If you’re curious about your family history, check out how I found out about mine using the online service Ancestry.com. It unraveled a whole lot of rich family history, which I had never known about. Scroll down to learn more!
This post on Discovering My Family History was written by family travel expert Marcie Cheung and contains affiliate links which means if you purchase something from one of my affiliate links, I may earn a small commission that goes back into maintaining this blog.
When I was newly engaged and started getting busy planning our wedding, I needed another distraction to keep me from obsessing about all the details. My Aunt was really into genealogy, and I realized that I didn’t know much about my family history, especially on my Dad’s side.
She walked me through how to use Ancestry.com, and I began my treasure hunt through our family members’ history.
What is Ancestry.com?
Ancestry.com is a comprehensive genealogy platform that allows users to explore their family history through historical records and documents. This service allows individuals to create and build their family tree by connecting with family members past and present.
Users can search billions of documents, including birth and death certificates, marriage records, census data, military records, and more, by accessing a vast database of records.
The platform is designed to help people make new discoveries about their ancestry by piecing together information from various historical documents. Users start by inputting the names and dates of their ancestors, and Ancestry.com then searches its extensive archives to find potential matches.
Ancestry.com also offers DNA testing services, which provide another layer of insight by analyzing genetic data to connect users with distant relatives and reveal their ethnic origins.
Uncovering My Family History
I started with my paternal Grandfather’s side of the family. He was the 16th child of 17, born to German-Russian immigrants.
Their story is fascinating! They were born in small ethnically German villages in present-day Ukraine and then moved (or were sent to) Siberia, where they had their first child.
From there, they trek to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to join a sibling and have another child. Then, they worked through Mexico and earned enough for a boat trip to Canada, where they planned to settle permanently.
However, another sibling was ill in North Dakota, so the family relocated again to help with the farm.
Discovering Historical Records and Historical Documents

The Importance of Preserving Stories from Family Members
Through my research, I’m now really interested in visiting the villages in Ukraine where my Great-Grandparents were born. I’d also like to go to Argentina to find out more about where they went and what they did when they got there. I’ve been inspired by the show Who Do You Think You Are and would love to do genealogy research in the actual places my ancestors lived.
The common theme amongst all the stories in our family is that hard work does pay off. Our family is full of determined people who have overcome quite a lot to make their mark on the world.
The people who came before us play a big role in who we are today. I’m glad I have a written account of many of these success stories to show my and hopefully their children.
How to Get Started with Ancestry.com to Get Your Family History:
- Photos: Ask relatives for any family photos. Make sure to clearly label the back of each photo in ink who the people are, when and where the photo was taken.
- Stories: Start with your own family stories. Then, start asking relatives about what they remember from their childhood and any family stories they remember hearing.
- Family Tree: Piece together a family tree from the information you get from relatives
- Go Online: There are so many resources available online for genealogy. My favorite is Ancestry.com, but it’s expensive. Many states have free access to digital archives where you can search billions of birth/death records, which is helpful. Newspapers.com has an extensive collection of newspaper articles, including obituaries, birth announcements, engagement notices, and more.
- Visit a Genealogical Society: You can start with your local genealogical society and have them guide you on how to start your family genealogy. You can also email the genealogical societies in the towns/cities where your ancestors lived to see if they have any additional information.
- Write it Down: The most important thing is to record all the information you find. I plug everything into Ancestry.com with the end goal of printing a family history book.
Discovering My Family History Wrap-up
Exploring your family’s past can be a deeply rewarding journey. It will be filled with success stories and new discoveries that connect you to your roots.
From finding historical documents to learning about the lives of your family members, the process of piecing together your family health history is both enlightening and fulfilling.
Remember that every document and story contributes to a richer understanding of who you are today. Keep searching, keep asking questions, and most importantly, keep preserving these memories for future generations.
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What a cool story and great suggestions! My grandparents are immigrants from Europe too and I have been working to collect information about them. I will definitely be using some of your suggestions, especially making a family tree, that would be pretty cool!
Yes! It’s always best to start with a family tree and ask relatives to help you fill it in.
I have several of our family lines traced back to the 1600 and 1500 time frame. I am traveling to Ireland to visit the village from where my dads ancestors came from. Love doing this family history work.
That is so cool! We have family from Ireland, too, and apparently they lived in a castle! Now it’s just ruins, though.
Wow, that’s cool. I don’t know much about my family root beyond my grand-grand parents, might find some more information if I get back home for longer.
That’s how my husband’s family is. We decided we better start writing stuff down while people still remember names. Good luck!
My father-in-law is also ethnically German and grew up in Ukraine! We found out about the German ancestry through 23andMe, because we always assumed he was just 100% Eastern European. We also found out that I have more Ukrainian ancestry than anyone in their family, despite the fact that they were all born and raised there! ? I love genealogy!