Every single one of us has a history that we never know about. It is for this reason why some of us take our time and effort to know more about our ancestors and our family’s stories. It may sound tedious to try and find out our roots. However, with the right people and the right resources, it won’t take long until we find out who our great, great grandfathers are. And who knows? Your search might take you to places that you never knew were once home to your bloodline. It may be possible that you had already visited there during Peak Performance student tours in college.

Starting off with the search does not need to be expensive though. Here are some tips on how you can trace your lineage starting at your own home.

Keep Track of the Information You Already Know

Through the years, you may have heard some stories about your family from your relatives. Your mom might have told you a story about how you are related to this certain actress, or your dad may have told you about how his family moved from a certain province and left a huge mass of land for your other relatives to feast on.

Start from these little stories as they might open a whole pandora’s box of information about your family’s history. Connect the dots and see if there are missing links. From there, you can gather the information that you still need to know in your quest.

Ask Your Family About Their Past

It will be more helpful if you ask your elders as they may have more information about the earlier generations in your family than your parents. Ask about the things that are missing from the information that you have gathered from the stories. Since they have the first-hand experience and they might actually be a witness to some of your family’s legends, information coming from the elders are more intimate and accurate, and they will make your search for your roots so much easier.

They might even have stories that you will never find in libraries and history books. Aside from the elders, you can still ask your parents or your relatives about the little branches of your family tree. Your grandmother may have mentioned a certain uncle that your aunt is close with. Try to find the nearest links to the family members that you want to learn more about.

Find Them Online

Some people will take the leap of going on student travel tours immediately to visit their long-lost cousins, but the expense of that can be avoided by trying to find them online first. It will be much easier if you already know their names or the last names that they are using. That way, you can find online profiles that may possibly be your relative.

Message them and ask them questions, and see if what they say matches with the information that you have on hand. Once you confirm that the person that you are talking to is a relative, you can start asking them more about your family. And if you want, you can take a trip to their homeland to learn more information and interview other people first-hand.

There are several ways to learn more about your lineage. The abovementioned tips are helpful enough for you to find a plethora of information about your family’s past. Just keep calm and manage your expectations on your search. Most importantly, have fun and enjoy the journey.