Finding our ROOTS

Many of our ancestors moved from country to country to better their living conditions. Some immigrated to America from Europe, Asia, South Pacific and Africa. Others left their homelands because of wars or to colonize new lands like Australia. Some still live in their native lands. It's fun to find out where your forebears originated. In the case of African Americans, there are few records available after a few generations back because of slavery practices, and that's where the new development of tracing your genealogy by DNA can come in handy.

How far back can you trace your ancestors? It is possible if you connect into royalty lines in England to go back to biblical times and our FIRST PARENTS Adam and Eve. I have one line that my cousin Jerusha traced back that far and it really is mind boggling to consider. My Icelandic line goes back to 800 AD because of their excellent written records. Then there are other ethnic groups like American Indians and Pacific Islanders who kept only ORAL GENEALOGIES and much of that has been lost with time. Without written records, your progenitors are still there to be discovered but it is almost impossible to reconstruct except through DNA.

You may reach what is called a BRICK WALL that stumps you from pushing your lines back further. It takes some time, dedication and skill to get past these obstacles but it can be done especially these days with the Internet making available more worldwide records daily and new Internet cousins to met. Don't give up but just take a break and search another line. Later come back to your brick walls with fresh energy and time and maybe you'll make a breakthrough-see a handout from Jerusha. It takes TIME.