Memories deserve a hearing
Keep track of who told the story, including words such as ‘perhaps’ and ‘I heard’.
A LIFE BEFORE OURS.Their stories. Our beginnings.
BEFORE US— Every life deserves to be remembered
PAST LIVES.PRESENT CONNECTIONS.
Before they were ancestors, they were people.
Start with your first clue01 / WHY BEFORE US
Their lives.
More than a name on a page.
We call them Grandpa, Grandma, or Great-grandmother. Before those names, they were young people making choices, leaving home, falling in love, and stepping into an uncertain future.
Before Us follows the traces they left behind to get to know them as people. Exploring where our families came from can open another window onto who we are today.
Meet Before Us
02 / SMALL THINGS. WHOLE LIVES.One small clue.
One small clue.
A whole life to discover.
A place on the back of a photograph. An address on an envelope. A story about someone who once travelled far from home. You do not need a complete family tree to begin.
03 / MAKE YOUR OWN DISCOVERYYour discovery
Your discovery
starts here.
A place for memories.
A source behind each discovery.
01 / DISCOVERStart
My
Your first
Start
exploring
Share a name, a place and what you remember. Use AI to search publicly available sources.
Enter the research space02 / KEEPMy
archive
Return to saved investigations, add clues, continue your research and export a copy.
Open your private archive03 / LEARNYour first
discovery
From a conversation with family to checking a record, begin at your own pace.
Read the beginner’s guideDiscoveries need sources
Separate what a source says from what someone recalls or infers, and keep a path back to the evidence.
Your story, your choices
Private investigations are never published automatically. Save, export or delete your own records.
Sometimes the answer is on the next page.
Explore historical newspapers, libraries and archive catalogues for your next lead.
Explore research resourcesCan I start with just a name?
Yes. An approximate date, place, relative or occupation helps. Mark uncertain details as uncertain. With limited information, research may produce leads rather than answers.
Is someone found by AI definitely my relative?
No. A matching name, date or place cannot establish identity on its own. Check original records and independent sources before treating a candidate as a relative.
Will my family story become public?
Investigations are saved to your signed-in account and are not published automatically. You can export or delete them. AI research requires separate confirmation before processing your clues.
Meet the people
who came before us.
Begin your first discoveryFAMILY HISTORY GUIDES
Browse all guidesWhat would you like to find out?
What to ask at your first family history interview
Questions to get the conversation going, with practical advice on recording, taking notes and deciding what to share.
Read the guideWho is in this old photo? Clues to names, places and dates
Look beyond the faces. Handwriting, studio stamps and a photo’s place in an album can help you work out who it shows.
Read the guideWhen did your family arrive in Australia? Finding passenger records
Where to search, what to try when a name is missing and how to check whether a passenger is the person you are looking for.
Read the guideHow to find and read a Chinese family genealogy (jiapu)
Use places and family details to find the right book, then check the links between generations before adding names to your tree.
Read the guide