Attention Genealogists in Ancestry Search Land – It's Time to Go Back Into the Closet

For all of you family genealogists out there in Ancestry Search Land, give your descendants a lasting gift that they will thank you for over and over. Pull that shoebox off the closet shelf right now – you know the one that is filled with photos and not shoes – and start sifting through it.

While online databases, ancestry websites, and fabulous genealogical research centers are the siren song of the family genealogist, how many of you realize – like Dorothy ultimately did in The Wizard of Oz – that the Emerald City of ancestor search resources is available in your own back yard. Helloooo! Just open up that little cardboard treasure box of genealogy tree goodies and start counting your booty. Become your own genealogy service. While it's a lot of work, it's a lot of fun, too.

If your family has been careful to note each photograph with identifiers (name, date, place, and relationship) – great! Now all you have to do is scan them and get them filed in acid-free containers. But, you know and I know that's probably not the case. That would be too perfect. Chances are you have a lot of photos depicting people with odd hairstyles, wearing dated clothes, looking stern, and staring back at you – and you have no clue who they are! You need to act quickly to get to know the ancestors' identities and then preserve them for generations to come.

There is nothing wrong with family genealogists contacting a forensic genealogy service that specializes in photo analysis to help identify who's in a photo. But let's face it, family genealogists are in a better position to start to trace family history than a genealogy service is. You have important information at your fingertips that will go a long way in shaking the answers out of your genealogy tree.

The most difficult part of the journey is starting it. If you hit an obstacle in the road, that's when you need to reach out to a full-service genealogy service. A genealogy ancestry service will provide helpful directions to get you back on the right path. We're Off to See Our Ancestors!

How Do I Research An Ancestor?

If you think ancestor search is a simple task and that all you need to accomplish it is to interview a few family members, then you might be totally surprised to find that it is an extensive undertaking that will usually take up a lot more time and effort than you originally thought. Moreover, there is a high probability that your family members are not thoroughly knowledgeable with respect to your lineage, causing you to end up getting incomplete or even worse, misleading information. In such a scenario, it is best to hire the services of a professional genealogist who will assist you in achieving this sometimes daunting undertaking. Genealogy research is an extensive field, requiring a great deal of know-how. A professional genealogist knows how to access certain beneficial documents, such as online social security records, death records, marriage records, birth records, land deeds, death certificates, and gravestone photographs, etc. A knowledgeable genealogist, with his/her skills in tracing ancestry, will research these documents, methodically analyze them, and then draw relevant inferences from them. This is one aspect of genealogical research that can best be accomplished with a genealogist for hire. Moreover, since the ancestor search process is usually time-consuming, you may need the help of a professional genealogist to work persistently in order to help you achieve your genealogical research goals successfully.

Beyond Imagination!!

Have you ever wondered, why it is that you like to paint, when the last thing your father would do is mess with the paint colors? Why is your child so good at singing, while you aren’t even a bathroom singer?

Has it ever crossed your mind why all your family members have brown-eyes while your eyes are blue?

Does your family follow that one ritual, which other members of your community don't?

There is a high probability of finding the answers to these questions in your family genealogy. Traits, either physical, artistic, or otherwise, most likely come embedded in one’s genes. Therefore, don’t be surprised to discover that you may have gotten those scintillating blue eyes from the 3rd cousin of your father’s great grandfather.

Although, it might sound a bit irrational to some,  searching for the roots of one’s family might reveal a lot more than one can ever imagine. You may experience complete disbelief to find that a favorite uncle was adopted, or amused to find a celebrity is actually a distant relative! Sometimes, you can even learn about a disease that has been running in the family for generations, and due consideration might be given towards the requisite precautions.  There is a chance you might locate a living descendant of your family, someone whom you are  currently unaware of.

The path to the unearthing of the family lineage isn’t all that easy. It takes up a lot of time, money and other resources and can at times lead to a deadlock without any considerable results. Hence, by and large, people take up ancestor search for sorting out important matters like finding birth parents, solving issues related to ancestral properties etc. Nevertheless, there is no dearth of people who take up the pursuit of finding out facts about their lineage and family history. It also interests people to understand the rationale behind the practices followed in the family. Certain individuals, especially females are very intrigued to know and analyze their pedigree.  More often than not, this activity is rewarding and in some cases overwhelming. It is just amazing, at times, to find that there still are relatives who reside in your ancestral homeland, when your immediate family left from there years and years ago. That feeling of knowing, you are the way you are because someone somewhere passed on those traits to you is highly gratifying!!

So, why not plunge into the vast pool of your family’s history and relish the revelations!!