Your Family Tree

Learning about your ancestors can be so fun. When it comes to genealogy, you probably wonder where to begin, especially if you’re a beginner. A genealogy website that is free to the public is www.FamilySearch.org. There are no fees.

After you create a username and password, fill in the information about your parents and grandparents. Remember one thing! Only loved ones who have passed on will be visible on FamilySearch. Anyone who is still alive that you added to your family tree will not be visible to the public until that person passes on. It will only be visible to you. This is for the privacy of that person.

How do you begin? Here are the most important steps in order.

1. Preserve Memories: Record the memories of your parents and grandparents. Talk to your relatives and find out what they can remember. Write down their trials in life, their accomplishments, and humorous experiences. Add letters they wrote to the biography. If you don’t do this, their experiences will be forgotten. Your children need to know their heritage. When you’re done, go to that person’s page and post the biography you wrote in the section labeled: Memories. You can also have it published in paperback to give to your family.

2. Collect Photos: Scan all your family photos at a high resolution such as 300dpi. Then upload them to FamilySearch in the section labeled: Memories. When you upload them, make sure to label them, telling about who is in the photo and the date or their age. Get your children involved and have them help you with this project. The FamilySearch Center allows you to scan your photos free. There’s no charge.

3. Collect Documents: These should be birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates. You can add certificates that they earned during their lifetime such as graduation, competitions they were involved in, sports, plays they were in, etc. When you’re ready, upload them to that person’s page under “documents” in Memories.

4. Record your family for two to four generations and all their children.

There are also free online classes at FamilySearch in the link below that can help you in your research. To see what classes are taught each day online, click on the “Class Schedule.” Classes are taught daily at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. On Thursdays, there is also a class at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Go to Family Search Online Classes: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/St_George_Utah_FamilySearch_Center

The Classes I teach are in Mountain Standard Time:

Aug 13, 7:00 pm - Writing a Biography

Aug 20, 7:00 pm - Publishing Your Book