• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop ModernMom
  • Become An Insider

ModernMom

The premiere destination for moms

  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • ModernMom Monday Videos
  • Cooking
  • Living Healthy
    • Breast Cancer
    • Health & Fitness
    • Body after Baby
    • Beauty
    • Relationships
    • Love
  • Lifestyle
    • Crafts
    • At Home
    • Education
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Decorate
    • Money
    • Brooke Burke
  • Celebrate
    • Holidays
      • Easter
      • Valentine’s Day
      • New Year’s
      • Christmas
      • Hanukah
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
    • Birthdays
    • Parties
  • Must Have
  • Contests
  • Entertainment

How to Do a Family Tree Search

October 11, 2009 by ModernMom Staff Leave a Comment

Nothing gives a child a sense of his own history as much as a family tree. Having the generations in black and white allows him to connect names and faces of those past and present as it teaches how family relationships work. The biggest problem is, where do you start? A family tree search is not too complicated, and the best place to start is with yourself and your close family members.

Step 1

Write down your name, birth date and place of birth; this will be the standard information you need for each person in your family tree search. You will do the same for your partner later for his side of the tree.

Step 2

Add your parents and grandparents and their information. If you don’t know a date or place draw a blank; if you’re not sure about a date, put an estimate for the year with a question mark next to it.

Step 3

Call any family members that you can locate. If your parents are living, you can “interview” them about their parents and grandparents; if your parents are deceased, check their birth, marriage and death certificates for information.

Step 4

Inquire among cousins, aunts and uncles if they have any information to add. Ask if they have old birth, marriage or death certificates. Often people will save obituary notices and funeral cards, which carry a wealth of information. Family Bibles are often passed down from generation to generation and were a traditional place to record life events.

Step 5

Ancestor Portrait

Search online for census data. US census information is released to the public 70 years after the census date; information for 1930 was released in 2000. If your grandparents were born before 1930, you can find them on the census for that year by the location in which their parents lived, starting at state level. A typical census record will show age, year of birth, marital status and occupation, as well as everyone living in the household at the time.

Step 6

Contact the state and the county in which your ancestor lived. Some records such as birth and death are kept at the state level while others are maintained by each county; this varies by state and the range of dates you’re searching in. Each state maintains an online record of their counties. While some states and counties have online searches, you may have to call or write for the desired information and may need to pay a fee for copies of records.

Step 7

Look online for genealogy websites. Many maintain forums and message boards where you can contact other persons researching the same names or someone who lives in the area you’re interested in who is willing to search local records.

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Love

About ModernMom Staff

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Tell a friend

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Search

ModernMom Boutique

ModernMom TV

Featured

10 Things Nobody Will Tell You About Having A Baby

After reading "20 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Had Kids," I … [Read More...] about 10 Things Nobody Will Tell You About Having A Baby

Must Have

winter

Pre-Holiday Must-Haves

"It's beginning to look  a lot like Christmas..." The … [Read More...] about Pre-Holiday Must-Haves

Did you know?

abdominal pain on the left side in pregnancy

Abdominal Pain on the Left Side in Pregnancy

women get pregnant if she Is not ovulating

Can a Women Get Pregnant if She Is Not Ovulating?

Repair Scratches in Glass Tabletops

How to Repair Scratches in Glass Tabletops

Natural Remedies to Increase Sperm Count

Natural Remedies to Increase Sperm Count

Do You Have to Refrigerate Glazed Donuts?

Do You Have to Refrigerate Glazed Donuts?

Signs That Your Toddler Has Been Touched Inappropriately

Dizziness in Pregnancy

Causes of Dizziness in Pregnancy

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact ModernMom
  • Advertise With Us
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contributors

Copyright © 2021 Modern Mom. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the express permission of Mom, Inc.

The information provided on ModernMom is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.