How to Find Your Lost Family History

• Step 1

  As you proceed through the following steps, you'll want to develop a record-keeping system for your research. Experiment to find what works best for you. Pedigree charts are available to track direct ancestors. You'll also want to use family record sheets to record the children of your various ancestors. Research logs and checklists are also available. Alternatively, consider using an online digital program. Family Echo is a free site that allows you to build and store a family tree. Furthermore, you can email family members and give them access to the site, allowing them to add to your research.

• Step 2

  Record the information you already know about your family. Then interview relatives. Do not hesitate to contact distant relatives, as they may have access to valuable research that has been already completed, or they may be interested in helping you research. Record your interviews with a pocket audio recorder. These recordings will be a lasting resource for your family's history. Go beyond the basic vital information and dig for interesting stories.

• Step 3

  Analyze your family's records of information. See if anyone in the family has old photographs, journals, letters, legal papers, or other sources you can carefully analyze. Family bibles are a particularly valuable source of information as the blank front pages were often used to record births and deaths of family members, and some even contain family trees or other records of important family events. Visit family cemeteries. Ancestors are often buried near each other, offering new clues.

• Step 4

  Obtain vital records. Visit the Office of Vital Records near the location of the ancestors you are researching. Birth, marriage, and death certificates are on file and contain a wealth of information.

• Step 5

  Visit the local libraries near the areas where your ancestors lived. Have a librarian help you locate family and local histories. Search through the microfiche of local newspapers. Obituaries can contain a detailed biography of someone's life; they also usually list many of the deceased's immediate relatives.

• Step 6

  Find census records. Federal censuses have been taken every ten years since 1790. According to Desmond Walls Allen, author of First Steps in Genealogy, federal censuses are the single most valuable source for genealogists as they provide an abundance of names and a method to track a person's movements throughout his life. For example, many parents, when elderly, moved into a child's home. Census records can provide you with clues to track down family members who seem to have disappeared according to your other research. Local libraries or nearby university libraries often have microfilmed copies; the originals are held by the National Archives.

• Step 7

  Go online. Author of Family History 101, Marcia D. Yannizze Melnyk, shares that there is a lot of good and a lot of bad genealogical sources on the web. See recommends starting with free databases like www.usgenweb.org and www.rootsweb.org. You can also subscribe to trustworthy sites like www.ancestry.com and www.familytreemaker.com. All of these sites feature databases that could provide you with scanned records or a family tree that a distant relative has already created.

• 4
• Pedigree charts Family group records Research logs Research checklists Audio recorder Family documents Vital records Local libraries Census records
• Pedigree charts
• Family group records
• Research logs
• Research checklists
• Audio recorder
• Family documents
• Vital records
• Local libraries
• Census records
• Double check your information as much as possible through multiple sources. A spelling error could have been made on the birth certificate you are analyzing, causing you to research an unrelated family. Melnyk warns to be particularly careful of online sources. She shares that "when poor research is posted on the internet, it is likely to be duplicated, reposted, and taken as fact." Be cautious.
• Double check your information as much as possible through multiple sources. A spelling error could have been made on the birth certificate you are analyzing, causing you to research an unrelated family.
• Melnyk warns to be particularly careful of online sources. She shares that "when poor research is posted on the internet, it is likely to be duplicated, reposted, and taken as fact." Be cautious.

References & Resources

• "Family History 101: A Beginner's Guide to Finding Your Ancestors;" Marcia D. Yannizze Melnyk; 2005.
• "First Steps in Genealogy: A Beginner's Guide to Researching Your Family History;" Desmond Walls Allen; 1998.
• Genealogy Forms and Charts
• Family Echo