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LEARN HOW TO MAKE OUR TYPE LARGER

Modern geneology
Published April 2000

(NAPS) - Before the Internet came along, researching family history could mean hours of writing letters or flipping through pages of Census records.

Now, finding out more about your family's past may be easier when you take advantage of today's technology.

"More people than ever before are using the Internet to search their roots," says Francis Dowling, genealogy expert for Local Ireland (www.local.ie). Dowling offers the following tips for researching your family tree:

Know the name of the ancestor who emigrated. That family member is the bridge between the U.S. and your family's origin.
Identify approximate dates. Because illiteracy was quite widespread before 1900, many immigrants did not know their birth date. Ages appearing on marriage and death certificates are often only estimates. Knowing the year of emigration is useful.
Find the name of the ancestor's parents. Since many individuals with the same name may have left any country at a particular period, identifying the names of your ancestor's parents will help distinguish him or her from others.
Learn the name of the ancestor's spouse. The name of the spouse will help with positive identification.
Know the county of origin. Countries such as Ireland have county heritage centers, which keep indexes or copies of records.

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