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Ways to find out my family tree other than through ancestry.org type of sites? (mander.xyz)

submitted 1 month ago by Mothra@mander.xyz to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Just out of curiosity. I don't have a real need for this.

So I've been trying to find info on my great-grandparents but after snooping around in ancestry.com and familysearch.com I realise there are no records for any of my parents, grandparents or great grandparents online. At least not on those sites.

And so I'm here wondering, what happened with those records? Anyone had any luck searching elsewhere? I've tried googling the names and nothing comes up either. Hooray for privacy I guess?

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[–] DdCno1@beehaw.org 1 points 1 month ago

Not everything is on the Internet. Even most information from as recent as the 1980s isn't. A not insignificant percentage has been digitized (this is an ongoing effort), but this doesn't mean you can just google it or access it through a website.

If you know where and when your ancestors lived, hit up local, regional and national archives. Church and municipal records, national surveys, newspapers (useful for announcements of births and deaths alone), school and university records, etc. You'd be surprised by how much you can find this way. If you're living too far away to visit in person, give them a call. Archivists are very helpful people by nature and occupation.