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Learn Genealogy

Trace your family tree with real records and sound evidence, not guesses.

Free to start. Built from a single prompt. No credit card.

Genealogy is historical research about your own family. It works backward one generation at a time, from what you know to what records can prove: birth, marriage and death certificates, census returns, church registers, immigration and military files. The craft is evaluating evidence, citing every source and resisting the temptation to attach a promising name without proof. DNA testing adds a powerful new tool but needs careful interpretation. Learnr creates a personalized course of short lessons on research methods, record types, source citation, DNA and organizing a tree, tailored to the countries your family came from.

How to learn Genealogy, step by step

Start with yourself and work backward. Write down what you know about yourself, parents and grandparents: full names, dates and places. Gather documents already in the family, like certificates, letters, photos and family Bibles, before searching online.
Interview older relatives early. Ask open questions about where people lived, worked, married and worshiped, and record the answers with permission. Memories are clues to verify, not proof, but they often hold the names and places you need.
Learn the core record types. Civil birth, marriage and death records anchor each generation. Census records place a household in time. Church registers, immigration lists, military files and land records fill gaps, especially before civil registration began in a given country.
Cite every source and weigh evidence. Note exactly where each fact came from. Original records made at the time of an event usually carry more weight than later transcriptions or online trees. When records conflict, look for more sources rather than picking the convenient one.
Use DNA as a complement, not a shortcut. Autosomal tests find relatives across all lines, while Y-DNA and mitochondrial tests follow single lines. Shared matches only become meaningful alongside documented trees. Consider privacy carefully, since results can reveal unexpected family information.
Organize research and attack brick walls. Keep a research log of what you searched and found. When stuck, research siblings, neighbors and spelling variants of names. Short Learnr lessons on record types for a specific country often reveal sources you had not tried.

What you'll learn

Interview relatives and record family knowledge accurately
Find and read census, vital, church and immigration records
Cite sources and weigh conflicting evidence
Understand what autosomal, Y-DNA and mtDNA tests can show
Organize a family tree and work around brick walls

What's inside your Genealogy course

A sample path Learnr builds for Genealogy. Your real course adapts to your goal and level.

1. Starting with yourself and your family
2. Vital records and civil registration
3. Census, church and immigration records
4. Evaluating evidence and citing sources
5. Genetic genealogy
6. Organizing research and solving brick walls

How long does it take to learn Genealogy?

You can trace two or three generations within a few weeks using online records and family interviews. Reaching further back, especially across borders or languages, can take months or years, and the speed depends on what records survive for your family's regions.

What you need before you start

No experience needed. Curiosity, patience and careful note-taking matter most. Reading old handwriting and basic phrases in your ancestors' languages becomes useful later.

Common mistakes to avoid

Copying other people's online trees without checking their sources. Treat them as leads and confirm each fact with records.
Assuming a name must be spelled one way, then missing records. Search variants, phonetic spellings and transcription errors.
Publishing details of living relatives online without consent. Keep information about living people private.

How Learnr builds your course

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Genealogy questions, answered

Can I do genealogy for free?

Yes, to a large extent. FamilySearch is a free genealogy site, many national archives publish records online, and local libraries often provide free access to subscription databases.

Should I take a DNA test?

DNA can confirm relationships and find relatives, but it works best alongside documentary research. Read the company's privacy policy first, and be prepared for surprises about parentage or unknown relatives.

What is a brick wall in genealogy?

It is an ancestor beyond whom you cannot find records. Common ways through include researching siblings and neighbors, checking different record types and widening the search area.