Tracing Your Family History

[dvatmq...@yahoo.com]

Let me say straight away that tracing your family ancestry is a great
hobby but very addictive, so unless you want to get well and truly
hooked, don't start.
When I travel around the country to Family History Fairs, I am amazed
at the number of people who say quite cheerfully, "family history is
so easy, I did mine in half an hour on the internet." If they are
happy with that, then good luck to them, but for me, if I cannot prove
it, it doesn't count.
Family history is not about just collecting a pile of names and then
trying to fit them all together like a genealogical jigsaw puzzle. You
must start with what you know to be true and that is your birth
certificate. On that will be the names of your parents, so, if you do
not already have access to it, it shouldn't be hard to obtain their
marriage certificate. From there until 1837, you can travel back
fairly safely with hatched, matched and dispatched certificates from
the Family Records Centre in London. Pre 1837, you have to be able to
access parish registers, and this is where the going can get tough. If
you are unsure of the area your forbears are from, census returns can
be very helpful....

http://groups.google.com/group/familytreesyvs