- 1). Ask your parents for information on your grandparents. Gather as much information as you can about their parents and where they were born. The most important information you'll need from them is their parents' full names, dates of birth, locations of birth (or where they resided in their adulthood) and death date (if applicable). You can use this information online to search for their census records. Once you pull up the census record, you will see your grandparents' names, ages, races and their parents' names. Use this information to trace your lineage back as far as you can.
- 2). Go to the records hall in the city your ancestor resided in during the year the census record was taken. The local records hall will generally have information on the residents that lived there during that time, as well as record books that have photos of the residents at that time. If your relatives were Indian, you will need the information you gathered from the census in order to obtain what tribe they were affiliated with.
- 3). Go online to search the Dawes Rolls for your relative's name. If your relative was a Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek or Seminole, their names will be on this document. The Dawes Rolls were passed in 1889 as a removal act. Native Americans from the above listed tribes were removed from their homes and sent to reservations. If your Indian relatives were living in Indian territory around this time, they would most likely be on these rolls.
- 4). Copy down the Roll number, printed next to your relative's name. Once this number is copied down, write to the National Archives, asking them to reference the number to a census card. This way you can be sure that it is indeed your relative. Once they cross-reference the information, contact the appropriate tribal headquarters and ask for any information they have pertaining to your relative.
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