Finding Your Roots: How Every American Can Trace His Ancestors At Home and Abroad

Americans interested in finding out about their personal heritages are shown that family-tree tracing can be done simply and inexpensively using such sources as public records, ship manifestos, and foreign registries

When searching family trees, individuals often can't get past the forest of names and information thrown at them. Now, drawing on her own experiences (and revealing her own mistakes for us to avoid), Westin uses a step-by-step method, complete with sample forms and family questionnaires, to gather information. For anyone interested in checking back even one generation, this book will be devoured--especially once readers see how much fun tracking long-lost relatives can be. Westin is particularly good at cautioning would-be genealogists to research whether someone else has actually checked into family history already, thus saving a lot of duplicate work. In addition, she prints hundreds of sources' addresses and e-mail accounts, and points out which are important for names, military histories, and property records. The largest source for genealogists in the world is at the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City, with more than 2.5 billion names. In addition, there are helpful hints on how to write letters to relatives and how to conduct oral interviews. Joe Collins