The joy of family research

I have done through the years a lot of family history research, and it can really be a wonderful and valuable experience. Where one should begin is of course, is the National Archives, which usually these days are online on the internet making it a lot easier to find valuable information regarding one´s family. Other sources of help are www.ancestry.com and www.familysearch.org.

Regarding one´s visit to the National Archives, one should also ask for the “Death Notices”, which often have other embers of the family mentioned on them. Often one has to visit National Archives overseas to obtain information about one´s family. The Readers Digest has a book on family history search entitled “The Geneaology Handbook”, which explains in very great detail how one should go about family research, including an international index, where further important information may be obtained.

For those who have roots in South Africa, the Cape Town Family History Society is on the internet as well as facebook, to assist visitors with any enquiries they may have. Other books one will find useful is those written by the late Cor Pama, ”The British South African Family History” and “Die Groot Afrikaanse Familie Naamboek”. The last mentioned I obtained in Windhoek in 1980.

After tracing my family roots in Italy, I have also found Martinaglia family in France, Switzerland and Argentina. Family history research is not only about the dead but very much also about the living relatives.

André Martinaglia, Kapstadt