Start With Yourself

You’ve heard it before. When you want to start your family tree start with yourself. Write your name on the paper. Write when you were born and where. You may not realize how many questions those three pieces of information can raise – or what they can answer.

Your name: Why were you named what you are? Your name may offer clues to family members or friends that your parents wanted to honor. It may be an indication of a place they loved. It may be a clue to something that was happening in their life or that they were feeling when you were born. Your name be part of a larger cultural trend at the time or place you were born. We really are a product of the time we live in! What does your last name mean – what are its ethnic origins? Think of all the people in your family that have carried that last name, or surname before you. They’ve been writing it on chalkboard slates, with pen-and-ink, and typewriters long before you were penciling it in on your Scantron for a standardized test at school.

Where you were born: Why were your parents there? Was it where they worked, or where their families has always lived? Did they live there or did you just happen to be born while they were on vacation or traveling through? Did they have you in a larger town to be in quality medical facilities or because they were worried about birth or pregnancy complications? Was the town you were born in the place with the only nearest hospital? Were you born at home? Birth center?

When you were born: What age were your parents when they had you-why? What was happening in the world when you were born – how does that influence who you are?

Don’t feel discouraged if you can’t name past your grandparents, or even your parents. You alone are a great place to start!