In recent years the field of genealogy has undergone a remarkable transformation, thanks to the incredible advancements in DNA testing. Today, we'll explore how using DNA can help you grow your family tree in ways that were once unimaginable. Many of us have hit a stage where tracing back a particular lineage appears insurmountable, namely the genealogical brick wall. That's where DNA testing can come into play.
I cannot stress enough how crucial it is to speak to relatives - especially those who are elderly - while you have the opportunity. Databases and paperwork can provide plenty of information, but what they can't provide are personal memories, family stories and more besides. These are the elements that add colour and depth to your family heritage. It's often termed as putting flesh on the bones of family history.
This guide will provide an introduction to three areas. They are amongst the most commonly searched on Ancestry, namely: Census collections / Births, Marriages & Deaths (BMD) / Military. The following examples will draw on UK collections and subsequent results.
Three weeks ago I returned to England from South America, my wife's home continent. Whilst there, working just on my mobile, I created not one, but four South American (and beyond) family trees. This was family heritage close to home and genealogical research doesn't take holidays you know. Most revelatory was finding my wife isn't who I (or she) thought she was, namely she carries one wrong surname. One you say? You'll see what I mean by that shortly. This and what follows was uncovered by principally using one of the premier ancestry websites, the free and wide-ranging Utah-based FamilySearch. For my wife's home country, the volume of parish Catholic records which had been transcribed by their volunteers was truly impressive.Tip 1While home to numerous collections, FamilySearch also hosts public trees. These can be found via the 'Search' header and 'Family Tree' dropdown. Whilst potentially useful I recommend approaching some with extreme caution. They often don't cite sources and even when they do the owner may have made incorrect deductions and thereby connections.To continue. Naturally, a surname change came as a shock to my wife and her siblings. At birth in Spanish-speaking cultures it is traditional to have two surnames (apellidos); the first being the father's paternal (first) surname, followed by the mother's paternal (first) surname. For example, the son of Ángel Castro y Argiz and his wife Lina Ruz González was Fidel Castro Ruz, the Cuban leader. In my wife's ancestry, back in the 1840s, this hadn't happened and her 2x great grandfather carried his mother's surname first. It was akin to an Englishman finding out he was in fact a Jones, when for nearly 180 years his family had gone by Smith. The tree below illustrates what is termed the 'generational transmission' of surnames:
Hi and welcome to the inaugural blog on Ancestry Resources.Here's a research tale which illustrates how one burning question can trigger further enquiries, which then throw up a multitude of leads. A few days ago I took a work-based call from a lady who had been adopted at birth. She knew her birth mother had died several years after and wanted to know how to lay her hands on a death certificate. As it was an English birth, I said I would need to get the Civil Death Registration Index references. Her mother’s name was quite uncommon - not Smith or Jones thankfully - so using Ancestry’s BMD (Birth, Marriage & Death) collection that proved a quick step.
