It All Starts With You
You are the best resource for family history. You are literally the hands of God in this marvelous work. You can start by keeping a record of your own history such as a journal. Then, you can easily expand by recording stories of experiences that you have had with your ancestors and relatives. Each and every single record kept is something that will be cherished as time goes on. You never know who will pick up these clues that you leave. Perhaps it will be a great great grandchild searching through an attic and finding your journal. They would carefully open the pages and begin to read. Your journal would open the door for them to truly know you and help them gain a craving to know more. Now imagine them sharing that record with their children, and their children's children. Now imagine if you included a record stating your family tree back as far as you knew. Now they can take that information and get to know each person listed on there as well! The impact it could make is eternal and uncountable. Take that first step, it's all you need to help open that door wide for all.
You Have Everything You Need
Have you ever stopped to think about just how much family history you have within your home? I can guarantee you have much more than you think. Try setting a box out in plain sight. For a week fill this box with any item that related to family history in some way, Pictures, journals, stories, items that belonged to them, recipes, or anything at all that has historical significance to you. I bet that you will be surprised at just how much of your history you already have. You can also ask relatives to do the same thing in their homes. Combining what you find leads to a treasure trove of rich history that you didn't even realize was all around you. Not to mention how you can also ask those relatives to share any information that they may have learned or experienced with a particular ancestor. The possibilities are literally endless!
Let Us Help You
We are here to help you return to your roots in whatever way we can. We can help you learn how to research and trace back your lineage as far as records are able to support. We are eager and waiting to help you come to know each and every ancestor that you have. Each one of the volunteers at the Grand Forks Family History Center are here for one purpose, to help you trace back your ancestors and, in a sense, some to know each one as if they were standing right beside you. You have the means, we are here to help you access and apply them.