Working Overseas: British Isles Genealogy

While it is very tempting to see just how far back you can go, one of the difficulties I've found with American genealogy is that most of our ancestors?  Came from somewhere else. 

And between here and there (usually) are two big oceans and very often a bunch of different languages.

This in mind, as my English / Irish / Scottish ancestry has been here so long (1620) and most recently I'm second generation French/Italian American, I've had some choices to make in terms of my family history.

I've decided that generally I'm not going to do extensive genealogy overseas for a few reasons (you have to decide for yourself what you wish to do).

One is the issue of languages - I don't speak but one other language of my ancestry fluently enough to allow me to work with foreign language documents without extensive and time consuming help from Google Translate.

The other is that of resources.  Going to my local historical museum in Alto Pascio, Toscanna, Italy for a day visit just isn't in the cards.

HOWEVER, I speak good English really well!  And resources for American genealogy are abundant for me here which means I can contribute much more to the work by working and staying here in America than I can by about anything I'd do going overseas.  That and its less expensive to work here primarily.

So unless I find a family tree or a treasure trove that takes me overseas fairly effortlessly, I've personally decided to focus here in the United States.

But I did find a UK website for British Isles Genealogy if you're interested in doing some work over there as a place to start without having to purchase the international subscription of Legacy (which is free at Family History Centers).  Additionally, Cyndi's List has an extensive link to the UK  as well as New Family Search has some resources as well.

Some things to know about the UK.

Often, the Canadians, New Zealanders, Irish etc., are all called "British" in some records.

Britain is the name of the island.
Britania is the ancient name for the island nation.
England is one of the countries there.
The United Kingdom consists of the constituent countries of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The Commonwealth or Commonwealth of Nations, formerly the British Commonwealth consists of those nations who recognize the Queen of Enland, Elizabeth Windsor as their monarch, and as of this writing consists of 54 member nations.

Have fun!