Family Tree Archives are vital if you want to get to know whom you are descended from. Perhaps you want to know what particular set of circumstances happened to the people in your family line to bring you to where you are now, but you don’t know where to get started. What you’re trying to do is build a family tree and the best place to look for information is in family tree archives.

The building of family trees and genealogy are becoming a very popular hobby today. In fact, for many people family tree creation is much more than a hobby; there has been so much global migration, so many families have gotten separated, and people want to get to know who else was in their family. They want to know where they lived and how they lived and even whether they are still alive.

Family tree archives have been constructed to hold millions and millions of data on families to help people find one another or construct their own histories. Thanks to the versatility of the Internet, it’s easier today than it ever was to find archives that can help you piece together your family’s history.

Most of these exist in the form of online databases and which now make it possible to find a great deal of information about your family online. Even if no-one in your family has recorded any information pertaining to the current generations there is a large amount of data online that covers records from the last couple of centuries. Some of these databases have existed from a long time ago in the form of paper records. The largest of these records was held by the Church of Latter Day Saints, with others being held by governments, military records and organizations that were concerned with reuniting lost families, especially after the 2 world wars.

When the Internet came along, it was realized that putting these records online would help people find each other much easier. A consolidation of the records also meant that the databases held more information than ever before. The Church of Latter Day Saints was instrumental in funding a huge project to transcribe the paper records into electronic data, and over the years, the websites that were established have come to be relied upon as the best family tree archives that can be found anywhere.

There are other sources of valuable genealogical information too; governments still hold paper and computer records that they collect on births, deaths and marriages. If you look online and can’t find the information that you’re looking for, it’s worthwhile to try looking at these offline records to see if your family’s history is recorded there.

The best family tree creation software comes tailored to be able to connect to these online family tree archives so that at the click of the mouse, you can either download data for your family tree or upload any new information that you may have uncovered as you went about your genealogy project. It’s important that you always be willing to upload all new information that you discover; you are helping the databases to grow, and you’re also making sure that anyone else from your family trying to create their own genealogy will find the information that they need to create a tree that’s complete.

Generally the online resources sources require that you interrogate them with some initial data, and you will find that most of them will ask for at least 2 names of the person you were looking for; others need more, and they may ask for a date of birth, death or marriage. Before you decide on which online databases you will use, make sure that you have a look at their requirements so that you can get the information you need as fast as possible.

There are some archives that come better recommended than others because they hold more comprehensive information or hold histories of minority groups like Asians, Hispanics and African-Americans. Have a look at these before you go into the smaller ones. Some family tree archives are also able to access information from smaller databases from a query on their website and these hold a greater advantage because you are looking at a bigger scope of information.

Margaret Ravenscroft has been a genealogist for over 20 years and has traced her family back to medieval times. If you have found this article helpful, visit Family Tree Archives to discover more. Click Here for your FREE Minicourse http://www.genealogyandfamilytrees.com

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Land Records such as property tax lists, deeds and deed indexes go back further in time that any other type of genealogical research record. Deeds can help you discover your heritage. Deeds can often provide evidence of family history relationships, names of neighbors, how long an ancestor was living in an area, given name of the female spouse, approximate dates of death and many other useful clues. The Homestead Act of 1862 enabled approximately 800,000 citizens or intended citizen to become landowners. Many states had their own land lotteries starting in the 1700′s to bring people to new territory and help establish communities.

Why Land Records?

Tracing males is easier than females. This is due in large part to many extra available records for males, such as railroad, military, voters, tax, and deed records. It is estimated that 90% of the adult white male population owned land.

Land records such as property tax lists, deeds, and real estate transactions go back further in time than any other record used for genealogical research. Certain Scandinavian land records date back to 950 A.D. In this country, land ownership has always been important. If a courthouse was destroyed, the deed records were reconstructed by local authorities soon after.

Prior to 1860, census records only list head of household. If you find a land record, it might have more than one family member listed, which can help in filling out missing family information. If you can find any type of land record for your ancestors, it will provide evidence of where an ancestor lived and for how long.

