Starting my family tree search was very daunting at first. There were so many places that I might find out about my ancestors and their history. I searched through books, libraries, free genealogy websites and family members in my initial investigations. I started with the easiest sources included books, Family Bibles, scrapbooks that my family already had. I spoke with my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles to uncover all of the treasures that they held.
Once I had exhausted those resources, I went to the local libraries and resource libraries to identify books and articles that were published about my family names. Because my resource libraries had access to census materials from decades and even centuries ago I researched those sources as well. These searches took lots of time, but it is very regarding to uncover that lost generation or branch of my tree that had been missed in previous research. I used the internet to carry out searches on each family name. Fortunately, there are numerous free genealogy websites that access to thousands and even millions of names that yielded many new ancestors that I could add to my tree..
I always feel that the family tree search that I am conducting today, whether in books or on websites, provides an important resource for my children and their children to help them appreciate their family's history. It is a source of satisfaction and pleasure for me when I do it correctly.
