Discover the rich history of your family through patience and diligent research and illuminate your past! You may be a descendant of royalty or perhaps a famous historical character and not even know it.
The quest to enrich your knowledge of family history begins
at home with your closest living relatives.
Parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and even great-grandparents are
the most reliable resources available to you to acquire family stories and secrets
that nobody else could possibly know.
Don’t let the precious time you have with them slip away. Take advantage of each opportunity to
reminisce about the past and learn more and more about your family. Record everything in the form of notes, audio
recordings, and video. One day, you’ll
be glad you did.
Look through the family Bible if your family has one. It used to be tradition in many families to
record births, deaths, and other significant events in the family Bible. To dig even further into the past, join one
of the many online resources for genealogy research. Why do all the footwork when someone out
there may have already filled in many portions of your pedigree? You can also use the library as a research
tool by looking through old newspaper clippings and history books.
If you can determine the location where your ancestors lived
the majority of their lives and the church they attended, you may be able to
locate their name in the church’s records.
If you’re lucky, you may also discover their grave marker. If you do, be sure to clear away any debris
from the marker, take a digital picture, and include it into your online family
tree. Leave some flowers as a show of
respect. There are also free websites
dedicated to listing grave marker information and pictures to which you can
contribute.
Travel to the countries, the cities, the small towns, or the
villages where your ancestors lived.
Sometimes, the locals have stories to tell or your family may have left
a unique impression. Above all, be sure
to record anything of interest.
Sometimes pieces of the puzzle don’t make sense until they are matched
with others. Be sure your story is told
as well. Keep a journal or even a blog so
that in the future, your descendants can learn more about your life
experiences.
