Family History Help

[AlexH]

I've recently become interested in my family's history. I'd like to trace the genealogy, where my family came from (I've heard Ireland/Wales), what year we arrived, etc.

I've done a little Googling, but man, it's overwhelming! I'm not exactly sure where to start and how to get to the bottom of this. Has anyone here tried this before? Have any tips on where to start, how to proceed, etc? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[MacNut]

It helps to learn as much history as possible. Where was the family from, distant relatives. What year did they move to America.

 

[TequilaBoobs]

for a hundred bucks, you can provide National Geographic with a dna sample of yours (q-tip swab in the mouth), and they will tell you from what area youre genetically from, what migratory paths your genes travelled, and how they ended up in you. However, they won't give you names of your relatives like what you asked(obviously), but you can find out geographically where your ancestors came from originally, going back hundreds and hundreds of years.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

One website you could maybe take a look at is Genes Reunited – if you've ancestors from the British Isles then you never know, they might be listed on there.

You have to register but it is free, so it might be worth a whirl.

 

[jeremy.king]

Have any tips on where to start, how to proceed, etc?

Start with your parents and work your way up Once you start getting back a ways, you have to get creative with census records and all that jazz.

 

[macmama]

Your local Church of Latter-Day Saints will be able to help. They are very into geneology, and you don't have to be Mormon to use their resources.