Originally Posted by heidikins
I have been trying to trace my father's side of the family too. I signed up with Ancestry.com and am totally stumped. I didn't expect this to be done in a day or a month but I was hoping to find out where my grandfather was born and who his parents were. I was hoping to find an obituary but can't do that either. All the family is gone now so there isn't anyone to ask. Just a little frustrated. Quilting is so much easier!
Oh dear, this is much, much too complicated to get into here, but you really can't do true genealogical research online. Ancestry is nice, but as a I almost never go there, and in fact have let my subscription lapse for that reason. To get started, you need to go to one of the Mormon Family History Centers, or a local genealogy library. Many public libraries have a genealogy collection, and the people there can help you get started. You can also get a beginners book on how to do research. An excellent one is "The Essential Guide to Unpuzzling Your Past", by Emily Croom.