What is a good free website for genealogy research?

3 Comments

1. Maxi says:

   August 20, 2010 at 2:02 pm

   If you have done the basics and know what you are looking for then there are many website, however it depends on what you are looking for from which country and you need to know what data you can ‘trust’ and what you can’t…most people will immediately suggest http://www.familysearch.org/ENG/search/frameset_search.asp however it isn’t that good, the census is useful and as true as any transccribed information ( human errors) however the IGI is copies of parish records together with a collection of ‘donated’ information from anyone who cares to send it in, its not checked or verified…so use with care…the trees on there from people, just encourage people to copy them and save their selves time and research………..someone has traced part of my tree and it is completely wrong…so just a collection of names…….I know because I have traced it and through primary records, then other people have contacted me looking at the same tree which they have copied to ask me to share information with them, so these trees are copied without anyone checking to see if they are correct.

   If it is possible you are always better to go and look at the real records, possibly the indexes to the records online so it saves you time in the records office.
2. Tina says:

   August 20, 2010 at 2:02 pm

   Your public libraries will most likely have both Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest.com free for anyone to use while at the library and with a library card you should be able to use Heritage Quest at home.

   Another free online resource is the LDS/Mormon site, which has many free online records at http://www.familysearch.org/ and original documents on their pilot site at http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=0 . In addition to their online records, they have the Family History Centers where you can go for help with research and look at microfilm and they only charge nominal fees if they have to order something specifically for you . Find a location near you on their website and call to check hours of operation. http://www.familysearch.org/ .

   Additionally, USGenWeb is another free online resource at http://www.usgenweb.org/ . This site is packed with how-to tips, queries and records for every state and most counties within those states. Then, there is Rootsweb at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ a free site hosted by Ancestry.com where you can search for surnames, post queries on the message boards and subscribe to surname mailing lists.

   Also, do not forget to check Cyndi’s List at http://www.cyndislist.com/ and ProGenealogist top 100 genealogist websites at http://familytreemagazine.com/article/101best2009
   both of these sites have many links for both free and fee based sites.
3. Ted Pack says:

   August 20, 2010 at 2:02 pm

   There are over 400,000 free genealogy sites. I have links to some huge ones, below, but you’ll have to wade through some advice and warnings first.

   If you search the resolved questions in this category only for the word "Free"(use "Advanced" to limit your search to this category only), you’ll find there are 2500 questions with the word, and at least 1500 of them ask "How can I trace my family tree for free?", just like you did. The answers to those questions have lots of links and tips.

   If you didn’t mention a country, we can’t tell if you are in the USA, UK, Canada or Australia. I’m in the USA and my links are for it.

   If you are in the USA,
   AND most of your ancestors were in the USA,
   AND you can get to a library or FHC with census access,
   AND you are white
   Then you can get most of your ancestors who were alive in 1850 with 100 - 300 hours of research. You can only get to 1870 if you are black, sadly. Many young people stop reading here and pick another hobby.

   No web site is going to tell you how your great grandparents decorated the Christmas tree with ornaments cut from tin foil during the depression, how Great Uncle Elmer wooed his wife with a banjo, or how Uncle John paid his way through college in the 1960’s by smuggling herbs. Talk to your living relatives before it is too late.

   You won’t find living people on genealogy sites. You’ll have to get back to people living in 1930 or so by talking to relatives, looking up obituaries and so forth.

   Finally, not everything you read on the internet is true. You have to be cautious and look at people’s sources. Cross-check and verify.

   So much for the warnings. Here is the main link.

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

   That page has links, plus tips and hints on how to use the sites, for a dozen huge free sites. Having one link here in the answer and a dozen links on my personal site gets around two problems. First, Y!A limits us to 10 links in an answer. Second, if one or more of the links are popular, I get "We’re taking a breather" when I try to post the answer. This is a bug introduced sometime in August 2008 with the "new look".

   You will need the tips. Just for instance, most beginners either put too much data into the RWWC query page, or they mistake the Ancestry ads at the top for the query form. I used to teach a class on Internet Genealogy at the library. I watched the mistakes beginners made. The query forms on the sites are NOT intuitive.