One of my favorite shows to watch for a feel-good moment or an eye-opening tale is ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’. The tales of adventures, hardships, journeys, relationships, and having the chance to explore the lands where ancestors stepped. Have you ever wondered where you come from?
Maybe your long-lost aunt was a British royal, or perhaps your great-great-grandparents were trailblazing pioneers? You might even have roots that stretch across continents or tie you to significant events in history!
If you’ve ever felt a spark of curiosity about your family’s past, tracing your ancestry is a fun and exciting adventure into the lives of those who came before you — and vital records are a great place to start.
Every family has a story, so why not discover yours? This article will take you through the process of tracing your ancestry using vital records. We’ll talk about the different types of records, where to find these documents, and how to use them to build your family tree.
Types of Vital Records & Their Uses
Tracing a person’s ancestry relies on four main vital records. According to Ancestry.com, the largest genealogy company in the world, “[These vital records are] primary source documents for major life events, which means they’re the most reliable records when it comes to the event they were created to record. This is because they were recorded close to the time of the event, usually by a person with firsthand knowledge of it.”
Let’s take a look at each vital record and what they’re used for:
Birth certificates: Typically the starting point for genealogical research, birth certificates provide information about an individual’s parents, birthplace, and exact dates.
Marriage certificates: These documents help connect both sides of the family by providing details about spouses, witnesses, and sometimes parents.
Death certificates: Death records confirm dates and places of death, along with other details like cause of death, marital status, and even burial locations. They’re especially helpful for researchers to fill in the final chapters of an ancestor’s life.
Divorce records: These are useful for understanding family dynamics. Divorce records may provide insight into name changes, addresses, or other significant life events.
Besides these four main sources, genealogists also use ‘secondary source’ documents to fill in the gaps and enhance their research.
These include things like census records, church records, newspaper clippings, passports, naturalization records, military records, and even obituaries.
By combining vital records with secondary sources, you can create a detailed portrait of your family history. But how do you actually find these sources? Let’s keep looking.
How to Find & Access Vital Records
Government archives are often the first place to start looking for important records. Local, state, and national offices have extensive databases of birth, marriage, death, and divorce records, many of which can be requested online or in person.
Although this is the most convenient option, it has a catch: the process can sometimes be very time-consuming and may have extra costs.
For a more convenient option, online genealogy platforms like Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, or FamilySearch have made it easy to access digitized vital records from the comfort of your home.
If your family history has a connection to a specific area, you can also take advantage of local resources. For example, the NYC Historical Vital Records Project has digitized almost 80% of its 13.3 million records — and access is free!
If you’re curious about your family’s history and don’t mind investing in professional help, there are also ancestry experts who do the work for you. These experts specialize in genealogical research and are professionally trained to search through archives, decipher old records, uncover surprising connections, and much more.
Tips For Tracing Your Family History
The best way to begin tracing your ancestry can be summed up in just a few words: just begin with what you know!
Take out a piece of paper, sketch a basic family tree, and write down everything you remember about your family, like names, dates, relationships, and important events. Don’t stress about accuracy; even approximate dates and small details can provide valuable clues.
The next step is to reach out to family members. Relatives, especially older ones, can be a wealth of information. Ask them about family stories, share what you have so far, and see if they have photos, letters, or official documents to contribute.
Besides gathering useful information, you might stumble upon a fascinating story or two — like finding out that Uncle Bob was once a prize-winning pig farmer!
After you’ve pieced together your immediate family, it’s time to get to work. Start by cross-referencing official records, such as marriage licenses and birth certificates, to confirm your findings. From there, expand your search to census records and use online genealogy tools to connect it all together.
If your family has roots in other countries, it’s also good to keep in mind that names may be spelled differently across records — particularly if they were translated or have regional variations. For example, a name like Mohammed might appear as Muhammad in another record, or Alexandra might be listed as Aleksandra in Eastern Europe.
Vital records are a wealth of information and the cornerstone of your family’s history. By pairing these documents with your curiosity and research, you can uncover fascinating details about your family’s past.