identitynumber.org: Best ways to start family tree search

South Africa has a very diverse range of lots of different ethnic groups.

    This can be partically thanked to the colonization first by the Dutch then by the English secondly it can be thanked to the already diverse number of tribes and nations who were already living in the area of today’s South Africa beforehand. Let’s see what a genealogical south Africa search can do for you to find your cultural and ethnic heritage.
    Not only did the European colonizers start to immigrate families there in high numbersm they also started to import a large number of Asian workforce who first worked in the country as slaves. Today, thanks to that the largest minority after caucasians are in fact from Asian ancestry. We can find Malay, Indian and Chinese ethnic heritage in a large number of people and the country is also one that similarly to Brazil contains a huge number of people of mixed ethnic heritage. This is exactly why it’s so often that South Africans would like to find out more about their cultural and enthical heritage and want to investigate on their ancestry.
    There are several ways to investigate even if you are not a licenced genealogist.
    • First things first ask around for names from older relatives and on what they remember about the family lineage. Identity verification is some of the most important step in the whole investigation.
    • Always take notes open a diary or booklet and write „ My family tree” on it and put there all names, dates and any data which you deem valuable, so that you don’t have to search all that much.
    • Check out the local governmental records: the best place to go is to libraries or to a governmental statistics office for asking for directions on which exact bureau can help you.
    • The best records to start with in your search are the following:
    o Death person ID number – Death certificates are available in statistic bureaus
    o Marriage records- depending on where the marriage took place
    o Baptism Records – this can also be important. Check out the local church for more information
    o Online identity verification: this can also be a good alternative though sometimes not 100% true
    o Identity verification SA – governmental sites and certified sites can help you the most
    o Death notices South Africa – this is something which you can look for in newspaper archives.
    o Maseti Files – large online directory which is a common start for many

    As you see there are many documents you can browse through but this will take time. Make sure you can concentrate on this task as it can be pretty time consuming.
    And don’t forget, if you happen to find any name or data , always use double verification, especially if your ancestors’ family name was common. Some records may cost you money, but most offices and libraries won’t ask you money for checking out archives. Go ahead and check if you can find your SA family tree.

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