Anyone researching their family trees?

[catfeverintennessee]

Just wondering if anyone is researching their family trees? I got interested in genealogy about 19 years ago when we bought our house about 30 miles from where I grew up. My dad was so excited because it was in the small town where he was born. He would come to visit and tell about who lived where and some of his family members. I got curious and started research then. By the time I am through, I will be kin to more than half this county!:shock:It is on his side as well that I found where some ancestors left France and Italy around 1730 and came to the New Orleans area. They lived there until going to Graves County, Ky for awhile and then back to Tenn. Makes me so sad to think about all the history that will be lost because of Hurricane Katrina. :cry:There is a house that was built in the 1800's by one of my ancestors in Franklin, LA and hope ( i 'm sorry, i knowthat sounds selfish:blush:)that it will be spared. Am hoping and praying that many lives and homes/businesses will be spared as well. But it does not look good.

I have also found that I have more Ky blood in me than my hubby who was born and raised in Paducah. My mother's mother was from Eddyville/Kuttawa area and they were some of the first settlers in the area. Hubby's family was from Illinois on his mom's side and Tn on his dad's. It is so interesting and frustrating. I have a few brick walls on some lines but have done pretty well for the most part. The computer has really opened alot more doors than there were when I first got started.

Just curious if anyone else had this hobby or interest.:rolleyes:

[TRexSmarts]

I always wanted to do this but I never know where to start or what to do. How do you go about doing the research?

TRexSmarts

[PsychoCat]

I love genealogoy and have trace on my moms side a direct line back to the Mayflower and a 10x greatgrandfather was a Mayflower compact signor...its so fun and interesting when you find someone and seeing the names and learning about their lives

TL I can help you get started anytime you want

[TRexSmarts]

PC, I'll take you up on that offer. One of my main project in life I guess you can say is to create a Photography book of my family tree.

TRexSmarts

[catfeverintennessee]

I have found quite a bit on Ancestry.com which is a subscription site but it has census records, world family trees, newpaper tidbits, death records, birth records, marriage records and lots more on their data bases. Rootsweb.com is another one I have had luck with. You can type in your surname or location and it will take you to a board where you can find others who are researching that surname or ask questions there. US Genweb is a good one as well with state info that is then divided into counties. Cyndi's List is a good start as well. They did not have all this when I started but it sure helps when you can find someone who is researching the same family line. as well as not having to go to the actual libraries in those states to do research. I still go to see local books not online but not as often as I used to.

Psycho Cat, correct me if I am telling Trexwrong but I got started by asking questions of my grandmother, great aunts, and parents about the family names and any other info they had. I went back from there. The 1930 census is available now to view and I found my dad's family on there. There are family sheets available to help with this info. You can also go to the LDS library by the Mormons who have a large amount of family info on files.

Get ready though. It is an addiction!:) I love when I finally get a break through. My hubby calls it my "genealogy happy dance" when I can finally make a connection that I have been working on.:D

[PsychoCat]

Yes the first start is your parents, getting copies of their birth, marriage and death certificates (if they are deceased:() then do the same for grandparents....from there I ordered copies of birth and death certificates online....but for now TL get as much paper and verbal info from parents and grandparents you can then we will see how much you have and help you go from there

LDS library by the Mormons and the census records tell A LOT!!

[CoquieKat]

I'd love to...except that I'm adopted. I could trace my adoptive parents' families, but it's not the same, you know? Their heritage isn't the same as mine.

All I know is that I'm biologically part Scottish, part German. May have a bit of Mediterranean in me, as my biological grandmother was very dark-haired, dark-eyed, and olive-skinned. As pale as I am, though, that must be one small part, lol.

[UFgirlfan07]

I've traced my family back about 7 or 8 generations. It was a very cool experience but VERY time consuming.

[ukfaninva]

I have been working on mine for years now. I ave my mom's mom and dads side done. I have just started on my dads side and a little of my wife side.

[BigBlueAngus]

My family tree is full of nuts.

[TrueblueCATfan]

BigBlueAngus wrote: My family tree is full of nuts.
LOL.....mine is .......but only on my husbands side.....

[wildcatchick]

My grandfather is quite the historian. He's actually created two books (leather bound and everything!) on our family history dating back to what he swears is Adam and Eve. I haven't read all of both books because its so lengthy but it does go back amazingly far...past the Braveheart guy, past lots of queens and kings, etc. I think history has an interesting way of repeating itself. My great grandmother with whom I was very close lived in the very city where I now work. I never realized this until after I got the job there. As another neat coincidence my inlaws live in the small town where she moved to after that. Its like I'm following in her footsteps without trying!

[PeachtreeCat]

I haven't really done the research on my family but others have. I can trace my fathers side back to 1607 in Bern, Switzerland. In 1717, his great-grandson came from Germany to USA and settled in the Germanna colony in Virginia. Their is a whole website and group dedicated to early German settlers in Virginia, at www.germanna.org (http://www.germanna.org). Between 1800 and 1810, they moved from Virginia west to Boone Co., Kentucky. (Before becoming a state, Ky. used to be part of Virginia).