I want to do a genealogy search. Which are the best sites and services to use?

Question

I want to do a genealogy search. Which are the best sites and services to use?

Answer 1

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 2

I like familysearch.org

The Mormon's have great genealogy records.

Answer 3

I agree, if your interested in Genealogy, you cant beat the Mormons, they're freaky about it.

Answer 4

One site which hasn't been mentioned is lost cousins. If you know where your ancestors lived in 1881 you can find them free on the census records on the familysearch website, enter them in to www.lostcousins.co.uk and click on search. If anyone else is related to any of your ancestors they put you in touch and you can work together on research. Who knows, you may find a distant relative you didn't know and you may also find that they have done research they will pass on to you - saving you some money!

Answer 5

I agree that the Mormons have a lot of information, but that information is only as good as the people who donated it. I found many discrepancies with my own family history, a brother was made the father with skewed everything...

I also like mytrees.com, you can enter information for them and earn free time on their site.

Ancestry.com is good too

Answer 6

freebmd

Answer 7

Ancestry.com is the most convenient in my opinion because you can get most of your answers right there - if you don't mind paying a fee).  There are lots of  free sites which are very good (just a little more leg work).

As you can see from the answers above, the "Mormon" site is also popular. loaded with records and family tree software you can download - all free, no gimics and no preaching.

http://www.familysearch.org/

A lot of people have found a distant relative's family tree that connects to their ancestors at this free site.  If you do find a match, be sure to verify their information by searching for the record.

http://www.rootsweb.com/

Here is another free site with  hundreds of links and detailed information on just about everything.

http://www.cyndislist.com/

I would strongly suggest first going to Ted Pack's site for great advise on getting started, including what to avoid which will save you a lot of time and frustration.

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

Good Luck in your search!