Hello to the dog days of summer. Maybe you can squeeze in a long weekend at a reasonably priced location before Labor Day. But where to go? Why the relatives' of course! Grandparents, mom and dad, aunts and uncles and cousins, the siblings?
If your family is large and relatives live a distance from each other, the chance to attend your family reunion may still be ahead. Go! Even though it may be inconvenient to arrange, go. These opportunities are few. Relatives of all ages gather to catch up, tell the family stories, recount jokes and embarrassing moments, eat ridiculous amounts of food and cement the bonds that hold families together.
Have you noticed how those family stories get embellished with the re-telling? But what about all the family stories that are not told? What’s the real story behind your aunt’s unusual first name or why two of your uncles wouldn’t speak to each other for years? Where did your family come from? To coin the title of a current television show, did you ever wonder “Who Do You Think You Are?”
Technology makes the pursuit to answer those questions easier. The digitization of historical data and the resulting automated searches bring a wealth of information at the tap of a keyboard or the swipe of a SmartPhone. Here are a few reliable places to begin.
- United States Census Bureau records
- State archives (Virginia’s are at the Library of Virginia in Richmond.)
- National Archives and Records Administration
- Daughters of the American Revolution Genealogical Research System
Your public library card comes in handy with genealogy research. It provides access via the Internet to services such as Ancestry.com, Gale Cengage HeritageQuest and back issues of newspapers. Immigration, military, birth, marriage and death records are also available. Don’t have a library card? They are free you know. Ancestry.com has a paid subscription service you may wish to buy. They also provide a special “Hire an Expert” option.
Why restrict yourself to Internet sites? There are a variety of apps for the mobile genealogist. A few notable ones include:
- Ancestry in both IOS and Android versions
- Families app for Legacy in both IOS and Android versions
- MyHeritage in both IOS and Android versions
- Mobile Family Tree Pro in IOS only
While you are tracking down elusive clues and examining old photographs, think about what and how you’ll add your own story for future generations. Capture those family reunions in photographs and videos. Record relatives telling their stories in their own words in audio files. Capture those secret-ingredient family recipes by videotaping intergenerational cooking. My aunt who was known for her biscuits couldn’t tell you how much of any ingredient to include. “Just a handful of this and a splash of that and mix it with your hands until it feels right.” She’s gone, but her recipe continues, made almost as special as she did.
Have you tracked back through your family? Which resources and technologies helped you?
Kurt Proctor
7:26 am on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Tracked one grandmother back to the Mayflower which was news to my family. Built our family tree on Geni.com and shared it with many relatives that joined (free) and contributed to the tree.
Lydia Patrick
7:55 am on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Great recommendation. Thanks! I like the Projects section especially. A language translation option would be helpful. Reminds us how personally interconnected we are to others across the globe.
Sally Spangler
11:28 am on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Family tree? Begin at the closest members - parents Did you know birth certificates and that listed in the beginning with the county and state they were born in? My mother was born in 1904. My father in 1899. Dad's was easy asit had been noted at the time be was baptized. Mother? now that was stickey! It shwed up in the 1910 census. She was the 5 year daughter of her father and mother in St. Louis, MO, where he was working at the time. The work he was doing was listed on the far right side. The place of his parents birth was listed. Rather handy for finding them. They were both Virginians. their mother's family also. The US census before 1850 only listed the father's name and in a chart to the right first the number of children boys first in age group, the last listing for males wold be the age group of the father and maybe his father; then girls, the same way, the last being mother's and maybe grandmother's age group. Then if listed in a slave state, the same for the slaves age group. In 1900, and the only year this was done, the birth month & year of each person in the family, including any servants living in the family home. The first US census was about 1790 and that was only enumeration of father and his work. If he had slaves, their total number was listed. Blog needed
Sally Spangler
12:58 pm on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Yes, very close at times. One last thing I found about my maternal grandfather was a line map of Churchville, VA showing the house number and street where he died!
Quite an eye opener. Gee, wonder how many times I have been through that town.
Lydia Patrick
2:16 pm on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The pursuit is indeed detective work. What a difference from today when far more details are logged throughout a person's life. The mixture of geography with the human details makes us feel more connected to our near and distant relatives. Apps that draw on old photos that show the same place through the decades or maps that take us even further back are so instructive.