Lost Family Relatives

The hobby of tracing a family tree back through time is a very common one that many love to do. Some can dive right in and go through all of their research very quickly, but that is not usually the case. Most people have to do some, take a break, and then come back to it periodically. When people hit dead end after dead end, they tend to want to put things off until new information can be found. That is when new sources for information need to be found.

In past decades, finding a family tree was hard. You had good information from those that were still living, but their memories of facts could be vague or even wrong. They may have a lot to tell you, but you have to verify that with records. It is through those records that you get the clues you need to go back through even more generations. Even if your relatives are right, they can only tell you so much about so many people.

Going through cemeteries and sending out for vital records was costly and time consuming. Today, however, you can find in days and even hours what would have taken weeks and months in the past. That is thanks to the reach of the Internet. Because you can access everything online from your home, you have access to things those in the past would have given their arm or leg to have. Even better, some of these sources are free.

The free sources are many, but you have to know where they are. A simple search on an engine for genealogy sites can bring up hundreds of small sites that may have what you want. These can have birth, death, marriage, deed, immigration, and even divorce records. All can be immensely useful. There are paid sites that have tons more information if you want to cut down on time. Some try free first and then sign up for paid when things are scarce.

What you may want to do is to find a public records site that can give you birth, marriage, divorce, and other records. They can also search for a family grave if you think what you need can come from a cemetery tombstone. Though this costs money, it can be your only option, and is certainly one of the fastest ways to get what you need.