{"id":2445,"date":"2014-10-10T07:00:32","date_gmt":"2014-10-10T12:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?p=2445"},"modified":"2017-09-19T11:39:58","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T16:39:58","slug":"starting-the-search-for-your-family-ancestry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2014\/10\/starting-the-search-for-your-family-ancestry\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Trace Your Family Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to Trace Your Family Tree<\/h1>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Our family history shapes us in ways we can’t always recognize, but much of who each person alive is today is due to the decisions made by those who came before (and their genes, of course). That knowledge is what drives such an avid interest in genealogy.<\/p>\n

Many people find that by discovering new information about the lives of their long-dead family members they feel closer to history and can learn a little more about themselves. While search engines and the digitization of many past records mean that a search into your family ancestry is easier today than it’s ever been before, that doesn’t mean you can count on it being a breeze.<\/p>\n

Be prepared to put in some effort and probably pay some money. If you’re ready to hunker in and do the work though, you may just dig up something fascinating.<\/p>\n

Start With What You Know<\/h2>\n

To find information from the past, you need to start with what you can find in the present. Write down the names of all the family members you know now. Now start making phone calls.<\/p>\n

To find as much about your family ancestry in the records, you need as much information to start with as possible, so all those living relatives with memories that go further back than yours are your most valuable resources.<\/p>\n

Some of the main things you want to learn from them are:<\/p>\n