Genealogists have named billions of ancestors in family trees on websites such as the ones listed in our chart of online family tree websites. It’s only a matter of time before you find a tree blossoming with names relevant to your research. But what do you do with that information once you’ve found the tree? If you neglect some essential steps, you may be sent chasing the wrong ancestors. Or you could miss clues that lead to brick wall-busting records.

Don’t worry—we won’t let that happen. Our eight-step guide will show you how to verify that ancestral data and then make the most of it to learn more about your ancestors’ life and times.