There has been an explosion of interest in tracing ancestry in the last couple of decades, with digital technology having opened up new avenues of research to the general public. For someone with no prior knowledge of how to do it though, the process can sometimes seem intimidating. Taking the name 'Pat Lawrence' as an example of an ancestor, it can be seen that the process is actually not that difficult, as long as you are patient.
The name of a specific ancestor is always the best place to begin a search through your heritage. The further back through the generations that you can star with, the better. Once you have established a name like Pat Lawrence as a starting point, then the next thing to do is to find some dating evidence, such as birth or death date.
These two dates make beginning a search back through the documentary evidence, which can often be scant, a much more straightforward process. A definite date is also a great boost to your confidence and morale, which can become important when searching for elusive ancestors. Not many individuals in history have shared an exact match in terms of birth date and name.
Place is the next most important thing after date when it comes to ancestors being born and dying. This can be complicated for people whose ancestors have emigrated and often been born in different countries across the generations. If you are unsure about in which country you should begin your search, then ask any elderly relations or consult family oral myths and legends for clues.
Surnames and some first names can also give a good indication of which country an ancestor may have been born in. Taking the surname Lawrence as an example, we might well reasonably surmise an English origin. Names can have changed though, especially when emigration has occurred, while English is also spoken in a great many other countries. The best thing is to use this as sign post along the way and keep an open mind.
Establishing a religion for your ancestor is another potential source of good information. Church records can provide lots of key data about the significant points in an ancestor's life. Certain nationalities are often strongly associated with certain religions too, which can offer some kind of guidance along the way.
From marriage records and death records it is often possible to take step further back in time. As you go further, digging out more specific detail becomes more important, yet much harder. Knowing the kind of job that your ancestor did is useful, and military service can provide even more useful details.
So with just an unassuming name like Pat Lawrence as an ancestral starting point, it is possible to conduct a reasonably thorough search into your ancestry yourself. With some time and patience, you can use internet tools to investigate birth, death and marriage records. These significant events are often when our ancestors left a documented mark on history.
The name of a specific ancestor is always the best place to begin a search through your heritage. The further back through the generations that you can star with, the better. Once you have established a name like Pat Lawrence as a starting point, then the next thing to do is to find some dating evidence, such as birth or death date.
These two dates make beginning a search back through the documentary evidence, which can often be scant, a much more straightforward process. A definite date is also a great boost to your confidence and morale, which can become important when searching for elusive ancestors. Not many individuals in history have shared an exact match in terms of birth date and name.
Place is the next most important thing after date when it comes to ancestors being born and dying. This can be complicated for people whose ancestors have emigrated and often been born in different countries across the generations. If you are unsure about in which country you should begin your search, then ask any elderly relations or consult family oral myths and legends for clues.
Surnames and some first names can also give a good indication of which country an ancestor may have been born in. Taking the surname Lawrence as an example, we might well reasonably surmise an English origin. Names can have changed though, especially when emigration has occurred, while English is also spoken in a great many other countries. The best thing is to use this as sign post along the way and keep an open mind.
Establishing a religion for your ancestor is another potential source of good information. Church records can provide lots of key data about the significant points in an ancestor's life. Certain nationalities are often strongly associated with certain religions too, which can offer some kind of guidance along the way.
From marriage records and death records it is often possible to take step further back in time. As you go further, digging out more specific detail becomes more important, yet much harder. Knowing the kind of job that your ancestor did is useful, and military service can provide even more useful details.
So with just an unassuming name like Pat Lawrence as an ancestral starting point, it is possible to conduct a reasonably thorough search into your ancestry yourself. With some time and patience, you can use internet tools to investigate birth, death and marriage records. These significant events are often when our ancestors left a documented mark on history.
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