Good, free geneology website?

Question

I would like to be able to just type in my name or my parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents names. Is that possible to trace back from them by using their names?

Answer 1

Many people have been successful by just entering a name and found a family tree submitted by a distant relative who has done all the research and if they're really lucky, the tree owner has provided sources for their facts.  Try this free site which has over 250 million family trees.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

If that doesn't work..........

Try this free site which has a huge database of  family history collections  and records.

http://www.familysearch.org/

Or if all else fails..........

You could edit your queston and provide name/names of a deceased relative, their approximate birth year, and location.  Someone in Yahoo!Answers can look up info on ancestry.com for you.  Most records for people born after 1930 are not available online.  Be sure to preserve the privacy of your living relatives.

** I'll check back  to see if you request a search.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

You can try googling; you might get some hits.  Or, you can try:

You should start by asking all your living relatives about family history.  Then, armed with that information, you can go to your public library and check to see if it has a genealogy department.  Most do nowadays; also, don't forget to check at community colleges, universities, etc.  Our public library has both www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com free for anyone to use (no library card required).

Another place to check out is any of the Mormon's Family History Centers.  They allow people to search for their family history (and, NO, they don't try to convert you).

A third option is one of the following websites:

http://www.searchforancestors.com/...

http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739...

http://www.usgenweb.com/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.rootsweb.com/

http://www.ukgenweb.com/

http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.familysearch.org/

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/...

http://www.cyndislist.com/

http://www.geni.com/

Cyndi's has the most links to genealogy websites, whether ship's passenger lists, ancestors from Africa, ancestors from the Philippines, where ever and whatever.

Of course, you may be successful by googling: "john doe, born 1620, plimouth, massachusetts" as an example.

Good luck and have fun!

Check out this article on five great free genealogy websites:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

Then there is the DNA test; if you decide you want to REALLY know where your ancestors came from opt for the DNA test. Besides all the mistakes that officials commonly make, from 10% to 20% of birth certificates list the father wrong; that is, mama was doing the hanky-panky and someone else was the REAL father. That won't show up on the internet or in books; it WILL show up in DNA.

I used www.familytreedna.com which works with the National Geographics Genotype Program.

Answer 3

You have two good answers. Here is a warning: You won't be able to type in your name or your parents' name. Genealogy sites hide details of living people for two reasons.

1) Identity theft. Banks and other places use birthdate and mother's maiden name (or grandmother's maiden name) to establish you are who you say you are.

2) Privacy. It is nobody's business that:

2a) Your parents married in June and you were born in November, four months later.

2b) Your grandmother is a widow.

2c) You have a half-brother because your father trifled with a chorus girl on that business trip to New York in 1992.