Where would I start to trace geneology?

You start with yourself and work backwards, one generation at a time. Ditto for your husband.

Find a Family History Center here:

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/FHC/frames...

These are the best places to start. They are small rooms in large Mormon churches. That puts people off. Don't worry. I go to one and I'm not even Christian, let alone Mormon. They don't try to convert you. In fact, unless you ask a direct question about it, they don't mention their religion. You do have to be reasonably respectful; don't wear a "Party 'til you puke" T-shirt or a mini-skirt.

At the one I go to, volunteers outnumber clients most evenings. They will be delighted to see you. They have PCs with fast access. One of the volunteers may have an Ancestry subscription. They can get you any microfilm they have at Family History Central in Salt Lake for a modest fee. They will charge you a nominal fee for printing, if you find something you have to print; just enough to cover their toner and ink. Other than that, it is free - and the volunteers are usually experienced enough they would get $30 an hour or better if you hired them as tutors on the private market.

They won't do all the work for you, but they will show you how it is done, and share some favorite web sites with you.

Don't worry about complexities. Any decent genealogy program can handle multiple spouses, half-siblings and so on. Everyone has a mother and a father. You might not know who they are, or who they married before or after, or if they did marry, but you can be sure everyone has one mother and one father.

Adoptions are different.

http://www.tedpack.org/rec_adoption.html

has more than they'll let me paste here.

You'll need a decent genealogy program. I like Roots Magic, $29, but Legacy, Family Tree Maker and others have their fans.

There are over 4,000 questions of the general form "How do I find my family tree, for free?" in the resolved questions. The over 12,000 answers to those questions are full of links and tips.

My mom and her friend volunteer at a public library that has a geneology section. See if the public library near you has one. I also heard Mormons have family centers that do that. You don't have to be a Mormon to use them.

You start with you ( or your husband) with the records you already have....birth cert proves him and his parents......and it may sound silly but that teaches you how we research, it gets you looking at real records which is how you need to research ( online transcriptions are not records) so one record and you have verified and proved 2 generations and you have birth cert number so you can cite it....parents marriage cert proves them and either fathers or parents ( depending on country)...so two records 3 generations.................. from the records in your home and close relations homes you can get back 5 generations...this will help you...lins page will take you further and you can also download free FH software too....good luck ask if you get stuck! http://familytimeline.webs.com/recordsinyourownhom...