How to find your ancestors and learn the genealogy

The content of the article

• How to make a family tree
• How to find relatives by last name
• How to find your roots by last name using books
• How to find your ancestors in the archives
• In the registry office
• Search for relatives by last name abroad

Sometimes trying to create a family tree of his family out of boredom, a person discovers a lot of mysterious and interesting things. Finding out the fate of your relatives, getting to know their descendants is a way to get to know your environment and even yourself. How to find living relatives and find distant ancestors by last name?

How to make a family tree

Time cannot be held, but you can find iconic things and recorded memories in past decades and centuries. How to find ancestors by last name to make up the family tree of a family:

1. Home archive. In such an archive are stored: photos, albums, records, documents. If this is a close environment, then there is evidence of marriage, birth, death. Documents about obtaining education have value in collecting information: certificates, diplomas, certificates. To immediately simplify your task, consider the two branches of genealogy – maternal and paternal – separately. Collect all information in two folders to avoid confusion. Originals should not be carried with you, keep them in a safe place, but for yourself it is better to make photocopies of documents.
2. A survey of relatives. To get as much information as possible, such a procedure is carried out in an informal setting: an evening of family memories, a holiday. The dictaphone and the pre-compiled list of questions are your best helpers, because relatives can argue, interrupt in the desire to tell something, so it’s important not to miss the little things.
3. Archives. Such databases still exist, but in order to clarify the information in them, you need to know the full name, year of birth of the person, place where he was born.
4. Internet sources. Social networks, all kinds of relatives search sites can push you to your loved one.

Here is an example of how to find relatives and create a family tree.

How to find relatives by last name

If polls and searches in the home archives did not reveal the necessary information, then it is worth trying more modern methods. How to find ancestors by last name on the Internet:

1. FamilySpace. This portal has tons of tips for finding information about loved ones. A site specially created for these purposes will tell you how to quickly find ancestors by last name, and their children and grandchildren by profession, region in which a person lives, works, or previously lived. In the case when the search was unsuccessful, then you just need to regularly check again, the site is often updated.
2. Social networks. Now many people of different ages create pages on popular resources. The following sites belong to such resources: Odnoklassniki, Facebook, Vkontakte, Mail.ru, Instagram,.
3. Online directories. Here, information about the location of the person you are looking for will be more relevant. Such directories are little oriented to search by name.

How to find your roots by last name using books

The family tree can be significantly expanded with information about more ancient ancestors. Often they were outstanding people who experienced ups and downs not only in the context of their personal lives, but also of the entire state. Large publications are considered the most famous sources that keep eternal memory. Which archive of deceased people by last name who participated in significant events is worth viewing:

1. The All-Russian book of memory is the largest source of ancestors not only of the inhabitants of the Russian Federation, but also of the disintegrated USSR. This book contains a huge database of citizens who participated in the hostilities of 1941-1945. Grouped the names of their ancestors at the places of recruitment. There you can learn about military and vital merits, the place of burial of a person. Over 750 volumes reveal important information about the warriors.
2. The book of memory of victims of political repressions. The collection of volumes covers 25 regions of the former USSR and includes information about people of Polish, Jewish nationality.
3. Reference publications and materials: “Appendices to the work of editorial commissions for drawing up the Code on peasants coming out of serfdom”, “Calendar, or the Months with the painting of officials in the state for the summer … from the Nativity of Christ”, “All of Moscow. Address and reference book ”,“ All of Russia. Russian book of industry, trade, agriculture and administration ”.

How to find your ancestors in the archives

The procedure for independent work in the archive on the question of how to find missing ancestors by last name:

1. Specify the search period and go to the registry office. There you need to submit a request to search for the necessary information or come in person, there is no reading room in this institution.
2. Archives are not only in the registry office, but also in educational, medical institutions.
3. Carefully study the sources: metrics, confessional paintings, inventories of people living in the house, census of different years, discharge books (assignments to the place of work), consolidated documents, annals.

In the registry office

The archives of the registry office should also be studied if you have already carefully searched your ancestors by last name in the archives. You need to know the exact name, patronymic, last name of the person. The request must be sent to the region in which the given citizen was or is located. The institution provides information on:

• date of birth of a person, place, his parents;
• marriage registration;
• the presence of children;
• place of registration;
• the death of the person being sought.

Search for relatives by last name abroad

If the search for ancestors in the archives refers to more distant periods, now you can find relatives who have left to live abroad. How to do it:

1. Check to see if you really have relatives abroad, their surnames, time of departure abroad, marital status, children, and the region where they went. If you do not know the country, then start with the most popular where your compatriots go (USA, Canada, Israel).
2. To search you need a good knowledge of a foreign language.
3. You can find relatives through global search engines (Google), social networks (Facebook, Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki).