Geneology and Family Trees: How did I do it?

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I get pm'd with a lot of questions concerning my family tree and how I managed to trace it back to 200 BC. So many I decided to start a thread so that if there were any questions about anyone working on their family heritage, those of us who are geneologists could help those are are either curious or serious about tracing their ancestry. I am very passionate about this subject because I love history, it gives me a sense of "being", and I'm very big on family despite the dysfunctional nature of my parents and siblings. What's more, truth is stranger than fiction!

I started research on my family tree 35 years ago. I managed to get to the 1600's on my own with a lot of hard detective work and puzzle solving. Then, Ancestry.com came a long and - poof! With all of the details I had already gathered entered in, the software took care of the rest. Without it, there would have been absolutely no way I would have been able to have gone back as far as I did.

But Ancestry.com, as good as it is - and I love it - doesn't always have what we need. There have been a few people that have relayed to me that there are limitations.

When I started, I went to my oldest living relatives and obtained as much info as I could. Names of parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc. Then, I went to courthouses and churches, to state archives and federal census records, and more information gradually turned up. A name here, a place and dates there.

I've found it very rewarding for many reasons: 1) Satisfaction of accomplishment. 2) I'm a sentimental guy and I love history and the past. 3) I've met some wonderful people along the way who were relatives I didn't even know existed - such as Webcam. He and I are descended from Charlemagne - but I would never have found out without Ancestry.com! 4) It keeps me out of the wife's hair when she needs her alone time! There are other reasons.

There are mysteries I'm still trying to solve - locating my father's long-lost half-sister, and the descendants of an African American woman who had an affair with my great-great-great grandfather, a Union cavalry officer during the War Between the States. You're never done. You have to keep at it.

I don't intend this to be a brag thread. Rather, a resource thread.

Longshanks