Land Definitions

A Warrant -Is the first document in the land grant process. Warrants were issued to soldiers for service in various wars, including the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The warrant could be assigned or sold to someone other than the person granted the warrant before the land was surveyed.

A Survey – Defines the exact location and boundaries of the land grant authorized in the warrant. The land had to be marked on the ground before the land grant could be possessed. The survey might include the names of the surveyor’s assistants, who were often chosen because they lived next door to the property being surveyed, giving insight to tracing your family history.

A Patent – Is the title certificate issued by the governmental agency that originally owned the land.

Subsequent Exchanges of Land

After a patent had been issued to a landowner, he had the right to sell the land to someone else in the form of a deed, but the recording of such land sales became a local responsibility. Unlike the warrant, surveys, or patents, which were recorded at the state or federal level, exchanges of land subsequent to the land grant process are recorded at the county level making it easier to trace your family genealogy. This is true for all states except three New England States, where the deeds are recorded at the town level (Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont), and Alaska, the only state with no counties and where land exchanges are recorded at the Judicial District level. In Louisiana, deeds are recorded at the parish level, which is the same as a county in other states.

Some definitions related to land exchanges at the county or town level are as follows:

• Deed… the private document which records that the ownership of a parcel of land was transferred from one party to another. A copy of a deed is recorded in the county or town the land is located, even though the sale of the land may have taken place somewhere else. Family history traced by the deed certificate then acts as the title to property in the possession of the buyer. There are several types of deeds, such as Warranty, Trust, or Quit Claim Deeds, all of which may be used to transfer or relinquish a claim to property.

• Grantor… the party selling or relinquishing land.

• Grantee… the party buying or being granted land.

• Grantor/Grantee Index… the index to private land exchanges. In some counties it may be called the Direct (Grantor) Index and the Indirect (Grantee) Index. Or, it may be called the Index to Real Estate Conveyances. This index can be found in all US counties kept by the county recorder or register of deeds.

Land Description

Land was surveyed and divided into sections from the point of the base (which runs east and west) and meridian (running north and south). A survey will sometimes tell you a lot more than just about the physical description of the land. The surveyor might include additional details about the neighbors and your relatives. A land description will have the following information:

Township – Is identified by its relationship to a base line and a principal meridian. For example, “township 5 South, Range 11 West, 5th Principal Meridian” identifies a township that is 5 tiers south from the base line of the 5th Principal Meridian.

Range – Is used in conjunction with the township data field identifies a row or tier of townships lying east or west of the principal meridian and numbered successively to the east or west from the principal meridian. In the above example, the number 12 represents the Range Number that is used to identify the township that is 12 tiers to the west of the principal meridian.

Section – This number identifies a tract of land, usually 1 mile square, within a township. Most townships contain 36 sections. Standard sections contain 640 acres. A section number identifies each section within a township. A half section contains 320 acres. A quarter section contains 160 acres. Half a quarter contains 80 acres. A quarter of a quarter contains 40 acres.

Aliquot Parts – were used to represent the exact subdivision of the section of land. Halves of a Section (or subdivision thereof) are represented as N, S, E, and W (such as “the north half of section 5″). Quarters of a Section (or subdivision thereof) are represented as NW, SW, NE, and SE (such as “the northwest quarter of section 5″). Sometimes, several Aliquot Parts are required to accurately describe a parcel of land. For example, “ESW” denotes the east half of the southwest quarter containing 80 acres and “SWNENE” denotes the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter containing 10 acres.

Tips for Finding Deeds

You need to know the county to look in. If you have a time frame and approximate county, go to the county formations map to look at the surrounding counties to narrow down your search. The transformation of land into county formations progressed slowly over time. In some cases there was a lapse of a few years between the creation date and the organization date of counties. Knowing when a county was formed or changed, can make a difference in finding the right information or no information at all.

If you are successful with finding a deed, check the neighbors deeds, they could be related or offer further clues. You might use a map to find the closest cemetery to see if you have relatives buried in the county they were living in. Other county documents like taxation lists or wills might help you with tracing your family genealogy.

Where to Trace Deeds

Look through the Indexes, to get deed book and page information. The indexes usually span several decades, making it easy to locate possible family history.

