Tracing Family Histories

By Trevor Dumbleton

One of the most fascinating, and most rewarding pastimes you can engage in is tracing family histories. By delving into the past of your family and the families that have joined together to form that family, you can learn about yourself, your parents, your ancestors, and the many people who have been born, wedded, had children, and eventually ended up creating that unique entity known as you. As well, you can learn much about what those people did and the places from which they came.

Tracing family histories can often be a difficult task. However, the best place to start is by tracing genealogy. Without names to go on, any family history is almost impossible to create. Thus, a full family tree should be formed and formatted in order to figure out just who these people were, when they lived, and where they lived.

Once you have figured out names, the real digging begins. You need to find as much information about these people as possible. Anything in the public record is usually the best place to start. Legal papers can be a wealth of information about the people from whom you are descended. Such items as deeds, real estate papers, and loan papers can tell you a great deal about the names on your family tree. If they bought land, they must have worked it. If they applied for loans, they usually gave a purpose for the loan. These are the meat of any family history. With a few little details, you can start filling in a whole lot of blanks.

As well, old letters are very useful for tracing family histories. Though letter writing is something of a lost art today, people would often keep letters they received, especially love letters. These can provide fascinating glimpses into the people who have gone on before you, as they will often not only speak of their love, but they can also provide interesting asides about where they were and what they were doing. The addresses will tell you where those letters went. Return addresses will tell you where they came from. They often told each other where they were and what they were doing at the time. These are not just pieces of paper, they are windows into the souls of your ancestors.

Family Bibles are akin to the Holy Grail for those tracing family histories. As these were often large, decorative, sacred books, they were almost never discarded. Thus, people often used them to store important documents. It was like a large safe. Simply put those loan papers at Numbers 12, and they were safe. As well, people often listed ancestry and descendents in these books. The front page often contains a family tree that can be used to find relations that are not in one's family tree. And as the Bible was passed down from generation to generation, it was filled out that much more, creating a complete history of the family.

However, the most important resource for tracing family histories should not be overlooked. That resource is, of course, family members. Surviving relations are a wealth of information. They want to talk about what they did, where they went, how they felt about things, and what was going on at the time. They can call up stories that they have not had the chance to tell, and they will sometimes remember things they forgot they knew as they tell their stories. Do not forget to ask your family members about the family. They will be more than happy to help.

Tracing family histories can provide wonderful scenes, compelling dramas, and stories that are too strange to be untrue. When you compile the history of your family, remember that you are learning about people. People who were just as full of life and vitality as you are. So feel free to tell their stories and don't forget to enjoy the fact that you are letting your ancestors live their lives all over again.

[http://www.familytreeshistory.com/] is a categorized resource directory to help explore the world of genealogy, or family trees, including the history of our ancestors.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Trevor_Dumbleton/3657
http://EzineArticles.com/?Tracing-Family-Histories&id=19327

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Genealogy Information:

Related Articles

Make Your Family Tree Come Alive
"I gotta be more than just two lines in the Oklahoma City Times." While the tune is catchy and the words poke fun of the obituary section of a great newspaper, it carries a serious message to those us interested in genealogy.
How to Tap the Power of the World's Most Important Genealogy Libraries Without Leaving Home
Thanks to the Internet and tried and true "snail mail," the information in the world's best libraries is right at your fingertips.
Preserve Your Family History by Writing Your Family Stories
Preserve Your Family History by Writing Family Stories "Everyone has a story to tell." It seems like a cliché, but it's true. After working as a newspaper reporter for more than eight years, I know th...
Is There a Family Tree Goldmine Hiding in Your Attic?
Most armchair genealogists today are so conditioned to look for just about everything online that they often forget some of the very basic "old school" methods that worked so well years before anyone had even heard of the Internet. So, turn off the computer, get up from your desk, and get ready to do some down and dirty family tree research the way it used to be done.
Tracing Family Histories
One of the most fascinating, and most rewarding pastimes you can engage in is tracing family histories. By delving into the past of your family and the families that have joined together to form that family, you can learn about yourself, your parents, your ancestors, and the many people who have been born, wedded, had children, and eventually ended up creating that unique entity known as you.
Genealogy -- How to Track Down Your Family History
Knowing who we are and where we came from can greatly enrich our lives today. Our ancestry is more than just names on a pedigree chart; it is the blood line that flows through us today and future generations. This knowledge must be what is leading millions of people to search each day for their own roots.
Genealogy - Why You Should Get Involved in Your Family History
There are a lot of good reasons for researching your family tree. Here are some compelling reasons to get involved.
Family Tree Charts
Organizing your family tree can be a very challenging and rewarding experience at same time. You need to do a lot of research, but once you have completed it, you can present your chart to your whole family and give everyone the gift of knowing their lineage.
Military Records: The Key to Your Family Tree?
Were your ancestors war heroes? Believe it or not, vital clues to your family's history just might be hiding away in military archives - and finding them can be easier than you think. Even if you're not sure whether or not any of your ancestors ever served in the military, it can pay to do some digging. The payoff can be huge.
Building Your Family Tree 101: Quick Tips for Finding Your Irish or Scottish Ancestors
Did your ancestors come from Europe ? in particular Ireland or Scotland? It's quite possible to find their records. You may even be lucky enough to find records online, because as more and more people become intrigued with their origins, more are being made available.
Family Tree Templates
If you want to create your family tree, but do not know where to start, family tree templates can get you started on your genealogical adventure. By giving you a pre-designed family tree that you ca...
Starting Your Family History
Do you have a deep-seated desire to know more about our ancestors, what they were like, and where you come from? Here's some things that can be useful to you as you think about getting started doing your own personal Family History research.
How To Use The Census In Your Genealogy Research
The census is an excellent tool for genealogical research. Records are not released for 72 years, but there's a wealth of information to be found there: age, place of birth, occupation, spouse, children, immigration information and much more. This article describes what you can find, where to look and provides additional research tools to assist you in your search.
Essentials of Genealogy - Getting Started with Your FamilyTree
What are the essentials to doing a family search? Here are some tips that should help you discover your family under the best possible conditions.
Color Your Genealogy
Using artifacts to help bring your ancestors to life. What things to look for and how to use them.
Doing Genealogical Research? What You Should Know About Birth Certificates
If you are involved in genealogical research then you will want to know more about birth certificates. Read on to find some valuable information about obtaining birth records.
Brazilian by Birth, Italian by Ancestry, and Canadian by Choice!
Were you born abroad and are looking for your Italian citizenship? You don't have a clue where to start? What if I told you it took me six years to find my first clue! How bad do you want to find your Italian roots?
Family Tree Makers
Family tree maker software lets you find your relatives and ancestors, contact them and share information with no trouble at all. Read on to find out more about this impressive program and learn how to advantage of it.
The Family Tree
So you want to record your family's genealogy. The first thing to do is always make an audit trail. What is an audit trail? This article addresses "what is an audit trail" and the importance of making one.