Getting started on your family tree is easier than you think. So many documents, picture, and other resources are available on the Internet that were not available even just a few years ago. These online databases make finding your ancestors much easier, though you may still find some brick walls.

If you have never tried researching your family, you will want to start with the basics. The first thing you should do is printout a few important forms that will help you organize your research. The two most important forms are the pedigree chart and a family group sheet. You can find blank copies of these, along with instructions on how to fill them out on most genealogy websites.

Make sure you always have several copies of these forms handy. You will need one family sheet for each family group you find. This form lists a husband, wife and their children. The pedigree chart lists 4-6 generations of people- usually just a husband, wife, and the child that is important to the line you are researching. You may also want to keep some sort of research log to keep track of what you've already looked at ao you don't duplicate your own work.

Unless you or someone else has already begun to research your family, you will want to begin your search with your immediate family. Ask your parents, or grandparents if they are alive, to write down the names and dates for every relative they can think of. Once you have this list, begin filling out family group sheets and a pedigree chart (you will probably want to place yourself as person 1).

Once you have this pedigree chart filled out, you can then see what information you are missing and where you should concentrate your research. An easy way to get going on this is to start searching online databases for your family members. Websites like Ancestry and Rootsweb have thousands of documents online that you can search simply by entering your family member's name into the search box.

These websites also have hundreds of thousands of family trees that were entered by people researching their own family trees. You may be able to connect with long lost relatives, or even more immediately lost relatives. You do have to be careful when using the information in some of these trees. Not every is careful when researching their family tree. A family tree that goes back to Adam and Eve or has Roman emperors that died in British Columbia is not good research.

Hopefully you will connect with someone who has done legitimate research on your family (or a sibling to the ancestor that you are trying to find). If not, then search the online databases for birth and death records, and looks for your ancestor in the census records. Ancestry has searchable census records up to 1930 for the US, and various other date for other countries. You may have to be creative when searching the census to find your ancestors. Try different spellings of the last name (Daniels might be Daniel, Donnel, Doniel).

Once you've found the family you are looking for in the census, be sure to look at the pages before and after your family. Many family members lived near each other. If you found a male ancestor, you might be able to find his wife's family by searching the census records around your family.

Tracing your family tree can be fun, although at times it can be frustrating. If you come up against a brick wall, don't stop your research altogether. Put this person aside for a bit while you work on a different ancestor. It may take years, but you may eventually find a clue that will help you break the brick wall. Genealogy is a life-long journey- enjoy finding your roots!