Kamis, 08 November 2012

Start With A Name Like Pat Lawrence And Begin To Trace Your Ancestry

By Madeline Finch


The rapid advances made in digital technology over the last couple of decades has helped to fuel a massive surge of interest in genealogy. More and more people are tracing their own ancestry with just a computer and an ordinary ancestor's name, such as Pat Lawrence, as a sign post with which to begin their search. Using the internet and some patience, it is now possible to extend that search further back than you might think.

Getting that name of an ancestor is the important first step, and getting a name that goes as far back through the generations as you can manage is a good idea too. The next thing is to try and discover the date of birth of that ancestor. With a relatively common sounding name like Pat Lawrence, the date of birth is crucial fro identification.

A date of birth and a date of death are a good way of beginning your search through the kind of documents that you will need to trace your ancestry. If you have a definite date then you can begin your search with some kind of confidence. Not many people have the same date of birth and the same name, after all.

It is also essential to try and find a place of birth or death. If your ancestor has emigrated to another country, then they may well have been born in one place a long way away from where they died. If you are not sure which country they were actually born in, ask relations if there are any family stories about a another country.

It can also be a good idea to use knowledge about surnames to try and find a country of origin. The surname Lawrence, for example, would suggest an English origin. English is also spoken in Scotland, Ireland and Wales though, as well as former countries of the British Empire, so always keep an open mind when it comes to surnames, though they are useful indicators.

Knowing an ancestor's specific religion can also be very useful in determining your heritage. Church records are a treasure trove of basic biographical detail fro any genealogist. If you genuinely do not know or cannot discover their religion, remember that certain ethnic groups are often strongly associated with certain religions.

Marriage, birth and death records really care the keys you can use to take yourself further back in time. Digging out specific details becomes much more difficult the further back in time you search, so treasure concrete specifics that you find. Military and employment records are another good source of data.

Using the name Pat Lawrence as a simple starting point, you could manage to trace ancestry back several generations, with some patience and a little planning. Remember that the detail of lives is contained in the points where there was official documentation. Births, deaths and marriage records are how to mine gold when trying to trace your ancestry.




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