The holiday season is a wonderful time to learn more about your family history.
Often times we are gathered around a table chatting about stories from years gone by.
But what if this Christmas time, the family stories went even further back to the days of our ancestors.
Sure you can start research with programs like Ancestry.com and we’ll get in to that later, but the foundation of the tree really begins with what the people in your life already know.
It is best to begin with yourself and work your way backwards such as parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. and also branch out to siblings, aunts, and uncles, etc.
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Family History
So let’s start with the basic questions to ask:
- Full names of relatives
- Birth dates and death dates, and locations
- Places of residence
- Education details
- Hobbies and interests
- Occupations
- Marriage(s) and spouses’ names
- Names of the children the couple had, if any
- Special achievements/milestones
- Any other notations about the person’s life
All of these items listed are both great conversation starters to talk about with family at the holidays but also help you learn more about your family heritage!
Next Family Tree Research Step
If you would like to explore deeper in to your family genealogy, I recommend using the two websites: Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com
They are both incredibly helpful for finding resources that will piece together the details that tell your ancestors’ life stories!
Ancestry.com is more for overall research of all types of documents, files, and pictures.
While Newspapers.com is specifically focused on print newspaper articles, that you can search through digital archives online.
To read more about these services, I encourage you to check out these blog posts:
- How to Join Ancestry.com
- Hints on Ancestry.com
- How to Use Newspapers.com
- How to Save Clippings on Newspapers.com
For a printable bundle of Family History sheets click here to view my Etsy listing:
DNA Test Kits
Another option to learn more about your family history, is through genetics.
DNA Tests from Ancestry.com provide you the genetic breakdown of your ethnicity and helps you match with other relatives who took a test.
Side note- they even have a kit for dog’s too now! Check out this article to read more about that!
Ancestry Launches Dog DNA Tests
To buy a kit, here is my affiliate link: Dog DNA Test Kit
Tests are also great as a holiday gift for anyone in your life that enjoys genealogy, or simply wants to learn more about their own lineage.
To learn more about weighing the pros and cons of DNA testing, click here:
To buy a DNA test kit, here is my affiliate link: Ancestry DNA Test Kit
Memberships
If you would like to sign up for a free trail for Ancestry.com or Newspapers.com to explore with your family this holiday season, here are some links:
Ancestry.com – 14 Day Free Trail
It simply helps me to keep creating content by collaborating with great family history tools.
Have fun researching and Happy Holidays!
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