How To Find Out Your Ancestry Roots

Find out where your ancestors are from—and ultimately where you lotare from—using FamilySearch's new Where Am I From? activity. See your family'south movement on a map, detect the countries your ancestors lived in, and explore the heritage and traditions of those countries.

To use the Where Am I From? activeness, you need to have a FamilySearch account (create i for free here). You also should take at least four generations entered into your family tree, which will provide plenty data to get y'all started on seeing where your ancestors came from.

What 'Where Am I From?' Will Prove You

Once you sign in, the activity shows iv key experiences.You tin switch between them by selecting one of the options at the top of the primary navigation bar.

Generations: Pinpoint on a Map Where Your Ancestors Are From

The Generation experience pinpoints where your ancestors lived on a large, interactive global map.

At the bottom of the folio, use the slider to limit how many generations you see on the screen. For example, if you choose to encounter simply four generations, you will encounter points on the map for ancestors and descendants simply as far back as your groovy-grandparents.

You tin zoom into a specific signal on the map past using the + and - options on the right of the screen or by clicking one of the points on the map. To zoom back out to global view, click the earth icon on the right of the screen.

Family Lines: Trace the Migration of Your Family unit

Family Lines too maps where you and your family unit have lived,but on specific ancestral lines. That means you can see the family migrations to different countries and move to different towns across several generations.

Map of where your ancestors migrated. where am i from screenshot

The left role of the Family Lines screen shows the outset of your family tree, with you and your parents branching off of you. Click either your mother or your father's image to kickoff tracking the family unit movement on the map.

Go on clicking the people in your tree whose motion you want to track. You can also cull to go back and select a different person on the tree to expect at a different family line.

My Heritage: Learn About the Countries Yous Come From

My Heritage pulls information from your family tree to bear witness what countries your ancestors came from. The folio displays both a flag and the percentage of your family members in the tree that lived there.

Percentage of countries you and your ancestors are from. where am i from screenshot

Yous can also add countries using the grayed-out flag icon. Y'all can choose from at least 240 countries and provinces.

Y'all can learn more about the country by clicking the country proper noun, which will take you to a separate page. Use the top navigation bar to read nigh the country'south nutrient, recipes, family unit life, social customs, fun facts, and traditions.

More information on countries of where your ancestors are from. where am i from screenshot

Timeline: Encounter Where Your Family Was During Major Events

The Timeline feature allows you to see where your relatives were at a specific time in history. Use the slider at the bottom of the screen to limit or aggrandize the range of time.

Timeline of where ancestors were during major world events

On the slider, you can also select Filter to the correct and choose from a menu of historical events. After you select a historical effect, the map will pinpoint where your family was during the time of the consequence.

You tin can also see a personalized timeline of a relative'due south life by clicking his or her signal on the map. Toggle back and forth between a timeline of life events, globe history, and U.s.a. events. (If y'all are a fellow member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, yous also have the option to see a timeline of Church events.)

Personalized timeline of an ancestors' life

Other Features

When using the Generations and My Family unit Lines options, if you click a person shown on the map, you lot volition see a folio that tells you more about the person'southward life.

More information about your ancestor, including a timeline, photos, stories, and more.

This folio shows you your relationship to the person, too as a timeline of the person's life. Using the menu bar below the person's name, you have the selection to await at photos, stories, and documents or to hear audio about the person'southward life.

You can also upload photos, stories, documents, and audio from these pages.

How to Make the Most of These Experiences

The more data you have in the tree—names, birth and death dates and places, photos, and and then on—the more this tool will map out your heritage.

The Family Tree is the earth'due south largest shared tree. When yous connect to it, your antecedent's information might already exist available for y'all to discover.

For help adding to your tree, cheque out the following Family Tree manufactures.

To find out where your ancestors came from on your mobile device, download the Family Tree app to use the Map My Ancestors experience.

Note: This experience is currently only available in English. Spanish and Portuguese versions will be available subsequently this year.