Amateur genealogy along with DNA researches has become more and more popular over the past few years. Many people in the US and around the world turn to family searches to find out more about their past. There may be a lot of different needs driving them to do so. That is why we want to start a series of articles on this wide and captivating topic. We aim to research if finding your ancestors can help to find yourself.
What Is Genealogy?
Genealogy is the historical study that researches family-related topics digging into the past. It explores the connections between people – parents, children, siblings, and spouses. The study also looks for family histories, other relationships, and what happened to each person. The main goal of genealogy is to create a family tree, which consists of all the important information on ancestors.
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While there are professional genealogists creating family trees, each person can do this on their own. There is no need to pay money to professionals when you can explore your family ties on your own. It may not be easy at first but there are a few honorable tips you can follow.
How to Start Finding Your Ancestors, knowing your Genealogy?
At first, talk to your living relatives – they are the best source of family-related information. The sooner you do it the better, especially when it comes to the elderly, who can keep forgetting things. See for yourself how many generations back you can go without the help of modern genealogy helpers.
After that, it is good to establish the oldest ancestor and try looking for his or her parents and siblings https://www.ancestry.com/dna/lp/how-does-ancestrydna-work. If it is possible, begin with church records. You should be looking for baptisms, marriages, and death certificates. If you are living in the US, there is a high probability you will come across immigrants at some point in your studies. Browse immigration passengers lists, and then establish their country of origin.
In the end, you might want to look for foreign records online. Do not worry, there are many useful websites for amateur genealogists. These include MyHeritage, Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, GEDMatch, and many more.
Can Finding Your Ancestors Help Find Yourself?
The obvious answer is: yes, it can. We all come from different origins, with various backgrounds and diverse ancestry. You never know if your parents and grandparents were keeping the truth from you. There are many examples of people who thought they knew their heritage, while the truth was different.
Taking a glimpse into the past usually works for the best because we get to know more about our ancestors. By doing that, we can explore other sides of life, new ethnicities, religions, and lifestyles. It definitely can be useful when forming your character and emotions towards other people.