How to Find Your Family History and Heritage

Researching your family history and heritage has become simple with the numerous resources available to you online. A wide variety of online records, such as court records, can offer valuable clues and bring you far in your genealogical quest.

Family History and Heritage Research

If you are interested in discovering more about your family history and genealogy, you will find that there are a wide range of online records available to aide in your research. These records are easily accessible and will provide you with extensive information about your heritage.

Where to Research Family History

Records that provide information on family history include:
  • Court records
  • Marriage records
  • Divorce records
  • Property records
  • Birth records
  • Death records
  • Social Security records
Death and birth records are records that you will typically want to go to first. These records are very reliable sources of information because they are considered a primary source. Primary sources are records completed near or at the time of the event by someone who witnessed the event. For example, a birth record is usually completed by the physician or midwife who attended the birth.

Court records, including marriage and divorce records, are also very reliable. Court records are considered vital records and easily available because the government has made an effort to preserve them. Divorce records will only help you discover recent family history, since divorces weren't common until the 1900's. Social Security records will also provide you with fairly recent details on your family history because Social Security numbers were not assigned until after 1935.

What Information Can be Deemed from Records

Marriage, birth and death records can provide you with basic information that will help you continue with your family history research. Common data that can be discovered from these records include full names, dates of birth, names of mothers and fathers, locations of the event, and addresses. Social Security records can also provide you with names, dates of birth, parents' names, birthplace and date of death. Additionally, Social Security claim files can tell you the names of who has filed for and received Social Security benefits.

Divorce records are primary sources of information for the events that were current at the time the record was created - the date of the divorce, residence, names of children and property listed. Secondary information that the divorce record can provide includes date of marriage and dates of birth.

Property records, including deeds and mortgages, can help you discover interesting information such as the original settlers of a piece of land. Using property records, you can trace the ownership of a particular piece of land and find out if it was ever in your family's hands.

Back To Public Records Directory | Link To Reviews