I would like to trace my family history!!!?

Question

I've been curious as to who my ancestors were and where they came from. My family situation is very confusing considering that I am Chinese but was born in Indonesia. I've been told by my grandmother from my father's side who knows absolutely nothing about her family, and never cared to question her family's past. My father's family have changed their names in the past, my mother was adopted and blah blah blah. As you can see, I know nothing about my past and am not sure what my ethnicity is. Problem is, I wasn't born in the U.S but in Indonesia. Does anyone know how I can go about solving this??? Is there a site online that I can order my parent's birth certificates from or something??...

Answer 1

Sorry, I know very little about those countries, just what I learned in History and hear on the news.



But, no matter where on earth you were born, or your ancestors, a DNA test will reveal where your ancestors came from and depict the admixture. I used www.familytreedna.com, the world's largest, oldest, and best for such. They also do DNA testing for the National Geographics Genotype Program, which traces human migration patterns worldwide.

Find out as much as you can from your living relatives, find a good history book about your peoples, get a DNA test and go from there.

Answer 2

You state in your question that you are Chinese, but were born in Indonesia. Have your parents told you that they were of Chinese descent? If so, you need to start by learning all you can about the laws in China regarding gaining access to records there, and then find out who you would contact in their government to get you copies of those records. Exactly what records might be available is something else you would have to check and find out. Their birth certificates may not be available.

Answer 3

You might try several websites, such as genealogy.com or familysearch.org. I think the best answer is to hire a genealogist, if you have the time and resources. They're professionals and will know how to find things, etc.

Answer 4

Lots of people have this same problem. Try familysearch.org. It includes online birth/death/marriage certificates as well as census results and stuff from forever ago.

Answer 5

Try the links provided below. The many millions of members of my church have always kept records of family history's and I'm sure you would be able to find something about your family with the right information for your searches.



http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp



http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start



Good luck!