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Family Ancestry Search

Discover the Origin of Family Names

A family ancestry search can lead you to the origin of family names. The best genealogy software is the key to results future generations will treasure.

With the help of the internet's ability to access birth, marriage and death records in an instant, conducting a family ancestry search is now manageable and much less time consuming than it was twenty years ago.

Before 1995, documents necessary to discover your ancestors, and where they came from, had to be manually searched either by visiting courthouses and libraries or by requesting information by snail mail from state courthouses.

Now, if you wish to trace family history documents, you simply begin by gathering a list of as many relative names as you can. Next, you create a family tree and start searching public records for information that will lead you to discovering your ancestry.

How to Conduct a Family Ancestry Search

Constructing a historical record of your ancestry begins with what you already know. Most people find that tracing genealogy back to their great-grandparents is not too difficult but find information lacking beyond that point. Before recording the information you already have into a family tree, however, verify that you have the correct names, dates and places by asking grandparents about their parents. Inaccurate information could unfortunately lead you to erroneous results, which have nothing to do with your family but a lot to do with someone else's family.

Interviewing relatives either in person, over the phone or by email is probably the best way to begin your search. Jumping immediately to websites specializing in ancestry searches will only frustrate you because of the lack of information you have. Frustration will increase due to the questions you will need to answer when conducting a detailed family ancestry search online.

After you have assembled as much information as possible about your family from living relatives, you can start searching for the information, which is missing from your data by searching online. While most modern records of births and deaths are available through governmental databanks, marriage license information is usually registered with the county recorder's offices. However, be aware that if the marriage took place before a state had county offices, then the marriagelicense is most likely contained in church records.

At this point you will want to do some research into the best genealogy software.

Other family ancestry search tips include:

keep notes about everything you search--those hours you spend perusing church records or old vital statistics documents might contain clues to information regarding another branch of your family tree

try searching for certain names using variants of that name, such as initials or nicknames--many people dislike their given name and consistently use a variation of that name during their lives, such as "Bob" for "Robert" or even "Kat" for "Katharine". Part of the fun is in finding the origin of family names.

pay special attention to European surnames--when immigrants arrived in America during the early 1900's, they often "Americanized" their last names in order to avoid discrimination when searching for a job, such as the German surname "Shumacher" was changed to "Shoemaker"

don't hesitate to use foreign language webpages in your search--you can always have these pages automatically translated by the search engine

if you are stuck and cannot advance any farther with your family tree, try investing in genealogy software programs or websites that offer their services for a fee

be wary, however, of scam websites that falsely promote the idea they can access databases for a fee. Use only reputable website such as Ancestry.com or Interment.net, which provides free online cemetery records.

In addition, you can conveniently print family trees or charts from various websites to help organize your information. Some fill-in-the-blank family trees contain enough room for documenting up to five generations. Some are decorated with illustrations and images to make them suitable for framing.

Most of all have fun conducting your family ancestry search. A fascinating pastime, it can enrich your sense of identity,leave a legacy of love and perhaps provide insight into understanding the psychology of your family.

We seldom realize during the busy years of family life how much we are living a life in legacy to those who will come after us.

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