Family Bibles are akin to Holy Grail for those tracing family histories. As these were often large, decorative, sacred books, they were almost never discarded. Thus, people often used them to store important documents. It was like a large safe. Simply put those loan papers at Numbers 12, and they were safe. As well, people often listed ancestry and descendents in these books. The front page often contains a family tree that can be used to find relations that are not in one's family tree. And as Bible was passed down from generation to generation, it was filled out that much more, creating a complete history of family.

However, most important resource for tracing family histories should not be overlooked. That resource is, of course, family members. Surviving relations are a wealth of information. They want to talk about what they did, where they went, how they felt about things, and what was going on at time. They can call up stories that they have not had chance to tell, and they will sometimes remember things they forgot they knew as they tell their stories. Do not forget to ask your family members about family. They will be more than happy to help.

Tracing family histories can provide wonderful scenes, compelling dramas, and stories that are too strange to be untrue. When you compile history of your family, remember that you are learning about people. People who were just as full of life and vitality as you are. So feel free to tell their stories and don't forget to enjoy fact that you are letting your ancestors live their lives all over again.

Unfortunately, there are going to be some difficulties when trying to assemble an American family history. This is particularly true in families of African descent whose ancestors were sold as slaves. The record keeping was often rather thin both during and after years of slavery. And attempting to learn where original members of your family came from is next to impossible. Sub-Saharan Africa is a very large place.

As well, for almost any family record-keeping in rural South and Appalachia was thin at best. Often, records do not exist at all. Attempting to find information about your family, even births and deaths, can be like trying to grab brass ring on a merry-go-round with your eyes closed. For families such as these, your family members will be of much more use than government records when compiling an American family history. With a few memoirs you can piece together some information. But many times data will be rather loosely conjectural.

As well, another difficulty with collecting and American family history is figuring out anything about your family before it immigrated. Many immigrants arrived with only a suitcase and clothes on their backs. Some did not even have suitcase. Thus, their arrival was a clean break from distant lands to start an entirely new life here in America. Learning anything about your ancestors in home country is difficult when one tries to look back through murky past.

Though compiling an American family history can be difficult at times, it is far from impossible. With a little time, a little tenacity, and a few bits of luck that can arise with consistent effort, you can construct a picture of your ancestors that will find a place of pride amongst your heirlooms. So feel free to start your investigations and learn just where your name came from and how it eventually ended up with an entirely unique treasure: you.