The popularity of television shows such as “Tracing Your Roots” and websites such as Ancestry.com has sparked an interest in many to learn more about their family history.

But you don’t need a television crew or DNA samples from your relatives to piece together plenty of your genealogy, experts say.

Here are some tips for tracing your ancestry and developing a family tree in the Charlotte area:

Write down what you know

It may sound simple, but the first step to putting together your family history is to write down the stuff you already know, Mecklenburg Genealogical Society President Jeff Houser advises.

“Just sit down with a piece of paper,” he told the Observer. “Write down your parents’ information, like when they were born. Write down their maternal and paternal grandparents. Whatever information that folks can write down that they know of, and go back as far as they can.”

Organizations such as Houser’s offer templates you can use to keep things organized.

Look through what you already have

Items you or relatives already have sitting around, such as photo albums and family Bibles, can also be a great resource for kicking off your project, according to Mavis Jones, who works with the Charlotte chapter of the National Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society.

“Look around your home for any documents or pictures that could help you get started with your research,” she said.

Conduct interviews

Talking to your relatives about what they know and remember of your family is also important, Jones said.

“Talk to more than one person in the family,” she recommends, “because, well, everyone’s story may not be 100% accurate, but there is a bit of truth in all of them. That will help you.”

Utilize the internet

The internet can be a helpful resource for tracking down documents and other information to paint a fuller picture of your genealogy.

Some commercial sites, such as Ancestry.com, require you to pay for a subscription. Before pulling out your credit card, check to see if places such as the Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries provide free access.

A free resource both Houser and Jones recommend is Family Search, which is managed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but offers information on people from other faiths as well.

The Mecklenburg Genealogical Society, also known as Olde Meck, also provides a list of resources to help you get started, though some are only for members.

Pick up the phone

Jones adds that while the internet is a great tool for genealogy research, picking up the phone or even hitting the pavement can be a big help.

“Not everything is online,” she said. “At some point you will need to step away from the computer and do on-site research.”

Look where people lived

It’s important to remember that just because you live in Charlotte or even grew up in the area, that doesn’t mean your ancestors lived here, Houser explained. As such, you should look for records and resources in the parts of the country where other family members have lived for information.

“If someone’s father was born in like Fort Wayne, Indiana, that would be where you’d want to start focusing research. If their father or if their grandfather was born somewhere in Colorado, look in Colorado,” he said. “Start there. Start looking in that area, because that’s where those pieces of information are going to start to come together.”

Talk to genealogical and historical societies

Whether you’re looking for information locally or in other parts of the country, there’s likely genealogical and historical societies in the area that can be of assistance to you, Houser added.

“It is not uncommon for a private society to hold information that cannot be found anywhere else,” he said. “Sometimes those are just the pieces of the puzzle people need to answer questions about their family history.”

Some groups, such as Olde Meck, focus on the history of a specific area, while others, such as the National Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society, focus on documenting the history of people from certain backgrounds.

Consult libraries

Libraries, both where you live and where your family is from, can also provide resources and information and direct you to other places to look, according to Houser.

“If the institution they get in touch with does not have any info, they can likely direct them to somebody who might,” he said.

In Charlotte, some genealogy related services are currently limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic and renovations at the Main Library. But you can still reach out to get help by emailing carolinaroom@cmlibrary.org or calling 704-416-0150.

You can also visit cmlibrary.org/services/genealogy-history-services to see the full list of the services they have available.

Check out newspaper archives

If you hit a roadblock in your search for information, newspaper archives can often help fill in the gaps, Houser advises.

“Sometimes you find these missing pieces … Newspapers of different types are great places to try to find information that can give you some more clues,” he said.

Newspapers.com offers archival clips from many newspapers across the country, including the Observer.

Don’t be afraid to get away from chronological order

A common misconception among people just getting started in genealogy, said Houser, is the idea that they have to find things in chronological order.

But that strategy can box you into a corner.

“Sometimes in a genealogy, you have to jump around it,” he said. “Seems like common sense you would do it sequentially, but a lot of times you can’t. You have to bounce around a little bit to find out where people are in order to get those pieces down. And then you look at the in-between stuff after that.”

Work with others

“A fresh set of eyes” can help pull new insights from things you’ve already gone over, Jones said.

Understand research takes time

Jones acknowledges that she’s taken breaks in her work to trace her family history, but she’s learned from her experiences and grown as a researcher.

“Just have patience and keep at it,” she said. “For me, personally, I’ve taken like really extended breaks, but the longer you keep at it, the better you become at it.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2022 6:00 AM.