Research at the courthouse. You can try to locate a local genealogical society or RAOGK to see if someone would do the research for you.

Research by mail. A county’s register of deed records may look in a deed index for you if your request is concise. Ask for someone to check the Grantor/Grantee Index for evidence of your ancestor’s name during a period of about twenty years should help with tracing your family history. The index will indicate the book and page number for a deed transcript. You can then ask for copies of the deeds themselves.

Research by microfilm. Go online and look up the Library Catalog through Family Search to see what they have on microfilm for deed and property taxes. Note the film information and film number, and then visit your local Family History Center to order the correct film.

Research the BLM records. Bureau of Land Management has many online records for tracing family genealogy Information on land patents and land surveys for Public Land States. Research the local historical society. The local historical society that is in the county your ancestor lived in might be able to help locate old maps or land information.

Amy Yencer, I have been researching my family history for several years. I am the marketing manager of ourFamilyology; a new online genealogy software program that educates, inspires, and helps people to grow their family tree. Visit us as http://www.family-genealogy.com

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Among all software that can help in your genealogy hobby, I recommend you download family tree maker and try it out.

In this article I am going to give you ten easy reasons why I think it served me great in my purposes.

Reason number one: It’s very easy and fun to use. This is really important. If a piece of software requires lot of time to learn and is not intuitive, anybody will give up at some point.

Reason number two is its multi language support. More than 35 different languages are supported, so if English is not your first language don’t be discouraged. I bet that you’ll be able to understand the software and use it as well.

The third reason are the new maps that are included. They allow you to see exactly where your ancestors lived and it can give you a clearer understanding of how you came to be where you are today. If you have ancestors who lived in Europe before coming to America, now you know more exactly where they left from.

Reason number four: Smart Matching Technology. As the name suggests, this feature allows to see if your family tree has any matching with others on the community. If there are any matches, you could find other ancestors.

The fifth reason is the chance to publish your work with the online community with a simple click of your mouse. There’s nothing better than being able to share your efforts with others when you are done. Family tree maker allows you to do this and much more.

The sixth reason is the fantastic ability to organize photos and videos of your family in folders with labels and names. Organization is everything when it comes to genealogy, and this piece of software can help you dramatically in this.

The reason number seven why you should download family tree maker is the automatic face recognition and tagging. Similar to what you find on Facebook, where people gets tagged, something similar happens inside this software. However, it comes automatically.

The eighth reason are its procedures and step by step guides that allow you to do everything more easily. The ninth reason are its amazing charts and diagrams you can use to make your family tree fancier.

Finally, the tenth reason is Smart Research. With this feature you can look for information to add to your family tree on more than one hundred genealogy websites around the web.

As you have seen, there are many reasons to download family tree maker. However, before purchasing it, I encourage you to try it. You might find that, despite the reasons I mentioned in this article that make it great, it’s just not for you. So try it before you buy it.

There are many places where you can download it, an example is myheritage.com.

Thomas Grey is a Genealogy expert. For more great info on how to Download Family Tree Maker to build your family tree visit http://www.GenealogyTipsAndTricks.com.

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A family tree digital video can be great fun when you are creating your family tree. And the best part is that it’s really easy to make; just the same way that you would make any other kind of family video, you would do the same to get this one done.

What do you need? Not much, fortunately. All you need are some details of your family history or some genealogy, your video camera and a voice recorder.

You’ll start by making an outline of what you want your video to tell. Maybe you want it to tell the story of a particular person in your family. You will gather all the information about that person, the people who were close to him and learn all the events that shaped his life that made him or her so compelling.

After that, you are ready to start filming, but before you do, you need to get organized so that at the end, everything is in chronological order. Maybe you will want to use different folders for the different kinds of information that you will need as you film. You will be using your video camera while talking to all the people who will make your story come together. It helps to let them know in advance that you will be filming them so that they can be ready. As you film, make sure that you capture your voice very clearly as that’s where your narrative is coming from.

You may get to the point where you want to film places and things that were associated with a particular person. You can give the narrative yourself on your voice recorder. Filming places can be a little tricky because it may require that you travel to the place where this person lived. This of course is an excellent idea because you get the feel of their life better and you can also talk to the people who knew him or her. If you can’t really travel, you can use Google Maps accompanied by voice narrative.

