Getting Started with Family History - Ancestry.com

Get startedin three easy stepsk1Begin with what you already know.It’s easy with your free family treeon Ancestry.com. Simply enter names,places and dates of birth (and in thecase of older generations, death) foryourself, parents and grandparents.Don’t worry if you don’t have all thefacts. This is the beginning of thetreasure hunt.2Ask your family for more.Family history can be a wonderfulexcuse to pick up the phone or sharea meal with siblings, grandparentsand other loved ones. Ask yourrelatives for stories, photos and knowledgeabout your shared heritage.3Let us fill in the blanks for you.Ancestry.com will use every fact youenter into your tree to help you findhistorical records, photos and memberfamily trees for missing details aboutyour ancestors. The more you addto your tree, the more we can helpyou grow it.What next?Add context to your family story.Attach favorite photos, stories and documents to people in your tree. Create timelinesfor their lives. Use the Ancestry Storytelling Service to record interviews with relativesby phone. You can even record video if you have a webcam.Put on your detective cap.Ancestry Hints can get you off to a great start. Once you’ve followed those clues,you can look for more on your own by searching historical maps, postcards and recordcollections you believe may be relevant. You can also expand your search criteria to largerdate ranges, alternate spellings or other types of information.Create a family history book.Share the rich heritage you’ve discovered with your family by easily creating a hardboundfamily history book, calendar or poster from your tree.6 | Getting Started with Family History| 7