After my grandfather passed away few weeks ago, I decided to make a family tree of both my mother's and father's side to share with my child and my relatives. I was wondering if you ever try using Ancestory.com? Any suggestions?
are they from north carolina? even if they're not, the genealogy library is top notch at the archives building on jones street. my father recently did a 3 day free trial on ancestry.com. i have been doing genealogy on my families for over 15 years, and in that three day trial i managed to get info on a couple of people i couldn't find previously. the message boards on genealogy.com are helpful, too
CakePrincess wrote Yes,don't wait to long to get started,question your Parents,any Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts
I think that's a great idea. My uncle (dad's side) has started one but he hasn't gotten very far (Lewis / Black ancestory) not black as in black but the name Black! Mom's side (Adams) we found out we were related to the late President John Adams. Can't ya'll see the resemblence? Those eyebrows are difinatley related to me! :mrgreen:
Wow, harleygirl! I just started it few days ago and I learned that my great-great-great-great Grandfather was involved in the civil war - on the Union side. He was captured by the Confederate army and they placed him in the prison, where he died, sad to say.
My interesting story....2 men (who did not know each other) were captured by the Union at Fort Fisher, NC on January 13, 1865. They were imprisoned in Maryland and both were released on June 27, 1865 after signing a pledge to the Union. 95 years later on June 4, 1960 their great-great-grandchildren married. True story.....these are my parents. Good luck with the geneology search. My mother did it about 20 years ago. Now that I'm older and can appreciate it, it is fascinating.
My mom's side of the family has been doing a family tree for years. We know we are related to 2 presidents, James Madison is one of them and I forget who the other is, and we also have a relative buried in Williamsburg and was friends with Thomas Jefferson, I believe. My mom's side has got tons and tons of information. Not sure where they are getting it all from, but I know some of them have spent a lot of time on the internet.
I did my entire family both sides. I used names from the family then I went to Ellis Island to get those records. Then I use ancestry.com. It was so worth finding the draft card records & the census listing. It was fun finding out who all the neighbors were & such. You can find out alot just from that. Then google the names you will be surprised. It was fun finding out that we have some famous people in our family -although they are dead now. Still it was cool
CakePrincess: I too have a "Yankee in the woodpile". My great-great grandfather fought for the Union side out of Kentucky. Nothing to be ashamed of though. He fought for what he thought was right. There were Confederate troops out of Kentucky also. Plenty of Confederates in my tree. Be careful of Ancestry.com and others like them. You will sometimes be relying on what others are posting, which may not be correct. A previous poster was correct about the State Archives on Jones Street. They have census info from other states which is a great source. A couple of problems with the census is that there is hardly any of the 1890 census available due to it being destroyed in a fire. Also, prior to 1850, the names of children were not listed in the census. Other sources are old family Bibles and your oldest living relatives. Get to them NOW while their minds are still good and before they pass on. I have had a blast over the last 15 years researching my tree. Good luck to you and others in your research. Have fun!
