Have you ever asked yourself "Who am I and where did I come from? This question could also be asked in a different way - "Who do you think you are?" To answer these questions, you need to understand how to research genealogy. You need to begin a genealogy study of your own family. You need to create a personal family tree. Perhaps you've seen the TV series recently with the title - "Who do you think you are?" It's on NBC on Friday nights at 8PM EST. The show works with celebrities; it helps them build their own personal family trees. Sometimes, they find surprising stories that often are linked to important events in American history.
In the first show, Sarah Jessica Parker, the actress, traced her family history. She found that her great, great, great, grandfather was part of the 49'er gold rush in California. She also found that one of her ancestors was accused of being a witch in the Salem witch trials in the early 1800's. In researching my own personal genealogy, I developed a family tree for my own family. I actually found an uncle I didn't even know I had. In addition, he didn't even know he had a family. He thought he was an orphan. Since then, I've met him, we've talked extensively, and we are friends today.
You could have famous ancestors too; you can understand how to research genealogy and build your own personal family tree. You start this process with "yourself." The most important step you can take is to just "get started." Within the process, you'll start getting involved in learning how to complete a Family Tree Chart, how to search cemeteries, and how to search family records. When you understand exactly how to research your ancestors, you'll almost certainly save money, time, as well as a lot of frustration and heartache.
