Research Your Family Tree

    My great, great grandfather was a Union soldier wounded at Gettysburg.  Another relative of mine, Col. Zack Morgan, had the city of Morgantown, WV, named after him.  Knowing a few things like that gives me a sense of history that I never learned from a textbook.

     Most people have a desire to know their roots in some way, and online genealogy research is becoming a popular way to find out.  Your family tree may not lead back to anyone famous, but it is still always satisfying to know something about your past and your family’s place in history.

     When I decided to research my family tree I looked over the possibilities and found there are three basic approaches being offered by genealogical research companies online.  What information you want to find out, as well as what information you already know, will determine which approach most suits your situation.  In this article I will outline the three basic approaches as represented by three of the top companies.

 OneGreatFamily.com relies on shared information from its members.  That information is compiled into a massive database, which they presently say includes data on 195 million individuals.  Membership is $79.95 for a year, $29.95 for three months and $14.95 for one month, and there is a free seven day trial.  Members have access to the database through proprietary software called Genealogy Browser, through which information can be viewed or added.  Members are notified when new data “fills in gaps” in their family tree, or when data they enter can be useful to others, or when there is conflicting data entered by another user.  You can also view or add pictures, notes and multimedia files to people in the database.  Basically, this model relies on shared information.

Websites such as Ancestry.com give members access to databases of public records, including military and census records, birth, marriage and death certificates, immigration and emigration records and voter lists. They claim access to over 4 billion records, some of them going back as far as the 17^th century. With this model of research you need to know a few things to get started, like the names and approximate birthdates of the most distant ancestors you know in your family tree. You can use what information you find to build a family tree with their software and keep adding information as you go. The upside of this model is the hard information in the form of historical documents. They offer a 14 day free trial, and a basic membership is $19.95 a month or $12.95 a month with a paid yearlong membership.

     Genetic research companies like FamilyTreeDNA.com focus on your ethnic background.  Maybe you always thought you were a little Irish, a little German, and a few other things, but never really knew for sure.  This is the kind of company that will tell you exactly what you’re made of!  The test results will match you to other individuals known to be from certain regions or countries, and currently they are working on the ability to be able to give an actual percentage of the different genetic strains in a person’s family tree.  There is also a database that keeps track of matches that come up, so you will know if there are others in the database with whom you share a common ancestor.  There are different kinds of tests, depending on what you want to find out, which start at $159.  The test kits have swabs with which to take cell samples from the inside of your mouth.

 Depending on what you want to know about your family tree, one method may be better than another for you.  Each method has its strengths and weaknesses, but you can combine several approaches to get the fullest picture of your ancestral history.  Good luck, and have fun finding out about your own little place in history!