| Genealogy has become a popular pastime. | | | | why. And know you can tell her how it started. |
| Searching for ancestors can be fun and an | | | | The Internet has opened a whole new world for |
| interesting way to learn about history. While | | | | genealogy buffs. Old archive records have been |
| looking for your ancestors you will learn about the | | | | made available on many different websites. It |
| time and place in which they lived. How politics, | | | | may take some time and a lot of searching for |
| wars, and economics affected their lives. It will | | | | the correct information, but a lot of it is out there. |
| give you history on a more personal level. | | | | When doing this type of search it is better to |
| The easiest way to start your search is to | | | | start with a living person, like a grandparent, then |
| interview your living relatives. Often there is one | | | | move backward through history. You should |
| elder aunt, uncle, or grandparent that knows a lot | | | | never start with an event or name and try to link |
| of information about the family. The first | | | | it to yourself. This can very difficult and |
| questions to ask are dates of births, deaths, and | | | | frustrating, usually leading to misinformation. When |
| marriages. In any family search this type of | | | | doing your family tree you should try to keep it |
| information is the most commonly found; these | | | | as factual as possible even if you find information |
| events that have been recorded somewhere | | | | you don't like. |
| outside the family and will have public records. Full | | | | Another new source of information is with your |
| names are also essential. There could be fifty | | | | own DNA. It is now possible to test your DNA to |
| men named John Jones born in New York City, in | | | | find out your families origins. This information can |
| 1906. Therefore you have to be very specific on | | | | give you a global overview of your genetic |
| which one you are looking for. | | | | makeup telling you what percentage of your DNA |
| Learning about your family and where they came | | | | is shared with different ethnicities. For more tribal |
| from can answer questions you may have about | | | | societies like Africans and Native Americans, DNA |
| family traditions that have been passed through | | | | can confirm what tribe you are most likely to |
| the family. Maybe your whole life you wondered | | | | have come from. These results are not always |
| why grandma baked braided sweet bread only at | | | | 100% accurate, they can tell which group you are |
| Christmas. Then you learn through your search it | | | | predominately from, but because of population |
| is an old German tradition that started several | | | | migrations there can be many different ethnic |
| hundreds years ago. It is something she grew up | | | | markers in one persons DNA. |
| with and has always done without really knowing | | | | |