Discover Your Family Tree at the Lemon Grove Branch Library

With shows like NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are” and websites such as Ancestry.com, researching your family tree is becoming more popular and accessible.

If you’re not sure where to begin, however, Susan Jones Pentico wants to help.

On the first and third Thursdays of every month, Pentico heads a genealogy group at the Lemon Grove Branch Library.

At every meeting, Pentico and guest speakers discuss various genealogy-related topics and offer research tips.

At the last meeting, Pentico, her distant cousin Shirley Becker and friend Virginia Taylor gathered to discuss census records. Genealogists can use census records to trace lineage, they explained.

Becker gave a presentation on how to use and understand the very first U.S. census records, which used dash marks instead of names for household members.

At the next meeting, Pentico plans to ask attendees what they want to learn during the next segment of the genealogy class. And, like she does at every meeting, she also plans to offer advice and tips for those who need help tracing their lineage.

“We try to go over everybody’s brick walls and where they’re stuck and give ideas and suggestions of how to break down the brick walls to get the information they need,” she said.

Even Pentico, an experienced genealogist, hits brick walls.

The San Diego resident has traced her lineage back to England, but has reached a gap between her and one of her ancestors. She used an old family letter from one of her ancestors to trace her lineage. The writer states his grandfather’s name, but he does not state his father’s name. Therefore, she is trying to discover who his father is.

There are some simple tips that Pentico offers those interested in learning more about their family history.

She suggests using official documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates, as well as census records and voting records. She also recommends becoming a member of genealogical or historical societies, including societies located where your ancestors once lived. 

She also suggests using “vital records,” such as baby books and talking to older family members.

“You always start with yourself,” she said. “You document where you were born, when you were born, who your parents are, and you expand from there.”

Instead of just recording your grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great grandparents, she recommends keeping track of your siblings, aunts and cousins, too. And, remember to record your family members’ contact information on paper, she added.

“My most successful searches has been contacting the family member from a different line,” she said. “My great aunt will have something that had been given to her that my line didn’t get. So when they share that with me, then I’m able to make another move.”

Even a simple Google search can yield results, she said. However, online research is not as helpful as book research, she added. Less than 10 percent of the books that are used for genealogy, she said, are online.

“You will never find your answers for genealogy all online,” she said.

Pentico began the genealogy class at the library in 2000. She used to come to the branch to research genealogy. When the former branch manager—whom Pentico said was also a genealogist—discovered her passion, she asked her to help other visitors begin researching their ancestry.

“It started as just a beginner’s class, starting with yourself, your parents and your grandparents, and it grew from there” Pentico said.

Although she said she’s not very “technical,” Pentico can teach beginners and most advanced researchers.  

Pentico belongs to three genealogical societies in San Diego as well as the national society and societies in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where her ancestors came from. She first became interested in genealogy when she was 12, but began to further her research when her son was born.

Because her son almost died, she said, she contacted her in-laws to learn about their medical history to better inform his doctor.

“I’ve been at it ever since,” she said.

She has since grown to love learning about her family’s history.

“It’s educational, it’s history, it’s intriguing,” she said. “It’s learning about history."

Becker added: “It satisfies our true detective in us.”

Pentico compared genealogy to reading a murder mystery.

“You’re looking for clues and clues and clues,” she said. “It’s fascinating.”