Traveling to Discover Your Roots

With popular shows like "Who Do You Think You Are?" and "Finding Your Roots," a lot of people have been thinking about, or are already in the process of, discovering their roots. Many would love to travel to some of the places their ancestors are from, maybe visiting a magnificent castle that a great great grandfather once called home, or simply taking a walk through a farm where a great great grandmother once planted seeds to grow produce for the family's meals. Experiences like these are extraordinary, and can even be life changing.

But how do you find where these places are? And, if you don't know where your ancestors are from, it can be even trickier. While traveling to a far-off place like Ireland, Scotland, Germany or any foreign country can be an exciting prospect, if you hope to find out more about your family tree and enjoy a rewarding experience, you'll need to do some research before you get there. 

Where to begin? 

Understand that it's going to take a lot of time and effort, but the best place to start is with what you already know. Gather together all the information you can about your parents, grandparents and great grandparents, if possible, on both sides. Talk to older relatives, or perhaps you have a relative who's already done some research and can give you a good head start.

Sites like Ancestry.com, Familysearch.org and Genealogy.com can help get you on the right track. For example, Ancestry.com has literally billions of searchable, indexed records -- everything from passenger records to census data and more. Begin with one family member, such as a grandparent, and branch out from there. For each person, create a timeline of where and when they were born, where they lived, went to school, were married, and so on. This can help you discover gaps and help you determine what you need to look for.

Once you know the destinations you want to visit related to your family history, it can really help to get in touch with a few of the locals, like city clerks, museum staff, librarians and clergy.
If you can provide them with information, they may be able to flag potential documents that can maximize time on the ground while visiting. But don't stop there, when booking reservations at places like inns or bed and breakfasts, be sure to mention the reason for your stay. You might be surprised to learn that your host has information about your family, and there may even be relatives living in the area today. Once you've arrived, don't be shy about mentioning it during conversations either.

Expert assistance

If you're short on time, and are anxious to visit your desired travel destination, you may want to consider getting some assistance. As exploring your DNA through travel can be such a rewarding experience, there are an increasing number of  experts out there who can help at a relatively reasonable cost.  

As both travel and genealogy are passions of mine, and I have extensive experience with both, I've partnered with another knowledgeable traveler/genealogy enthusiast, Patti Kelsey Nicklaw, to help put these types of trips together, in addition to offering travel planning itinerary services. 

Nearly two decades ago, after extensive research and a couple of visits to Ireland, I found my Irish family and was able to walk through the very home that my great great grandparents, and great grandfather lived in, in addition to meeting countless extended family members. It changed my life, and I relish the opportunity to help do that for others through DNA Adventures, coming soon!

If this service is something you might be interested in - or, if you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to leave them here, or email me directly at KCDermody@gmail.com.