Stephanie is a cherished member of the Sampling America writing team, dedicated to crafting captivating narratives that transport readers to thrilling adventures across the country and beyond.
A new trend in travel is to take a family lineage trip, a vacation to discover more about your family’s history. These trips can be an excellent way to appreciate your background better and discover more about your family’s culture.
As the world becomes increasingly diverse, people move constantly and adopt new cultures, but finding your roots is an excellent way to discover why people move so far from their original home.
Follow along for our best tricks to learn these family lineage trips and return to your roots.
Talk to a Living Relative
Many people still have grandparents who will remember World War II and conflicts during the 20th century. During and after wars, most people choose to leave their country and way of life behind for a better or different experience.
Europe has had a large diaspora for the past 100 or so years due to wars and other conflicts. Older family members will have a wealth of information that only they know. Asking them for a verbal recount of where your family comes from will likely lead you in the right direction. They can tell you what country and town their family originates from and where you can search out more history.
Use a Family Tree Website
Modern services can help you track your family tree back generations. Many of these websites and services have detailed documents, such as lists of people who came through Ellis Island to establish a home in America.
Using a service like this can give you detailed information, such as exact addresses and names of your recent family. It’s easy not to know anything about your great-grandparents, but using modern technology, you can often track them down to learn more about their life, work, and what they did for fun.
Don’t Expect Locals to Embrace You
When visiting the city or town where your great- or great-great-grandparents herald from, you might even be able to track down their old house or historic church that they attended. You might even have the same last name as some people in these small towns.
One such story happened when a family traveled to Italy to find long-lost family members; when they arrived at a house that their grandparents used to own, they were met with hostility.
It can be fascinating to see how your origins began, but it’s important to remember that people in foreign countries still live their lives as business as usual. It’s best to ask politely to see if you have a family connection, but don’t intrude.
Hire a Translator
If you find yourself in a foreign country unable to speak the language, consider hiring a translator, even just for a day.
Someone who knows the language and culture as their own will be incredibly helpful in helping you communicate with people. They can also assist you in finding historical documents and town records.
Going to a library and searching a local database or newspapers for your family name will be incredibly helpful in gathering information on your heritage.
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