Strictly speaking, genealogy can be defined as the study of the history of a paricular family, usually including building the family tree.  As exciting as the idea that your ancestors may have been Revolutionary war heros, pirates or crusaders from the Middle Ages may be, most people have no idea about how to find out the truth about their background.

So where do you turn, once you are done talking to older relatives and going though their attics?

Just like with anything else, the Internet should be your next stop. A multitude of genealogy sites have been set up just for people like you trying to build family tree.

Some examples of such sites are: usgenweb, Rootsweb, or MyHerigate.  These resources make it easy to find birth, marriage and death certificates. You can also look up old census information, search through old military and criminal records , or even review old tax information.

Be careful, however: you must really be sure that the person you are looking up is your relative! You’ll be shocked how often even what we think of as unusual name combinations repeat themselves! Another word of caution: old records were sometimes handwritten. It’s not unusual for names to be spelled incorrectly (or else just plain read incorrectly as people try to interpret someone else’s handwriting).

The great thing about the Internet is that you’ll get access to archives of places like Ellis Island, that you normally couldn’t easily peruse.

That’s where compiling and filtering information in athoughful manner becomes essential. Of course, the more information you put into search engines these sites give you access to, the more accurate the information you get back and the more accurate your famil tree will be.

Another place you might want to access in the course of your genealogy research is the local state house. You can also research your family history by getting various administrative records from court houses or the state department.  The will have accurate records of documents such as birth certificates, marriage licences and certificates.

Funeral homes and cemeteries in towns where your ancestors lived can often be a great resource as well. Not only do they have death certificates, but also clues about a person’s children, parents or siblings that you can use.

Keep in mind that you are creating a record for posterity. Genealogy is both fun and fascinating, but it also carries with it a fair amount of responsibility. If your efforts are to have any meaning as a record for generations to come, the family tree information you compile needs to be as accurate and complete as possible.