How to Trace Your Ancestry with Your Senior

Every family should understand where they came from. This helps to build appreciation and shape that family’s plan for the future. If you’ve never really sat down to talk with your senior about your ancestors, home care professionals explain that doing so is often a thrilling and enlightening way to spend the day. Home care, Chapel Hill, providers assert that there is a number of different ways to trace your heritage with an elderly loved one.

Talk with them about their past

Your senior is a great (and often underutilized) resource when it comes to family history. Most elderly individuals love to share stories about their childhood with their children and grandchildren. The next time you’re curious about your ancestry, sit down with your senior and ask them a few questions. You may even consider recording the answers so that future generations can listen to their words and hear their voice. You can ask your elderly loved one about anything, including where they grew up, what their parents were like, and what daily life was like when they were younger.

Chronicle photographs

It’s common for a family to have boxes of old photographs floating around. If this is the case in your home, take some time to sort through these pictures and then organize and display them in a beautiful way. Instead of letting shots of relatives from generations past just sit idly in a box, arrange them in a way that makes sense so others can enjoy it. That way, whenever someone in the family is feeling curious about their heritage, they can simply look through these books and get a better understanding of what their relatives were like.

Use free resources online

Fortunately with the Internet, it’s easier than ever to trace your roots. There is a number of popular sites that offer useful (and often free) resources that can help you find out more about those who came before you. Some of these sites include:

• Ancestry.com
• Familylink
• Genealogy.com

Plug your information into these sites and you may be surprised about what you learn. Additionally, eldercare providers explain that seniors and their families can rely on the U.S. government’s National Archives database, which allows you to use census data, immigration forms, military documents, and other materials to track your relatives.