Free Genealogy Search: Discovering Your Family’s Ancestry

If you are interested about discovering about your family’s history like most people are, then you can hire a genealogist to do the search for you, however, there is a much cheaper way to start searching for your family’s history.  Free Genealogy web sites…

Although it will only offer limited results, it is a great way to start your search for your family’s history.  You will find a few websites that will offer free genealogy search. These free genealogy websites will only offer limited information but it will serve as a great start to find out about your family’s genealogy.

Free genealogy research websites will serve as stepping stones on your search, there may be times you will have to venture out to search public libraries for old newspapers and old public records that may contain the information you are looking for.  A large number of documents are now on the internet and more are being added every day.  Just remember, it’s like solving a puzzle.  Just because it’s there and looks like it will fit, it might not be the “right fit.”  There could be another whole branch of the family that is similar and not your branch at all.

Some of the best genealogy sites I have found, I have listed in the Research Links area of this blog.  I will be adding more as I go along.

Since free genealogy search websites don’t contain all the information you need, you can consider gathering what information you can and once you meet a dead end in your search, you can try joining the different discussion groups, chat rooms and mailing lists that are associated with the name and/or location you are interested in.  Always remember that the farther back in the past you try to go with your family tree, the harder it is to find documents and some information may or may not be correct due to many things.

Some documents have been lost to fire and floods.  Sometimes it’s hard to determine what is written from the handwriting of the individual.  Some people did not like giving information, so there may be blanks in your research or answers written down, like on a census form may have been a guess on someone’s behalf that was not there at the time.

Do the best you can and make sure you take and maintain notes on what you have or have not found.  Your next research session just may present something that was there all along and you just didn’t see from the time before.

Free genealogy search websites are there to give you a bit of push on your search for your ancestors.

Searching your family history is a fun activity. So, start uncovering your family’s mystery by searching for the preliminary information first in free genealogy search websites and make some contacts with long lost relatives.

Scrapbooking Your Family Tree

Find Your Long Lost Invisible Irish Relatives

Invisible relatives may pertain to those people who are difficult to find or are perhaps hidden relatives.  A relative can be considered missing if he or she does not appear even in one of the volume of records containing your family’s history. Detailed information of your invisible relative can be hard to uncover. You don’t probably suspect that he or she exists before you begin your research.

You need to know some of the reasons why such things happen.

• Women are most often categorized as invisible relatives. Keep in mind that women didn’t have legal identities of their own in many countries. They are not regularly mentioned in community records. In Ireland, property was rarely registered in the name of a woman from the 18th to 19th century. When registration of civil marriages took place in 1865, only the father’s name of both couples is listed.

• If family members disapproved of a relationship, thinking that it can bring disgrace to their family, they would hide it consciously.  For example, a widow who wanted to marry again but her children are all grown up.

• It runs in the tradition of the Irish, they always want to portray the best face and feet forward. They omit sad memories from the tales about their family. Thus, infants and young children who are already dead were never mentioned again.

• Some common records used in genealogy research are incomplete. The contents have entirely missed important things about the person. Maybe, they failed to anticipate that the latest generation would likely want to know about their origins.  Some census reports in the U.S have this problem.  Former spouses were never mentioned on the record, as well as the date of immigration until 1900.

So, some Irish who are just starting to find their genealogy can face a lot of challenges. It is advisable not to rely too much on what they find on the written records. However, any piece of information is important to help you in your research. No matter how small the information is, you can unravel many things once you dig deeper.

Never assume that the norms in the 20th and 21st century, made sense 50, 100, or 200 years ago. Try to learn and understand that norms vary according to time and place.  Considering all the records (both Irish and American) are helpful in solving the jigsaw puzzles of your life, in case your family already migrated in the U.S. This process is also similar in other countries.

There are factors that you should concentrate on when finding an invisible Irish relative. Checking the census can be effective in finding the persons who are related to the one you are looking for. Another is to learn some significant traditions associated with the place. For example, in Ireland, the naming tradition is very popular. Irish men name their oldest son after their grandfather. If the person is already married, then search for the marriage record. Take note, during the 1860′s, divorce was not favored in Ireland. So, better check for death records also in case the name changed.

Finally, be patient as your research progresses. After all, it is worthwhile to embrace your origin again and find the missing part of your life.

Scrapbooking Your Family Tree