How to Trace Your Ancestry Without Paying Too Much for It

You can learn plenty about your family tree, if you're willing to do the work.

Between shows like Finding Your Roots on PBS and the proliferation of companies like 23andMe, conversations about genealogy and family history have become mainstream—trendy, even. While not everyone wants to spit in a tube and potentially sign their physical data away, tracing one's ancestors is hardly a new tech trend—genealogy has been a major field of study for a very long time. Rest assured, you can learn plenty about your own ancestry without sacrificing any saliva.

I’m no genealogist, but with some research I’ve been able to find some amazing family stories and artifacts via the internet and the U.S. National Archives. I've found my photojournalist dad’s old work, including prescient courtroom pics of Trump and nightlife snaps of Andy Warhol. Newspaper reviews found mentions of my step-grandmother’s aunt, a "famous nun in Italy," and a transatlantic plot twist—that our family immigrated from post-war Italy via ship travel through Ellis Island. They were among the last waves of people who did, when it was long assumed Nonna and Nonno came via modern air travel.

There are many reasons to trace one's ancestry, whether purely out of curiosity, a quest for truth, or even for practical reasons like citizenship or legal affairs. Here are some tips for tracing your ancestry, along with valuable insights from experts.

Start with the obvious stuff first

It was happenstance that brought me to my dad‘s archive of Getty images, but it could've just been Google. You’d be surprised at how many people don’t run a basic internet search on their family members, myself included. Of course, you may not glean any Earth-shattering insights just by searching for that family member’s name, but it's always worth a try. The newspaper was the internet of the past, and before the late ‘90s, people were published for doing all kinds of stuff—good, bad, ugly, and otherwise. 

To maximize your chances of finding something, think of some additional phrases or keywords you can use to boost your search terms. If your dad worked at the same company for 30 years, try searching for his name and that company. Was your mom nurse of the year in 1993? Look that up, too. A lot of things—especially old, historical things—can pop up on page 10 of a search. The internet doesn't just include wedding, birth, and funeral records that have been digitized, but shop openings, political opinions, and other newsworthy events that have been scanned into the web by blessed archivists.

Genealogical resources to take advantage of, both in person and online

Of course, there are plenty of other non-Google resources you can use, too.

Popular DNA companies do more than analyze your DNA—they’ve been collecting volumes of identity data, too. Ancestry.com and MyHeritage.com maintain digital records from around the world, huge volumes of info that include records and cultural relics. While both their DNA services and long-term memberships cost money, you can often try the databases for free with a trial. Still, if you're looking for information but don't want to (eventually) shell out money, there are plenty of options.

"Some naturalization records can be found on popular genealogy websites that are either free to everyone (such as FamilySearch.org), free at most public libraries (such as AncestryInstitution.com and others), or by paid subscription," a representative for the National Archives told me. NARA also pointed me toward the Resources for Genealogists page on archives.gov and the Genealogy Community on History Hub as additional sources of information.

For folks looking to engage with the Archives, they have research rooms open to the public, with on-site access to computers—and some days, an archivist on duty that may be able to assist you directly. Speaking of archivists, that brings me to my next resource: libraries.

Working in journalism, I have nothing but love for librarians. I've often learned cool facts or historical tales via the help of library staff—especially those in New York City. If you want to work with a librarian in the locations where your family has lived, they may be able to help you find mentions of your family or their businesses, properties, accolades, or tragedies.

If your family has been all over the globe, you don't have to travel to start your library research. Email a library politely and reach out and see if they have the time (or energy) to help you with your search. If you’re not local to a particular library, institutional librarians, like those that work for universities and governments, might be able to lend a hand.

Dig a little deeper

This is the fun part: being your own detective. Once you have a few documents to work from, it's time to start making connections to find even more.

“Finding a name mentioned is not enough," a representative for NARA said. "Many people may have the same name. Whether the name is mentioned in a newspaper article or some other record, identifying the person is a combination of factors in addition to their name, such as geographic location, date of the event, age, occupation, religion, relationship to other persons named in the record, and so forth. Locating as many records as possible about the person is key."

Use the clues from photos—maybe a name on the sign outside a restaurant, for example—stories your grandmother told you, fragments of memories, or anything that can provide material information. All of it will help lead you to even more stuff, and you'll likely find answers to questions you had never thought to ask in the first place.