Tracing your family history is a continuous learning experience. In order to find our ancestors, we must learn about many record types—why they were kept, what they contain, and where to find them. Because many of these records are kept in different places and are not yet available online, it is helpful to access finding aids that can lead us to rich new records we have yet to explore.

Ancestry has a variety of guides that offer step-by-step instruction on researching different topics, such as record type, place or nationality. Finding aids can help you find the location of records relevant to your research.

From these materials you can learn more in depth about the type of record you are trying to find, or help you know where to go with the information you've already found.