Steps for Finding Your Family Tree Online

From census records to cemetery transcriptions, million of genealogy resources have been posted online in recent years, making the Internet a first stop in researching family roots. Know matter what you want to learn about your family tree, there is a good chance you can dig up at least some of it on the Internet. It's not as simple as finding a web site that has all of the information on your ancestors and downloading it, however, Ancestor hunting is actually more exciting than that! The trick is learning how to us the tools and databases that the Internet provides to find facts and dates on your ancestors, and then filling in the stories of there lives.

Each family that you search for is different; I often find my self-following the same basic steps when I begin to research a new family tree online. Searching can be fun but not if I forget where I've looked and end up doing it all over again!

Step 1: Begin with Obituaries
Since genealogy is generally working backwards in time from the present, searching recently deceased relatives is a good place to start your family tree hunt. Obituaries contain the date of death, place of burial and the date of birth. Obituaries can often lead you to leaving relatives who can provide further information on your family. There are several large obituary search engines online that can make your search a bit easier, but you have to know where your relatives lived so you will have better luck searching the obituary archive of a local paper. Be sure to search out obituaries for siblings as well as other direct ancestors.

Step 2: Death Indexes
The most recent record created for a deceased individual is the death record; they are the easiest place to begin your search. With privacy concerns and restrictions set by law, the majority of death records are not yet online but many online death indexes are available through both official and volunteer sources. If you are searching an American ancestor, the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) contains details of more than 68.5 deaths reported to the SSA since about 1962, and is available for free online from several sources. The SSDI generally includes the name, date of birth and death, zip code of last residence and social security number for each listed individual.

Step 3: Cemeteries, check them out
Online cemetery transcriptions are another great resource for information on your ancestors. Volunteers from around the world have transcribed thousand of cemeteries providing their own online index. There are several large cemetery search databases, which compile links to online cemetery transcriptions.

Step 4: Census can have clues
Census records can provide a treasure of information. Census records in the United States, UK, and Canada, plus many other countries are available online. Some of these are free and some through subscription access. In the United States you can find family members listed with their parents in the 1930 federal census, the most recent census year open to the public. From there, you can trace your family back through previous years. Keep in mind that census takers were not good spellers and families aren't always listed where you expect them to be, so you may have to broaden your area search.

Step 5: Search that Town or County
By now you probably have narrowed down the search to a particular town or county. Now you want more detailed information. First stop is the county specific Web site at USGenWeb, or their counterparts at WorldGenWeb - depending upon your country of interest. You may find newspaper abstracts, biographies, family trees, published county histories, and other transcribed records, as well as surname queries and other information posted by fellow researchers.

Step 6. Visit the Library
The next step in the family hunt is to visit the Web sites of libraries and historical and genealogical societies in the area in which your ancestors lived. Once you're on these sites look for "genealogy" or "family history" links to learn what is available for genealogical research in the area. You may find online indexes, abstracts, or other published records. Most libraries will offer online searching of their library catalog. While most local and family history books aren't available for online reading, many may be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Step 7: Search Message boards
Much family history information is exchanged and shared via message boards, groups, and mailing lists. Search the archives of the lists and groups, which pertain to your surnames and areas of interest may gain you very interesting information. Rootsweb is a great source for these groups.

Step 8: Family Trees by Others
At this point, hopefully, you have found enough names, dates, and other facts to distinguish your ancestors from others with the same name. Now its time to look at family research, which has already been done by others. Thousands of family trees have been published online. Be warned, however. Many online family trees are basically works in progress and may or may not be correct. Be sure to verify a family tree before incorporating it into your own family tree, and cite the source of the information.

Step 9: Specialized Resources
Now you can search out more specialized genealogical information based on what you have learned about your ancestors. Databases, histories, and other genealogical records may be found online which focus on military service, fraternal organizations, occupations, or school or church membership.

Step 10: Subscriptions Sites
By now you have exhausted many of the free online genealogy resources. If you are still having trouble finding information on your family, it may be time to access the pay-for-use genealogy databases. These sites have a wide variety of databases that contain the original images of records. Some of these sites operate on a pay-per-download basis, charging only for the documents you actually view, while others require a subscription for unlimited access. Check for a free trial or free search feature before spending your precious money.