Genealogy— Researching Your Family Tree by Hannah Howe records. Records can include census and electoral rolls, birth, marriage and death registers, wills, military, immigration and travel, school and business directories, plus newspaper archives.
It’s possible to construct your family tree with pen and paper using paper records, such as birth, marriage and death certificates, and parish registers. However, with the Internet widely available it makes sense for genealogists to take advantage of this vast resource.
It’s possible to discover a ‘gateway’ ancestor, someone who will connect your Victorian ancestors with noble families from the medieval period. On my tree, Barbara Aubery is such an ancestor. Along with her husband, John Bevan, she was a founder of the Welsh Tract in Pennsylvania. My Aubrey line stretches back to William the Conqueror. Indeed, I’ve been fortunate to discover many gateway ancestors and their lines all stretch back to medieval times. Through Welsh genealogies some of my branches stretch back to 4 AD (!)
To develop your family tree on the Internet you might decide to explore a hosting site. There are many hosting sites available. These include Ancestry, Find My Past and MyHeritage. I have been with Ancestry for over ten years so will concentrate on their site. Hosting sites allow you to collaborate with other genealogists and potentially to discover living relatives. The sites contain a catalogue of records and on Ancestry hints direct you to these
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