
Logan, you start at the beginning, what you know which should start with you, your parents, siblings and then to your parents, their parents etc. As you go things will pop up but be careful as people can write anything in, you want to be able to verify it with factual documentation. Also note back in earlier years, a lot of the census takers were not educated necessarily so names are misspelled or mixed up with middle names and dates are "about" not always accurate. As you move further back in time and out of the USA you will find language differences, spelling etc. It is important to not get overwhelmed and if need be step away and return. I work on different branches at times to alleviate that feeling. Dont just click yes to matches because believe it or not, alot of the families used the same exact names in each line as well as you will see babies who died at birth have the same name as the next one and so forth. It is important to do the research and ask questions. Good luck.
Logan, you should also know that sometimes the males married more than one woman in a family so for instances sisters, one dies, he marries the other. Names changes through being Americanized as well. For instance there are multiple spellings for one name that started in Belgium/France in my family so from Bloir, Blore, Bloore, Blower, Blouir..........again some misspells by writers others how they actually spelled it and in some instances differs from father to child. Weird but history.
When you say you want to know your heritage what exactly are you looking for specifically? Your ancestors in a family tree? Living relatives you might have now? Your family’s history of migration? Your culture or nationality? Please give more information and what you have so far and what you want specifically
Logan I was adopted also. It took a DNA test on Ancestry to uncover identity of father. And also almost two years. Thru lines can help alot. The man my mother put on birth certificate was not my father. I have Brooks on tree. Now u say Robinson. My paternal grandfather was Jewish. On that line I have a Jewish name who changed to Robinson. A husband of a third cousin. I need to do DNA so u r not "barking" up the wrong tree.
Let me see if I understand. Your father changed his name to Brooks and you have no ideal what his true last name is? I’m asking because if he is a Brooks it would be simple enough to find Your Brooks by state. You see most of us came from the same grandparents . We all started with William and Nancy Brooks. We moved out to other states. So if you could narrow down your state a Brooks child can be found. With very little effort.
Hi Brooke and Everyone else here...so I was copied on this email discussion as all of you were - please note that WE ARE NOT all related - this email sent to us is what is known as an "EMAIL BROADCAST or BLAST" to anyone involved in the following group "USA Portal project" which is a VERY broad grouping! We must all be from the USA!
Its not convenient as far as our research goes...but free is free and you get what we pay for lol.
Anyway...I have been doing genealogy for over 30 years now and am happy to help or answer any questions that any of you may have if I can...hope this clears up any confusion - have good day everyone.
Mike M
Please start with reading this - it will give you a lot of information to help you move forward https://familyhistorytreasures.wordpress.com/james-paul-brooks-1906...
Hello Logan,
That's why we're all here.
If you look through the USA Portal project page, you will see numerous guides.
If you are not adopted, you would start by asking your biological parents about their families and collect as much information as you can.
Not all family stories are correct. A DNA test will help you discover where you have relatives and show you how you're related to people.
Newspapers list births, marriages, obituaries, and other related information about relatives.
FindAGrave.com and BillionGraves.com are sometimes helpful.
Be prepared to find out things that you did not want to know. I hope that you find things that make you happy.
Good luck!
M
My mother's Father came from Abraham Lawson Born in KalMar Sweden. His son Nicolas Married Kashelina Jones and their son was Perry Olaf Lawson who came to Pennsylvania with his brother John and another brother and sister. They lived in Barnes Pa, a small farming town in Warren County. Perry married Myrna Amelia Barnes of Houghton and Farnsworh decent in Warren Co.
The Houghtons go back to the 1600's coming from Lancastershire England and settled in Lancaster Massachusetts. Houghtons and Farnsworths served in the French-Indian wars, the Revolution and Civil War.
In this discussion I have not seen any of these family surnames. My biggest challenge has been tracing the Lawson family in Sweden.
I have found two DNA matches. One I knew about and the other not so. So much of that information gives such a minimal connection that it seems to take a thousand referrals to find one real match. Challenging odds.
Joe Stout (Son of Lucile Stout - Lawson)
My immune Family is including Woods,Campbell, Kavanaugh’s Wallace,Glasgow… as well as English…. Names as Middleton etc. Google Woods family and maybe Woods/Buster there is a video. Much is on the internet that would help you find the connections. Also,on World Cat. The Woods family book written in 1900’s recounts Family History. According to Miller’s Book on Woods,Wallace,Kavanaugh’s and many more Allied families.
My great great grandmother was Marina Aroney Brooks, married to Aaron Gordon. Their son Louis Gordon from Keidan in Lithuania died in Hartford, CT in 1921.My family line is Jewish. I have no additional information about the Brooks line, or if Aaron had sibings. The 1900 census lists Fanny Brock as Louis's sister but I think it is Fanny Brug,the sister of Louis' wife Anna (Neshka) Brug.
Let me start by saying that I am not sure why I am here. I have yet to see any surnames that indicate a connection to anyone, but considering only people who have submit their DNA to sites I visit, I am related to at least a thousand people whose names I do not recognize. I am also reluctant because Geni.com links people by in-law relationships.
Now, having stated the above, let me state that I am an Ashkenazi Jew with only one grandparent who was born in the US. My people immigrated from Lithuania and Poland, but I have identified DNA relatives from all over the Pale. Based on my limited research, I will make the broad statement that if you have an Ashkenazi from the Pale connection, we have a DNA connection of at least a few centiMorgans. Please feel free to connect with me.