Using Connecticut Birth Records To Shape Your Family Tree
Genealogy, or the tracing of a person’s family history, is an extremely popular hobby in America today. Unlike some other countries, the United States is a country founded by immigration, and our melting pot culture often makes it difficult to trace family histories back more than a few generations. With so many groups of people arriving at different times in history, from virtually every part of the world, there’s no such thing as a “typical American” background. A person may have a grandmother from New England, and consulting connecticut birth records leads to the discovery that her mother was an immigrant from France.
Each American’s family tree is a treasure chest of stories and information. Advances in DNA testing and the popularity of the Internet have opened up more doors to those interested in tracing their family tree. Years ago, the only way to peruse connecticut birth records was to actually take a trip to New England to search the archives. Now, it’s as simple as logging on to a website and entering some basic information. There are now even records of births, deaths, and marriages from countries around the world added to online databases, some spanning as far back as the early 1700′s.
Considering the amount of information out there available to genealogists, it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start in the research process. In the beginning of the process, talking to family members is going to be the best source of information. Finding out the names of your grandparents and great-grandparents, when and where they were born, when and where they died, and how many children they had is the key to tracing back the generations. If you know your grandmother was born in Hartford, checking out connecticut birth records will lead you to her parents’ names.
It is actually easiest to find information on those living between 1790-1930, as a vast collection of these handwritten records have been archived online for posterity. One of the most fascinating things is that a history of immigration records is starting to take shape, though far from complete. With a little detective work, you might be able to find the passenger list for the ship that brought your great-grandparents from France. A search of connecticut birth records will then lead you to your grandmother, and her marriage to your grandfather. No matter where you start, tracing your family tree is a bit like a puzzle. Piece by piece, everything starts to fit together. All it takes is patience, time, and the knowledge of the right resources to consult along the way.
