Benjamin Talks about Family History

Benjamin is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. We asked him some questions about family history.

How did you start doing family history?

I started doing family history with my dad. We did it together every Sunday. My dad helped me learn how to use FamilySearch. I had to practice and practice. Now I do family history with my dad or my cousin Jasmina.

What do you like best about family history?

I like finding new people to add to my family tree. First, I find old records. Then I look for my ancestors’ names. I find their birth dates and where they were born. I find other places they lived too.

What have you learned about your ancestors?

I learned that I have ancestors from Italy and Germany. One of my ancestors from Italy has the same name as my brother! My brother’s name is “Santiago,” which is “Giacomo” in Italian. I also learned that our last name used to be spelled differently.

How do you help other people do family history?

I help my grandma use FamilySearch. I taught her how to add memories. I also helped her add missing people to her family tree. Some of her relatives had so many names! It took a long time to put them all in. But I was really happy that I could help her learn to use FamilySearch, just like my dad helped me.

What family history projects do you want to do next?

I want to make videos for my friends and family to help them learn how to use FamilySearch. When I started, I had to learn a lot. I want to teach other people so they can do the same thing.

Illustrations by Laura Zarrin