How to Trace Genealogy

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Last Updated: November 26, 2025

If you are currently building your family tree, want to solve a decades-old family mystery, or simply want to know where your family came from, tracing genealogy is an essential part of the process. Sometimes this is simple, other times it is difficult (especially if an adoption occurred at some point), so this article will help you trace your genealogy.

Steps

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1
Start a family tree. Websites like Ancestry or MyHeritage are two popular options that will allow you to browse millions of records to help build your family tree. Simply input your name, your parents' names, and your grandparents' names, and that is enough for Ancestry to start finding relatives. These websites usually have a free trial to help get you started, so you don't have to spend money right away!
- Family Tree builders are not 100% accurate, especially when you go hundreds of years back.
Your relatives might be able to give you more information on relatives that Ancestry.com might not be able to find (such as adoptions, birth locations, pictures, etc). They might have already built their family tree, as well!

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Family mementos and historical documents that your family has (e.g., copies of birth and death certificates, baptism or brit milah records, even photographs; dictionaries and encyclopedias [especially for more notable relatives]) are all good starting points. These can be uploaded to Ancestry to assist you when building your family tree.
4
Check gravestones. A gravestone belonging to a family member will have a death date, sometimes a birthday, and a name, and possibly more. If you know where a relative is buried, pay a visit, leave some flowers, and examine any information on the headstone.
- Sometimes, other family members could be buried nearby.
5
Look in phone books and current documents. These can provide some names and addresses that you can investigate further, while also giving you more to upload to Ancestry.com. Phone books can be hard to come by nowadays, however, so you might have some trouble getting your hands on an old phone book.
6
Take a DNA test. Either you or a family member can take a DNA test. Ancestry.com and 23andMe are both good options. This will tell you valuable information, can help you match with potential relatives, and can be linked to a family tree if you are building one.^{[1]
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- If any other relative has done a test with the same service, you might match with them, helping you locate relatives.
7
Take a tour through the area in which your family members live or lived. Go to a museum (e.g., the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum if you looking for information about the fate of your relatives who were affected by the Holocaust), or take a heritage walk (e.g., a Civil War trail for information about your great-grandmother's grandfather who served in the Confederate Army or your great-grandfather's uncle who served in the Union army).
Sometimes, you might be able to find relatives by searching online. Simply search your family name online, and go from there. You might find relatives' social media accounts, family history, and more!