Saturday, October 4, 2008

FAMILY TREES

Have you ever wondered about who was in your family before you were even born? Were you related to someone famous? Or even, just wanted to keep track of your family history?


Well, I have. I have been wanting to do my family tree for years. My cousin had started one on my mom's side of the family but I never had anything on my dad's side.


There are many different types of tree's you can fill in. You can add photos, medical history, birth, death and marriage dates. All sorts of information.


I heard that my cousin's son started to add all the information that my cousin had on a site called Geni. He sent me an invitation to join and I did.


We have been uploading all sorts of information on our family. It's so fun to read what information other family members have. Some pictures of my family that I've never seen have been uploaded.

So far we have family that we can track back to 1812 on my mom's side. How fun is that. Almost 200 years ago. Then on my dad's side so far it goes back to 1882 which is 126 years. Then the family started to come from other countries and it gets harder to find.

So far it looks like my ancestors come from Ireland and England.

To find information on your family you start with yourself and work backwards. Add your mom and dad. Then your grandparents and then their parents and so on. Along the way you add brothers and sisters and their children.

It's great to watch how big your family gets.

On Geni at http://forum.geni.com/?email=jk51958%40yahoo.com you can set up your own family tree and they walk you through the information you need to get started.

Once your tree is big enough if anyone else has any family that they are related to they can contact you and see if it's your family also. Then your tree grows and grows. There really is no end to how big it can get.

Give it a try. You may find you enjoy it as much as I do. Even if you don't do it on line. You can keep track of your family by hand also.

If you have done your family tree, tell me about it. How far back did you get? How long did it take you?

Oh, no, the family trees in the pictures above are not my family. I just got those photos off the Internet to show examples of how your records could look.

See you when I get home in a few days.

Hugs,
Joanne

7 comments:

Lorilee said...

My mom compiled quite a bit of info our our family. My Dad's side has been traced back to the town of Stein am Rhine in Switzerland! A family member even traveled to the town and visited the family home! I would love to go there myself!
Blessings,
Lorilee

Judy said...

I did some geneology years ago but for some reason gave it up for awhile. At least that is what I thought. I did find out lots of information and it was fun. I keep thinking I need to drag everything out again. I have my great grandfather's birth certificate from Alsace, France. That is way too cool.

Catherine said...

We traced my husbands family back to Scotland dating back to the late 1630s. I`m having a harder time with my Irish side, Flanagan is like being a Smith, a very common name and with many spellings. The German relatives have been easy to find. I saved the information but have been too busy to go at it again.

Edie Marie's Attic said...

Hi Joanne!
I've done some family tree work in the past and it's quite interesting! I am back to my great grandparents coming over from Germany on my moms side. It get's very hard at that point. I'm going to check out the site you are using. Thanks for the info!!
Hope you are having a fabulous time!!
Hugs, Sherry

Alice said...

My family tree, on three sides, was compiled before I was born. I'd seen two of the family tree books but everything is on Ancestry.com. It's really amazing.

I can trace one branch back to Essex, England and two brothers who were soldiers who came to Jamestown.

The Summer Kitchen Girls said...

Wrking of family trees is so interesting - don't you just get lost in it all when your reading and recording information? That site looks pretty cool - we'll check it out!
Karla & Karrie

Anonymous said...

Is it true?? Are you home? Or did you leave a comment from the ship? Hope you are having/did have a fantastic time and am looking forward to seeings LOTS of pix from your cruise! And yes, I am the crafty one these days... hee hee!!...Donna