Most families have stories that have been passed down for generations.

But for a genealogist, knowing a family history goes beyond tales. It lies in the historical documents recorded through time.

While genealogy has been a popular hobby for ages, developments in technology have made hunting down information on ancestors more accessible for casual searchers.

To show Butler County residents the newest tools they can use to fill in their family tree, the Butler County Genealogical Society invited Jonathan Stayer, the head of the reference section at the Pennsylvania State Archives, for a talk.

Stayer spoke Saturday to a room filled with amateur genealogists at the Butler Public Library, showing ways to find information on a family's history.

“It's a way to put a personal face on history,” Stayer said of genealogy.

Stayer highlighted how land and military records can be used to trace a family history back hundreds of years.

“For genealogists, they document aspects of a family's history,” he said.

Stayer highlighted how hobbyists can use his department's website, www.pastatearchives.com, to find much of the information they need in their searches, but warned it is not the only tool needed.

“Technology has made documents far more accessible for people,” he said. “But on the other side, it fools people into believing everything is online.”

While technology has made tracking down ancestors more accessible, it is still far from a simple search.

Stayer went over options for people to look for and connect ancestors.

The use of the census and military records is handy if you know an ancestor's name, while land records are particularly serviceable if you know the county they lived in.

For someone new to the hobby, the task of searching through countless documents may seem daunting, but it has a great reward.

“There's a personal gratification to it,” said Luanne Eisler, the Butler library genealogist and program director for the society.

Eisler said she has been interested in genealogy for more than 50 years after a grade school project made her trace her ethnicity.

Now, she feels it is important to know her family heritage.

“If I want to be remembered, it's my obligation to remember those who came before me,” she said.

Eisler said the society wanted to bring Stayer to show the public ways they can trace their heritage. She said the presentation was perfect for any genealogist.

“It's so helpful,” she said of Stayer's talk.

She added the tips on how to use the Internet to find documents was particularly beneficial to the public.

“The Internet has opened a whole new world of resources,” she said.

Nancy Updegraph of Portersville said Stayer was captivating.

“It suits me well,” she said of the seminar. “It's very well presented. I was intimidated by the documents at first, but I think I can do it now.”

Updegraph, who was the secretary for the Genealogical Society, said she got into the hobby in the 10th grade, but really picked up on it in the mid-1990s.

“I found out we came from Penn's holy experiment,” she said.

Her family first settled in Germantown, Philadelphia, in 1683.

Updegraph said she has been able to trace all but two generations of her family since that time.

While it has been a long process, Updegraph said she was helped by one fortunate aspect of the family.

“We have a very unique name,” she said.

Cindy Hays of Butler also attended to learn more about the craft. She been interested in genealogy for about eight years.

She got hooked on the hobby after doing a favor for a relative.

“My great uncle, who lived in Clarion County, knew his grandfather was born in Butler County,” she said. “And he asked me to look for his grave.”

Hays appreciated the opportunity to hear from a man from Harrisburg, and thought the online tips were helpful.

But she said genealogy must go beyond an Internet search.

“I would say the Internet is a good starting point,” she said. “But there's nothing like going to the courthouse and finding stuff.”

Hays has been to courthouses in Butler, Clarion, Armstrong and Elk counties, searching for documents on her family's heritage.

“It takes a lot of time and energy to get a tad-bit of information, but I enjoy it,” she said. “It makes history personal.”