Imagine that you have found a gravestone somewhere in Manitoba or maybe a photograph that is labeled Ingigerdur Ofeigsdottir Hojgaard 1852-1925. You have reason to believe that she is related to you and you would like to find out as much about her family tree as you can.
The name, Ingigerdur Ofeigsdottir, tells you that she was most likely Icelandic. The last name, Hojgaard, does not end in son or dottir, so it is not a traditional Icelandic name. This implies either that she was married to a non-Icelander named Hojgaard, or that she belonged to a family that immigrated to Iceland and kept their family name. The dates tell you that she was almost certainly born in Iceland because emigration did not begin until the 1870s. With this information, we can begin a search for her family. The following steps are typical of a family search and they illustrate many of the available resources. The order of the steps may vary, but it is typical.

• www.familysearch.org finds parents and siblings.
• Ingigerdur Ofeigsdottir's mother's ancestors.
• Vesturfaraskrá finds what year the family came over.
• Ship Passenger List identifies the dates of arrival.
• Homestead Records may identify where immigrants settled.
• Saga Íslendinga í Norður-Dakota is searched for relatives.
• Vestur-Íslenzkar Æviskrár is searched for relatives.
• Icelandic River Saga is searched for relatives.
• Telephone Directories are searched for relatives.
• Ingigerdur Family Tree is presented on the web.