Take a fascinating journey into your family's past.

Besides honoring the significance of your ancestors, studying your family's genealogy can just be plain fascinating. There are so many things you can learn, such as why you or your parents grew up in one location or another. For example, if one of your ancestors was a Hessian soldier used by the British to fight the American colonists, you might find some relatives living in Pennsylvania, which had a large population of German-Americans, many of them Hessian soldiers who deserted the British and later fought for the Americans. Many of their descendants later moved to Ohio.

You can also learn why certain first names pop up in your family tree or even your family's original surname before it was Americanized. Many names were not easy to pronounce by immigration officials, who changed surnames on documents as immigrants were processed. Finding your true surname can also be a clue as to your ancestors' occupations, as many surnames were taken according to the person's livelihood, such as Tanner, Baker, etc.

 

 

Objectives

Students completing this genealogy lesson should be able to do the following:

1. Discuss genealogy using the vocabulary terms they have learned.
2. Explain and demonstrate the purpose of a family tree chart.
3. Explain and demonstrate the usefulness of doing family interviews.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/285980

 

What is Family History?

 

Researchers call family history- Genealogy.

Genealogy  is the study of information about your ancestors and who you are related to.

 

Genealogists describe family relationships in the same way as we all do One of the most widely recognised methods of organising genealogical data is the family tree.

 

Blank_Family_Tree.pdf

 

 

When we chart history, we often use a timeline. A timeline helps us see when events happened in a person's life. You can create a timeline for your ancestors, but you probably don't know much about them yet. Perhaps you'd better start with yourself first.

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Whats in a Name?

 

Surname and Variations

Irish search   http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/

 

English surnames- Scroll toward the bottom http://genealogy.about.com/od/surname_meaning/a/english.htm

 

Spanish Surname Meanings & Origins - Hispanic Last Names

French Surname Meanings & Origins - Last Names from France

Scotttish Surnames - Meanings & Origins of the Most Popular ...

Polish Surname Meanings & Origins - Polish Last Names

Italian Surname Meanings & Origins - Last Names from Italy

German Surname Meanings & Origins - Last Names From Germany ...

Spanish Surname Meanings & Origins - 100 Most Common ...

 

Family Crests:

 

A family crest, or coat of arms, was the reward of personal merit, bravery, and heroism that was secured by the humblest as well as the highest. The family crest originated in our ancient past and remains a family symbol looked for, with pride, yet today.

 

Read more: How to Find Your Family Crest | eHow.com

http://www.ehow.com/how_4693895_family-crest.html#ixzz2HVb5SqAc

 

See if your Family has a crest

 

http://www.familycrestshop.com/free-family-crest-search.asp

 

http://www.allfamilycrests.com/

 

www.houseofnames.com/

 

www.progenealogists.com

 

 

Family Mottos'

 

To hear the clan motto called out, in the midst of battle, affirming your beliefs ~ what you stand and fight for in the battle. A rallying call to locate the chief and his allies.

 

The clan mottos are in one of four languages

• French ~ due to the influence of and intermixing with France
• Latin ~ the language of the church and scholars
• English
• Gaelic ~ the language of the people

 A few samples

motto of the Campbells, “Forget Not”,

 Cameron ~ Unite 

Douglas ~ Never behind

MacDonald Of The Isles ~ By sea and by land

MacKenzie ~ I shine not burn

Sinclair ~ Commit thy work to God

Scottish Mottos

http://www.scottish-wedding-dreams.com/clan-mottos.html

German

Alles zu seiner Zeit – Everything in its proper time

Arbeit macht frei – Work sets one free

Das Leben ist die Liebe – Life is Love (Goethe)

Loew- Spero meliora- I hope for better things

http://www.2020site.org/heraldry/family-crest-motto.html

 

 

 

Famous people with your surname'

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Where Do I Start?

