Researching family history has many rewards: the thrill of detective work; seeing national events from a personal angle, getting to know relatives better - and often finding new, living, cousins. New digital resources make family history a cheaper, easier hobby than ever before.
There is loads of advice online and at genealogical societies. Here are a few tips for Nesbitt/Nisbets:
1. Start by researching your immediate family. Ask around, in case a cousin has already started work. With luck, you can sketch out a family tree on both your parents' side back to the early 20th century.
2. Then start cross-checking against official records - probably quite a few dates and names will need modification. Bear in mind that many resources are free, and those that charge can often be accessed free, for example at our local library or family history centre. Government registration of births, marriages and deaths typically starts in the mid 19th century, so it is usually possible to trace ancestry back 200 years or so using this type of source.
3. Once you have 3-4 generations sketched out, it is time to see if anyone else is researching your family. Try searching on names in Ancestry.com, which holds many thousands of family trees, and searching on full names in Google. Contact the Nesbitt/Nisbet Society's genealogists (details below) with a copy of your research to date. We can check records of earlier research, and give advice. We have a high hit rate in reconnecting long lost family branches. If Nesbitt/Nisbets play a prominent part in your ancestry, or indeed if you are one, join the Nesbitt/Nisbet Society!
4. Start more detailed research, following up particular locations via local record offices, and using church and local government records to push into the 18th century and beyond. Revisit the former family homes, churches and graveyards.
5. Arrange a DNA test with the N/N DNA project at Family Tree DNA. Joining the project brings with it expert advice from our DNA coordinator, and easy viewing of project results.
Nesbitt/Nisbet Society genealogical advisors:
Jean Skar: worldwide DNA coordinator and with wide-ranging British Isles expertise: [email protected]
There is loads of advice online and at genealogical societies. Here are a few tips for Nesbitt/Nisbets:
1. Start by researching your immediate family. Ask around, in case a cousin has already started work. With luck, you can sketch out a family tree on both your parents' side back to the early 20th century.
2. Then start cross-checking against official records - probably quite a few dates and names will need modification. Bear in mind that many resources are free, and those that charge can often be accessed free, for example at our local library or family history centre. Government registration of births, marriages and deaths typically starts in the mid 19th century, so it is usually possible to trace ancestry back 200 years or so using this type of source.
3. Once you have 3-4 generations sketched out, it is time to see if anyone else is researching your family. Try searching on names in Ancestry.com, which holds many thousands of family trees, and searching on full names in Google. Contact the Nesbitt/Nisbet Society's genealogists (details below) with a copy of your research to date. We can check records of earlier research, and give advice. We have a high hit rate in reconnecting long lost family branches. If Nesbitt/Nisbets play a prominent part in your ancestry, or indeed if you are one, join the Nesbitt/Nisbet Society!
4. Start more detailed research, following up particular locations via local record offices, and using church and local government records to push into the 18th century and beyond. Revisit the former family homes, churches and graveyards.
5. Arrange a DNA test with the N/N DNA project at Family Tree DNA. Joining the project brings with it expert advice from our DNA coordinator, and easy viewing of project results.
Nesbitt/Nisbet Society genealogical advisors:
Jean Skar: worldwide DNA coordinator and with wide-ranging British Isles expertise: [email protected]