How to trace your family tree

To get started with your family tree, you’ll need some basic information like: 

• Your own name, birthplace and date of birth 
• Your parents’ names, birthplaces and dates of birth 
• Your grandparents’ names, birthplaces and dates of birth 

If you don’t have all that information, don’t worry – you can usually still find results by taking your best guess. It can be useful to talk to other family members and see if they have any of the missing information.  

Your chosen family tree building tool will take the information you’ve added and use that to search for matches in family history records like birth records, death records, marriage records and more.

Once you’ve got a match: 

• Check the name, date and location – do they match up with what you know? 
• Look at the record itself – there’s usually an image of the original, which may hold more information 

These records hold clues to the previous generation – for example, your grandmother’s birth certificate will contain some details about her parents. That information will help search for records of your great-grandparents, so you can keep building your tree.
As your family tree grows, this is how you’ll find details of new relatives and start to delve into the details of their daily lives and unique stories. 

You can also use a free family tree template and essential genealogy records like birth, death and marriage records to start tracing your family tree yourself. These records are available online or held in archives. The more you already know about your relatives, the better, as it’ll make it easier for you to establish the key facts you need. 

If you’ve ever wondered where your family’s interests, talents and values come from, you may find the answer within your family history. Tracing your family tree using genealogical records and newspapers connects you with the highs and lows of their lives in vivid detail.