How can I trace my ancestry? Who do I hire and How much does it cost? I want to find out what tribes my great-?

Question

I want to find out what tribes my great grand parents belonged to. I know one is Cherokee and the other side of the family is Blackfoot native Americans.

I have been making down white as my race because I am part German, french, english, irish, and the two types of native American.

How much would it cost to find out this information? To have somebody do my family tree?

Answer 1

If you are concerned about cost, which many of us are, you can start out by asking older family members for information, get names, dates, and locations for your ancestors. Usually someone in the family has kept old Bibles, letters, papers, marriage certificates, and photos, hopefully with names and sometimes locations and dates.



There are still some free research databases. You can look up names in the SS Death Index at familysearch.org and find death dates and locations only for those who died after the Social Security act was passed. Cemeteries where they are buried also have birth and death information. Find a grave online and WPA grave records are good sources. Genweb has some good resources. When you find a tree someone else has done, it is a good idea to verify what they say, if possible. Once you get back to 1930 use census records to trace back in time from child to parents. Genweb census project has many census records online. Heritagequest also has census records, ask at your library. Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness is an excellent source for finding records. They will do some research for you in exchange for your help for someone else.



I have copies of Cherokee Rolls and can check for you if you have names. You should also be able to find them online, I believe. There are sites online for Native American Nations, where you can get more information. I know there are some Cherokee researchers who will do research for you for a fee, but it has been a long time since I hired one, so I don't know the cost now or who would be doing it, but it was very reasonable at the time I did it. If you hire one ask what they will do and the price first.



We don't post information on living people, but if you want to provide what names and dates and locations you have for deceased ancestors we can help you here free.

Answer 2

I love doing genealogy work! Right now, I am writing a book about my maternal grandmother's family. Although I do not have any Native American blood, the task is still hard. There are sources available for the type of information you are looking for.



There is a very interesting project going on currently that uses a person's DNA to identify their ancestry. http://tinyurl.com/cbvbbu . If they cannot identify your exact ancestors, at least they should be able to tell you what tribe your ancestors belong to. It is not cheep; it costs over $200.



You might also want to check out Ancestry.com . They might have some help for you. If you really are serious about making the most out of this project, I recommend to you download their Family Tree Maker software (less the $50). I use it for my genealogy work. You can also sign up (and pay) for access to their fast files including census reports, birth and death records, etc.



Be careful about hiring someone to do the work for you. Often, they have files on hand with only very basic information that they mail to you. Some really do not do any new research into your own family... other than what you could do for yourself. The best ones cost a lot but they do have access to the LDS genealogical library in Utah and the National Archives in Washington... as well as state archivers.



Have fun.

Answer 3

A professional will charge you $25 -$50 an hour or more. You can probably get a poor but honest (sort of - stiffing the IRS doesn't count, in my book) widow to work for cash under the table for $20/hour. Figure 40 hours at a minimum to get back to the native Americans, maybe. There are no certainties in genealogy. Tracing a family tree isn't like painting a house or rebuilding a transmission.



If you really want to hire someone, ask around at your local Family History Center (in an LDS church) or the county genealogy society.



You can subscribe to Ancestry's US collection for $159 for a year. The friendly people at your local FHC (see above) will help you get started, then you can spend as many hours as you like poking around. You don't need any special training. If you got a "B" or better in your high school history class, you are smart enough to do it.

Answer 4

Get a No Cost Background Check Scan at https://bitly.im/aOh8d



Its a sensible way to start. The site allows you to do a no cost scan simply to find out if any sort of data is in existence. A smaller analysis is done without cost. To get a detailed report its a modest payment.



You may not realize how many good reasons there are to try and find out more about the people around you. After all, whether you're talking about new friends, employees, doctors, caretakers for elderly family members, or even significant others, you, as a citizen, have a right to know whether the people you surround yourself with are who they say they are. This goes double in any situation that involves your children, which not only includes teachers and babysitters, but also scout masters, little league coaches and others. Bottom line, if you want to find out more about someone, you should perform a background check.

Answer 5

I STILL don't know WHY , but the LDS keeps track of Indian family genealogy. Give them a call or go in. They never even try to convert you. They just do the look ups.



The book you'll want to buy is the 'dawes miller roll' that covers the cherokee nation of oklahoma. It's like 20 bucks, there's also free lookups online if you look for them.

Answer 6

There are a great many professional genealogists who would be glad to take your money and give you the information. It would be fairly quick, relatively cheap, and hands-free.



That being said, do yourself a favor and delve into your family history yourself. It becomes increasingly interesting the deeper one gets into it. You will inevitably hit a mystery that will take months or years to sort out, and you get to play Perry Mason :-) It's the hobby for a lifetime.

Answer 7

I can't add much more to what's been said above, just to agree that you should look at doing it yourself. I started looking into my family tree a few years ago and it's brought me into contact with relatives who I haven't seen in years and it has also brought out the family stories that a professional wouldn't have discovered.



Good luck and have fun.

Answer 8

See -- https://backgroundreports.im/ancestry