Researching My Family Roots

For a long time, I really didn't think about my family from my father's side. My father was twenty-four years older than my mother and he'd previously been married. I had half-sisters and a half-brother that were all around my mother's age. Needless to say, this side of the family was not close and when my father died, I was only seventeen. I soon lost touch with his side of the family.

Growing up, I remember going to my half-sister's home for Christmas but by the time I was nine or ten, we no longer visited. My grandfather had died when I was six and I had never met any aunts or uncles on this side of the family. From what my mother tells me, we visited one of my father's cousins when I was real young, but, of course, I do not remember. Many people often asked about this side of the family but what could I say? You can not miss what you have not known.

Recently, however, I began to think about my father. Perhaps it is my age. I am not getting any younger and my children are now adults. My son asked about his grandfather's family one day and I was shocked to realize I could not tell him much. This led me to start researching my father's family.

I still consider myself to be at the beginning stages of the search and yet I am shocked to how much I have discovered. Everyone should look into their families genealogy. I began with a few simple questions to my mother and soon had the beginning. I had the full names of my grandparents and then did a search on the Social Security Death Index. I soon found their birth and death dates. I then went to the state archives and searched through the census in the towns my father and grandfather grew up in.

I was amazed by how much information I found in the state archives. I found the names of my grandfather's brothers and sisters, as well as their birthdates. I didn't even know they existed. I found others with the same last name and wrote all their information down. I didn't know if they were related but knew it would save me a trip later to retrieve their information if they did turn out to be distant relatives. It turned out to be a smart thing to do.

Once I had this information, I went online to some of the various genealogy sites. Some cost money, but to be honest, I haven't joined anything that charged a fee. I've been able to plug the names of relatives into the database and I've found the information I was looking for. I've also researched obituary archives for my family surname and have been able to find more information.

Since I began my mission to research my roots, I've been able to talk to several distant cousins and I've gotten to know my father better. It all began with a few questions and while I still may have more questions, I've found I've gotten better at digging into family history.

If you are beginning a search into your family roots, the best way to start is by asking your living relatives what they know. You may be surprised by how many wonderful stories you hear and how much you did not know about your family