Many people at least once in their lives wondered who his ancestors were? Peasants, merchants, or maybe nobles or even persons of royal blood? What did they do - were they doctors, officials, merchants, politicians or actors? Where did they live, were they Russians or foreigners? Unfortunately, modern families rarely store more information than about the last two or three generations. So how do you know your ancestry?
Instructions
Step 1
First of all, gather information by digging through your home archives. It is important to know everything here - names, dates, addresses, professions. If you have old photographs, then the names and addresses of the ateliers in which the photographs were taken may be written on them. Your grandparents might have written down the names and dates of the people in the photograph on the back. Old envelopes have home addresses, letters and diaries contain private information.
Step 2
After the initial stage of collecting information, you can continue your search on the Internet. A huge amount of data is stored there. If your ancestors were engaged in social activities, were scientists, held some important positions, then all this could be reflected in some books, articles, in references related to the history of institutions, cities, etc. You may also need to go to the library and find books, magazines, brochures that are not available on the Internet.
Step 3
All information about our life is somehow stored in the archives. Birth and death certificates, data on education, awards and other achievements. If you know where your ancestors worked or studied, consult the archives of these institutions. If you have already managed to trace the history of the family over the past century, then further searches should be continued in the city archives. Metrics, military service data, villagers and townspeople, and more can all be found there.
Step 4
You can tackle family history on your own, or you can hire a specialist. In many archives, employees accept requests for genealogical records. However, one must bear in mind that their services are paid. But some archives do not even provide such information for money, so be prepared that you will have to sort out handwritten documents on your own.
