Travel With A Purpose:
How To Trace Family Roots

Why would we do that?

Because these days, many of us come from somewhere else. Even if we grew up in one country, one or both of our parents may have been from another one. Or, we ourselves may have been born elsewhere. My father was from the Middle East, I was born in Paris, and educated in Canada and Spain, among other places. Brought up far from any extended family, I've always wanted to know more about my origins.

Immigrants on Ellis Island, 1911
Photo: Images of History via Flickr

We face many unanswered questions: who we look like, why we inherited certain characteristics, whether our ancestors were famous or notorious or involved in major historical events. Or we may want to reconnect with part of a family we never knew.

We may have (or are planning to have) children, and we'd like them to know about their heritage. Or, our own parents may have lost touch with their families and in their old age, they might want to reconnect - and we can help.

Millions of people are turning to genealogy and family history to answer these questions and for those of us who love to travel, there may be opportunities on the road to find out more about who we are. Whether you have Haitian roots, Spanish roots or any roots, it's never been as easy to find out more.

Most countries have genealogical societies with whom you can get in touch to explore family ancestry before you go. Just search for genealogical society or association - and then drill down by nationality or location.

Another great place to find local contacts and information on family trees are genealogy forums, where hundreds of people post requests for information and exchange tips and leads on family ancestors.

March for Immigrants' Rights
Photo: kcjc009 via Flickr

If language is a problem, you might consider trying to find someone to help with translation. One idea might be to contact the English department of the local university - at least someone will understand your phone call or email, but more importantly, you might find someone willing to do a bit of interpreting for you in exchange for some native English conversation.

Potential sources of information are limitless. But if you're on the road, why not take advantage of being there?

Here are some of the things you can do to trace family roots and places you can search while you're in the country:

• before you go, write down everything you know - draw a simple chart of your various relatives if you have enough information
• go to the village or town hall and ask about distant relatives who may still be in the region - and try to meet with them
• speak to the local religious leader - they often know more about what goes on than anyone else, and may have birth and death records (especially if a cemetery is linked to the place of worship)
• if there is a local doctor, notary or lawyer who is from the region, try them
• go to the local newspaper to search back issues
• visit the local library to trace family roots - libraries often have plenty of searchable records

Much of the advance work can also be done on the Internet these days, especially in countries that are computerizing their census and other records.

For your UK family tree, a good genealogy web site to start is the BBC History website. It is filled with useful background information, as well as practical 'how to' guides. A good list of online resources for the UK is ancestor-search.info, which pulls together databases, libraries, genealogical associations, record offices and official sources.

If you're trying to trace family roots from Ireland, passenger lists are a good resource - most Irish immigrants came to North America by ship.

Searching for ancestors in languages other than English is a little trickier unless you speak the language, although there are an increasing number of English language genealogy sites to help you along. To trace family roots in Sweden, for example, Swedish church records are available by parish and since 1860, although you'll have to pay for extracts. In Norway, this site should be of help. The Polish Connection is a gateway to ancestors from Poland. For other countries, try either Rootsweb or Ancestry.com.

To trace family roots in a more whimsical manner, try the DNA Ancestry Project, and for the most complete online database, search the Church of Latter Day Saints website.