Family Tree Me!

It was only about four and a half years ago I discovered lots of cousins I never knew I had. I had posted my maiden name on a message board and even as late as last summer; Ancestry.com was helping me find more. As I emailed and phoned several of these new found relatives, I became more and more engrossed in my newly discovered family background. It is definitely not hard to become addicted to genealogy. Genealogy is one of the biggest subjects on the Internet listing thousands of sites to visit. There are several really great sites on genealogy search. They provide a continuous amount of information on a daily basis. From surname searches to limitless records and online family trees, it is an unlimited source of genealogy facts. Everyday you can find a new searchable record of some kind. Instead of having to cross the country spending money on motels, gas and food, digging through musty courthouse and city records, you can discover your ancestors right from your home computer. Let some of my listed sites provide you with your searchable databases for a very reasonable cost and some are even free.

There are people in most towns and cities that will go to a cemetery and take a photo of your family member's tombstone or perhaps do some research for you. They don't charge for their service but I usually send money for gas and for photo services (film and processing). They are found under: Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness.

I have gotten a great Genealogy computer program called Family Tree Maker and have entered all my facts and pictures in that. I back it up periodically and copy it to disc. I have a ton of old family pictures that I want to keep so I have gotten lots of photo albums and I must admit I haven't put them in yet. I am glad you can always find photo albums at garage sales for $1 or so!!

You need to check with your local LDS (Mormons) church as they almost always have a Genealogy library with their church and they can help you find family records there. They are the worlds leading source of family records.

Over these last few years I have been able to put together a book on the family of my father. As my grandchildren grow up I hope to be able to continue to add to that tree and provide them with a story of where their ancestors came from and what they were like. I can think of no more important gift to leave for them than information on their heritage.

I have found that CyndisList.com is the greatest site for EVERYTHING genealogy. You can never go through all her information in a lifetime.