K-12 Family Heritage Projects ~College Research Projects ~ Community Events Family Reunions ~ Gift to Your Family ~ Legacy Planning ~ Just for Fun

HOW TO FIND YOUR FAMILY & DNA HISTORY and CULTURAL ROOTS: An Online Guide (January 2015) Your family and DNA history are growing every day on the Internet For generations, our ancestors have left a trail of records across the map of the world as they sought a better life for their children and grandchildren. Today, many of us are re-tracing this path to find the story of how and why our families came to the place we call home. With recent advances in science, were also now able to trace our individual DNA histories back to a common point of departure of humanity from East Africa about 50,000-75,000 years ago. So, put on your virtual hiking boots and take a wondrous trip in search of your family and DNA history. Its a great gift to put together for future generations of your family.

(1) Start with one name yours, an ancestors, or one of your familys surnames Go online to www.google.com, or www.yahoo.com, and type a single name or a family name (like this: Patrick OReagan or OReagan family) in the SEARCH box. You may get a direct hit, or dozens of links thatll send you around the world on a voyage of discovery. (Tip: if you need language-translation help with web sites, try Googles Language Tools).

(2) Search the large genealogy databases to find more of your ancestors Go online to RootsWeb, www.rootsweb.com, the oldest, free genealogy site, or to www.ancestry.com (with over 4 billion records) and www.familyhistory.com (state-by-state). Full access at home requires a fee; free access is available at public libraries. Or, try other portal websites such as: www.genealogy.com, www.linkpendium.com (some parts require fee) and www.findmypast.com. The LDS (Mormon Church) genealogy collections most extensive in the world at www.familysearch.org are shared on a free, non-denominational basis.

(3) Learn more about your familys cultural roots in U.S. & World History Go online to the extraordinary Cyndis List, www.cyndislist.com, and find your roots by geography, culture, or topic, ranging from Adoption to Wills & Probates. Its amazing Categories list is at: www.cyndislist.com/categories/. The must see history resources for all countries and cultures are at: WWW-VL (U.S. History) vlib.iue.it/history/USA/index.html; and, WWW-VL (World History), vlib.iue.it/history/index.html. If you think your ancestors passed through Ellis Island, check www.ellisislandrecords.org.

(4) Visit the U.S. National Archives, the Library of Congress, and your community libraries Be sure to go online or on foot to the National Archives, http://www.archives.gov (click on Research Our Records) for the largest collections of immigration, military service, and census records in the world. Go to the Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov for the resources of the largest library in the world. When you visit your local libraries and archives, ask the librarians and archivists for help (theyre amazing). You can locate local, state, national and international libraries at The Library Index, www.libdex.com.

(5) Discover your unique DNA history on the map of the world One of the most amazing journeys youll ever take is: the Genographic/Geno 2.0 Project on the National Geographic site at: www.nationalgeographic.com. Discover the deeper aspects of your DNA at www.23andme.com (fee-based genetic testing service).

Courtesy Andy Anderson, Wells Fargo chief historian