You'd need to state what websites you have used to find ancestors. There's www.ancestry.com (fee) and familysearch.org (free), as well as www.findagrave.com and www.billiongraves.com, and many others.
I know that Family Search has a vast crew of volunteers as well as workers who are indexing records from all over the world, including these:
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/FamilySearch_Indexing:_English_Language_-_Project_Update_Pages
If records from where your ancestors' lived are in countries that haven't sent in photocopied pages to be indexed (typed into forms to make them searchable), then yes, you would have lots of problems. Those records might be in churches or civic buildings in other countries.
If you'll post what you're running up against, maybe I can help you with your statement.
I have been doing research on my family for awhile, and it was hard because of my ethnicity. So, I have to write a statement of why it was difficult to do it. Could you help me on how I can write it. Like what should I bring up in my statement? Please help!
5 answers
Well my teacher is making us use ancestry but it has not helped me with my ancestors.
Where are your ancestors from? That often makes a lot of difference. One example is that in some countries, the churches don't want their records photocopied ... but you'd be free to write them or go there and see what you can find.
I have one ancestor on my mom's side whom I can trace back to 1867, and I know his birthdate is in Mar 1852. But that's it ... I've dug and I've dug, but I cannot find any trace of his parents or siblings (if there were any), etc. I'm stuck, I think, unless I go to the city listed as his birthplace and get permission to go through church records. There's another ancestor on my dad's side whom I can trace back to his birth somewhere in Georgia in 1805, but that's it. No parents' names or dates or specific places.
I have one ancestor on my mom's side whom I can trace back to 1867, and I know his birthdate is in Mar 1852. But that's it ... I've dug and I've dug, but I cannot find any trace of his parents or siblings (if there were any), etc. I'm stuck, I think, unless I go to the city listed as his birthplace and get permission to go through church records. There's another ancestor on my dad's side whom I can trace back to his birth somewhere in Georgia in 1805, but that's it. No parents' names or dates or specific places.
Well I am from the New York State and my family/ancestors are from Puerto Rico. That is why it is very difficult for me to get any information.
Be sure to try variations in spelling of names. And try finding people at http://familysearch.org too. Chances are if you can find info at FS, it'll be on ancestry.com, too.
1 answer