Help You Trace Your Ancestors

10 Places Across The World That Help You Trace Your Ancestors

We all know where our parents and grandparents came from, what they did, where they grew up and when they were born. But how many of us know about our great grandparents or our grandparents’ grandparents? We don’t know much, let's be honest. But what if we told you that there are places where you can find out about them? You’d be more than happy to go. 

Pack your bags now, because we bring you 10 places that will help you trace your family history. 

1. Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India  

Flickr

In India, Haridwar is the biggest genealogical centre. About 300 hereditary priests or pandas, as they are known, are still at work. You’ll find them sitting under thick banyan trees, with huge registers that have your family records. Although it can take you a long time to find your family priest, if you do manage, you’ll have answers to every ancestral question you have. In fact, you could update your own family scroll with your details which would help future generations trace their family history. 

2. Ellis Island, New York City, US 

Wikipedia

Many families settled in the States trace their family history from Ellis Island. After all, it was the first stop for for over 20 million Americans. At Ellis Island, you can find out about people, and the passenger lists. This is the place where you can also study about immigrant ancestors and understand what they experienced when they entered a new land. 

3. Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra, India  

dadasugumal.com

A few Hindu records can be found at Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra. These include information about people from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan. These are updated when a family member visits and contributes details to it. The registers are arranged according to the caste and the native place.  

4. Family history library, Salt Lake City, US  

wikipedia

At Salt Lake City, there’s a Mormon Church that has records of people from about 110 countries. Their staff is in the process of digitising all the records which is good news, of course. But we still suggest that the best way to really get some information is to visit it. But make sure to do a little research before you go, because if you won’t know what exactly you are looking for then you’ll definitely get lost. 

5. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, US 

Familysearch.org

New England Genealogical society is vast. They have about 12 million documents, manuscripts, records, books, microfilms, photographs and even artefacts from the 14th century. According to their documents, the nation’s first family history dates to 1845. 

6. Kurukshetra, Haryana, India  

Kurukshetra is another place that has genealogical records. It functions exactly the way Haridwar does. You have to find a family priest (which can be a task), but once you find him, you’ll probably get information about your grandfather’s grandparents. 

7. Candia Canavese, Italy  

Wikipedia

Candia Canvese is a small village in Italy that was found in the 5th century. Many people go to this place especially in search of records, data and photos. But before you spend all that money and visit this place, you should build on what you already know and what you want to know. You can give information to the researcher in advance so that they’ve already found a bit about your family history before you've reach.  

8. Lodge at Doonbeg, Ireland  

booking.com

For the Irish, finding out about ancestors is quite a fancy ride. The lodge is a part of a five-star hotel in County Clare on the Atlantic coast. The hotel has an on-site genealogist who can find your ancestral village and home. 

9. Chintpurni, Himachal Pradesh

Flickr

At one point in time, Hindu pilgrimage and marriage records were kept safely. There have been incidents where these records, some belonging to 1800s, written in hand, have been stolen. Priests had written the name, date, hometown and purpose of visit for each pilgrim and these records were segregated according to family and ancestral home. A few years back, the Genealogical Society (GSU) of Utah, USA microfilmed Hindu pilgrimage records for Haridwar and several other Hindu pilgrimage centres. The holdings by GSU include Haridwar, Kurukshetra, Pehowa, Chintpurni, Jawalapur and Jawalamukhi.

10. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India 

Flickr.com

The ghats at Varanasi are another place you can find your family priests. Although some people say some records have been stolen from here, the priests still exist.