It’s likely that there are older people in your circle of family friends who have some early memories of your great grandparents and other members of your family. Maybe they remember the town as it was in the 1930′s or what impact one of the wars had on the family. Maybe they went to school with the uncle who never returned from the war. You won’t know until you start investigating!

These people are invaluable sources of information that can describe people and events on camera. Be aware that you can have someone else record or interview for you if an elderly person would be more comfortable. If there’s someone they are particularly used to spending time with and with whom they feel a bit freer, let them do the interviewing for you as you film.

Don’t forget that you can lay out photographs, school reports, awards and certificates and video those. Record yourself describing them. If the person who owns the photos and awards is alive and able to assist you, ask them to do the narrative description as you do the filming!

Your family tree video can also include family mementos and pieces of furniture, old houses, buildings and schools. Include everything that you can think of that has been associated with the family for years.

Once you have planned what you want to record you are now ready to put your film together. Edit it as well as you know how, add music and any other features that will make it seem more real. Because you have organized your material in advance, this should be easy to accomplish.

Get as creative as you want when thinking up family tree ideas! By planning your project ahead of time you should come up with a compelling family tree digital video that the rest of your family will treasure and enjoy.

Margaret Ravenscroft has been a genealogist for over 20 years and has traced her family back to medieval times. If you have found this article helpful, visit Family Tree Digital Video to discover more. Click Here for your FREE Minicourse http://www.genealogyandfamilytrees.com

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Family tree shareware is family tree making software that allows you to test it before you buy it. The whole concept is based on a simple premise: every genealogy software developer wants to make the best software that they can, so that they can be the best in the market. They want to be competitive, and one way of doing that is buying your trust as someone who is interested in taking a look at their software with the possibility of purchasing it from them in the future.

They want you to test their product for a certain period after which you can make up your mind about whether it’s good enough or not. What they are trying to tell you is that they believe their product is so good that they are willing to let you test it for free because they believe that you will want to buy it after the trial period is over.

For you as a consumer, offering shareware is a great promise from any software manufacturer; they are taking the risk to let you use their product for free because they believe it’s that good. What it allows you to do is make a start with creating your own family tree by testing as much genealogy software as possible before you have to make a decision on which one is best for you. You will end up with the best in the market and the one that meets your exact needs by trying out as many as you can.

When looking at family tree shareware, look at it the way you would if you were actually buying the software.

Here is a checklist that will allow you to choose the best shareware:

• Does it allow you to connect to online genealogy databases so that you can upload and download data?
• Does it give you all the functionality you need to make the kind of family tree you want? For instance, how many different kinds of templates does it offer? Can you append photos and notes? Can you open it to others in your family so that they can assist you by finding and adding data?
• Does it come with product support? This is something that you should check with all software, not just family tree shareware. It can be extremely frustrating to buy software and have no one to turn to if you have questions or problems.
• Does it offer software updates? The web changes all the time and software has to change to conform to the changes. Software that doesn’t get updates will soon be unusable or have limited usability.
• Do the updates come at a price? Some software companies have a business model where they make their money off updates. They will send you their initial software for very little and then charge a lot for updates. Decide if this is something that you can accommodate, otherwise look for one that does not charge for updates or charges very little.
• How much does the actual purchase version of the software cost? The family tree shareware is free but what if you eventually want to buy it? Will it be too expensive?

If you make these considerations when choosing the shareware to get you started with your project, you should end up being able to compare only the best genealogy software out there. Then you will be in the best position to make a well-informed choice.

Another good idea when making your decisions about which family tree shareware is best for you is to join forums where people discuss family tree creation and the different types of genealogy software that is available. Get the opinions of other users; they are usually very candid in their exchanges about their experiences with the different products.

Margaret Ravenscroft has been a genealogist for over 20 years and has traced her family back to medieval times. If you have found this article helpful, visit Family Tree Shareware to discover more. Click Here for your FREE Minicourse http://www.genealogyandfamilytrees.com

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