  Actually, the best way is to begin working backward from what you do know.  Start with your birth certificate to prove your parents.  Obtain copies of birth, baptism and marriage records, newspaper death notices or obituaries, and cemetery records of your near relatives.  Research can be an expensive endeavor and I w
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

8
Your Family Tree #2

Your Family Tree #2

Your Family Tree #2 Growing up knowing that my dad was a first-generation American born to 1920s Dutch immigrants, I’ve always been partial to all things Dutch.  Then, researching my mom’s ancestors, and discovering the several nationalities in her lineage along with many New Netherlands’ Dutch and their part in building America, has been even more of a treasure.   So, why is genealogy so important to us?  Put another way, why is history important?  To quote David McCullough in the Re
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

0
Your Family Tree #1

Your Family Tree #1

Welcome to the world of genealogy research where your ancestors come alive!  It’s exciting to put names, faces, and personalities to your family’s past.  Here, we’ll delve into clues to find those whose genes flow through your veins, and who contributed their part to who you’ve become today.  But, I need to warn you – it’s addicting! I used this poem, Dear Ancestor, in the 600+ page manuscript I wrote on researching my mother’s complete ancestral history. Your tombstone stands among th
Linda Roorda

Linda Roorda

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