Who do you think you are?

August 31, 2010 - 12:00 pm

Searching for long-lost relatives, heroic stories and whether you have a claim to the throne is becoming increasingly popular as family history is more in vogue.  But where do you start?

A family tree is a chart that shows your family relationships over generations, including connections, maiden names and children.  People generally start with themselves and add their siblings and parents, then gradually work backwards.

Before hitting Google, experts suggest grilling family members for any nuggets of information as well as family anecdotes.  Thankfully, the internet is here for when that information runs out.  There are numerous websites to help you search for names and family records, from local councils, armed services databases to speciality websites that claim to put a lot of long-lost information in one place.

Family Tree Searcher scours a number of sites for free, but ancestry enthusiasts may want to subscribe to specialist packages like Ancestry.co.uk.

There are also a number of free online tools you can use to build a professional-looking family tree from the likes of My Heritage or Geni.

It is possible to track down and save birth, marriage and death certificates online as well as photos- you never know what you’ll uncover!  One thing’s for sure, once you unearth hidden gems you‘ll want to keep them safe.  Why not use a dedicated USB flash drive or external hard drive to keep all your information secure and easily organised?  It even makes it easier to show friends and family members what you’ve discovered.

Not that kind of tree!

Of course many documents, particularly photographs passed down from parents can be grainy or faded.  Why not catalogue snaps of yourself and your family for generations to come or restore precious pictures handed down from grandparents?  Almost all older photos will be hard-copies rather than digital files but it’s easy to get these pictures on your computer and safely stowed away with other family information.

Grab a scanner and make sure every speck of dust is off the glass plate and your photo is clean and scan the pictures into your computer at 300dpi. 

The photo might look as good as new, or you might want to experiment with some image editing software to sharpen edges, clear-up contrasts and airbrush water marks and photo creases- erasing the wear and tear.  Play with the lighting to un-do fading.  Some packages even have a ‘dust and scratches filter’ that automatically cleans up surface blemishes that were never part of the picture. 

Once you’re done, try and store the photos as TIFF files so they are not compressed and retain the maximum amount of detail for better picture quality. 

Once you’ve found the online resources that suit your needs and build up your own computerised history vault we guarantee you’ll be hooked on unearthing past family secrets! 

Discovered you’re related to a historical celebrity or built your own family tree?  Let us know!