family tree/history-help?!

jojo86

hey, Just wondering if people can help. I'm interested in doing a family tree and full (or as much as I can) anthology of my family on my dads side and maybe my mums side so I can give it to them as a gift.
I want to get more information than just names on the family tree so I'd like you know to find out some interesting stuff and be able to write it all up, think along the lines of a simpler "who do you think you are?"
If anyone can help me with how to go about finding things out it'd be great. I don't know about some of the websites you have to pay for etc but if anyone can help give me advice on how you did your family tree or how to go about it it'd be great, thanks a million!:D

Ponster

Before you ever start paying for information you need to sit down and extract as much information as possible from the oldest surviving members of your family. You need to write all this down, make as much sense of it as possible and create your family tree on paper.

The websites you speak of are very useful if you have US/UK ancestors but less useful for Irish families. Once you find your people in the 1901 and 1911 (for free) there aren't a lot of Irish sources that cost money so don't worry too much about that.

jojo86

ok thanks so much. would many libraries have much information with regard census' or anything? I mean would any county library have data from the entire country? Alot of my older relatives are dead so it's hard to find things out that route.
Thanks so much though

Ponster

The 1901 and 1911 census results are available online for free.

Depending on what age you are you'll probably be expect to know your great-grandparents names in order to find them in there (or have a specific address that you know for certain that they lived at).

Libraries have lots of local information and often they have records that can help fill in the holes when there are no census records available (there aren't any complete records for all counties pre-1901). I'd begin by looking for them in the census links above.

If you post all the information you possible know here (grandparents names, dob, place of birth) then we can help you figure out how to get things such as birth records and marriage and death certs)

jojo86

ok thanks a million!!

zagmund

Don't forget to talk to people who are removed to one side or the other in your family (your parents cousins, great Auntie someone, etc . . .) as well as you oldest direct links.

These people can sometimes shed more light on sketchy pieces of information that you might have for some of your family members because of different family dynamics. For example one branch of the family (say your Dads) may never have kept track of a particular side of the family (say his mothers) because the relevant individuals never got on, whereas maybe your dads cousins were always in touch historically.

May not sound too clear above, but what I'm saying is that when talking to the older generations don't just concentrate on your direct lines as the other branches can be a mine of information.

z