While living in the United States is fabulous, it can make it difficult to understand where your family came from. One way to reconnect with your roots is to trace your genealogy. This can be a complicated but fun activity to complete.
The first step in tracing your genealogy is to identify possible resources like the Maine Genealogy blog. These resources will help you to find records of marriages, births and possibly even immigration to new countries or towns. The most commonly used resources include public records found at city halls, local library archives, family records and family oral histories.
After you have identified your resources your next step is to figure out which side of the family to research first. Your best bet is to work on the side of the family that you know the most about, or that you have the most contact with. Start by talking to the older members of your family. Learn about the relatives that they remember, especially focusing on maiden names, marriages, cities and births. You can use this information to backtrack to previous generations.
As you progress you will frequently hit roadblocks. For example, you may not be able to find birth, marriage and death certificates for some family members, or you may hit a stumbling block when family members change names. Also keep in mind that vital statistic records are limited prior to the 1800s. Also keep in mind that some illegitimate births may have been hidden or not acknowledged.
No Comments »