 

• Interview Your Family members that are alive

:

1. What city and state were you born in?
2. What were your parents' and Birthdates? 
3. What do you remember about your grandparents? 
4. Do you know any stories about ancestors immigrating to America? Where did they come from ?
5. Do you have any old photos, papers or a family Bible you could show me? 
6. What kind of jobs did your parents do?
7. What were your chores, and what did you do for fun?
8. What was my mom/dad like as a child?  
9. How did you meet Grandma/Grandpa/Uncle ____/Aunt ____?
10. What do you remember about your grandparents?

 

 

•  Immediate Family sheet- gather the information you know- Your name Birthdate, Mom and Dad's name at birth and their birthdates;grandma and Grandpa on each side. Be sure to use birth or maiden names for the grandma's and mom's

Blank_Family_Tree.pdf  

 

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Vocabulary/Symbols

 Most people know something about this way of presenting the past, but it's also useful to know a few of the special symbols and terms that genealogists employ, which may be less familiar.

• Vertical lines show relationships between parents and offspring.
• Horizontal lines link all the siblings from one set of parents.
• Dotted lines signify a presumed relationship
• Vertical lines show relationships between parents and offspring.

The following abbreviations are often used:

b born       bapt baptised      [=] married      m married    [1] [2] first / second marriage     d died   bur buried

 

• Genealogy: 1. A record or table of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or ancestors; a family tree. 2. Direct descent from an ancestor; lineage or pedigree. 3. The study or investigation of ancestry and family histories.
• Ancestor: A person from whom one is descended, especially if more remote than a grandparent.
• Descendant: A person whose descent can be traced to a particular individual or couple.
• Generation: All of the offspring that are at the same stage of descent from a common ancestor.
• Family Tree: 1. A genealogical diagram of a family's ancestry. 2. The ancestors and descendants of a family considered as a group.

Relationships 

uncle the brother of your father or mother                                          aunt the sister of your father or mother
sibling your brother or sister                                                                cousin the son or daughter of your uncle or aunt
second cousin the son or daughter of either parent's first cousin  nephew the son of your brother or sister
niece the daughter of your brother or sister                                       grandfather the father of your father or mother
grandmother the mother of your father or mother                          grandson your child's son
granddaughter your child's daughter                                                great grandfather the father of one of your grandparents                                                                                     great grandmother the mother of one of your grandparents
great uncle the uncle of one of your parents                              great aunt the aunt of one of your parents

 

Surname=last name               Given Name is First name

b=born                                      d=died

 

Surnames can reveal much about your family history, but they can also be a minefield of misinformation- Spelling changed. Look for vaiations

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Keeping track of what you know

 

RootsMagic 6 free computer software is downloaded on the computers. If you want to continue this at home use the website below to downlaod the free version.

http://www.rootsmagic.com/

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Search for our ancesters-Use the websites below

 Genealogy Databases

 

Web site		Free functionality	Functionality for paying subscribers
ancestry.com		Multilanguage user interface.	Need a Paid Account. We will use Mrs. D's during class time
FamilySearch		Largest Collection of automated records	FREE
www.rootsweb.com		genealogy chat and all kinds of relevant information.	Free
www.freebmd.org.uk		Records from the United Kingdom Britian, Ireland, Scotland,	birth, marriage and death indexes for England and Wales..
GeneaNet		Multilanguage user interface.	French Heritage
Genes Reunited		Add your family tree (unlimited size). Forums and message boards.	View historical records. Send messages to other members. View other members' trees.
www.cyndislist.com		Links to other geneology resources
http://www.cwgc.org		People who died during World War One and World War II	Free site supported by donations

http://www.familyhistory.us.org/indexfunnel/searching.php 

Records that will give you information on dates, family members and parents include:

Census Records, Probate Records, Military Records, Religious and Cemetery Records, Immigration Records, Naturalization Records, Obituaries, Marriage Licenses, Birth Certificate, Divorce records, and Death certificates.

http://kids.familytreemagazine.com/kids/forms.asp 

 

Records for Michigan

Kent County 

http://kent.migenweb.net/

 

http://data.wmgs.org/

 

State of Michigan

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-54463_19313---,00.html