Is it as easy to trace your family history as it looks on "Who Do You Think You Are"?

  • Thread starter Thread starter amost
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amost

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I only want to go back a few generations. Will it be expensive? What websites would you use? And what if the family on my mother's side is mostly from Switzerland but spent a lot of time in Africa?
Er, that part of my family is Swiss, not Swedish - do you think the website you mentioned will still do?
 
Unfortunately no, there is not an easy way to research your family history. However, like most hobbies that are worth your time and effort the payoff is huge because up will be leaving something for future generation to read and understand what their ancestors were like. Don't you wish that one of you ancestors had done that for you.

Cyndi's List has a section of websites for researching Swedish ancestors. http://www.cyndislist.com/swiss.htm There is also a section for Africa: http://www.cyndislist.com/soafrica.htm

Another free online service is FamilySearch.org, they have many free online records and are digitizing more every day. Their website is http://www.familysearch.org/ They also have Family History Centers, you should locate the one in your location and find some there to assist you. If they do have to order microfilm from the main location in Salt Lake City, there is a minimal fee.

There is a site for Swedish research that I am not familiar with but have heard good things about a website that includes an article and many websites is: http://www.genealogi.se/roots/

I'm sure there are more but that's all that come to mind at the moment.
 
It is worth trying to do some of the research yourself, it will save you money in the long run and it is actually an enjoyable process!

The more general information you have about your ancestors the easier they will be to trace.
Double check you know their christian names/where they were born/names of family members etc as this will save you a lot of problems!

If you are only going back a few generations then you should be able to make use of census returns and immigrant/emigrant records of passage.

Good Luck in finding out about your history.

Useful websites:
Ancestry.com
Genesreunited.com
National records office
 
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