Who do you think you are? Tracing your family tree

Listen to interview.

When I was small I didn’t take much interest in my father’s passion for tracing our family tree. Before the internet (was there ever really such a time?) he took a lot of time, care and effort to research our ancestors. He and his cousin scoured church records and graveyards throughout England to discover our very earliest kin. These days, a family tree can be traced from home.  There are lots of great ancestry websites and you can even use DNA to compare your own collection of genetic markers against a data bank that will help you to connect with genetic relatives. Amazing!

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (yes, that’s her real name) is a genealogical adventurer who loves solving mysteries, making unexpected discoveries and pushing the boundaries of conventional genealogy. Since 1999, she’s worn many hats in the family history world, including Chief Family Historian and spokesperson for Ancestry.com, the largest genealogical company in the world, creator of RootsTelevision.com, a pioneering online channel of free videos and winner of four Telly Awards, and founder ofUnclaimedPersons.org, a volunteer group that assists coroners and medical examiners.

She was fascinating to speak with, and I am amazed at the way families can be traced using technology, including DNA. Megan was one of the first to champion the use of DNA testing as a means to explore one’s heritage, and along with Ann Turner, M.D., authored Trace Your Roots with DNA, the best-selling, how-to book on genetic genealogy (learn more about DNA testing and why her name is Smolenyak Smolenyak in this video, Did She Marry Her Cousin?).

If you’d like to delve into your family history, here are the sites Megan recommends:

1.) Ancestry.com

2.) Familysearch.com

3.) Cyndilist.com

4.) Usgenweb.org

5.) Rootsweb.ancestry.com

6.) Footnote.com

7.) Genealogybank.com

8.) Ellisisland.org

9.) Castlegarden.org