I would like to go back farther into my families genealogy, It was stopped in 1795. Where do i begin and?>

Question

how do i do it for free?

Answer 1

UK answer.

I would suggest you use www.familysearch.org it's the only completely free website that I know of.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Two free online resources that I would check out are:

rootsweb.com

familysearch.org

However, there are other suggestions for going further.

1.  See if your surname has a genealogical forum or society associated with it.  People that frequent those types of places are usually quite nice and very helpful in exchange for sharing information on your more current line of the family.

2.  Check to see if Yahoogroups has a group associate with the surname you are researching.  You would be amazed at the variety of names that I've found that way.

3.  Check out geographical genealogy groups such as Genweb.  They offer yet another varied way of finding information on potential ancestors.

4.  Check to see if your library system has a genealogical section.  Some main libraries have quite extensive ones and people who use those resources can probably direct you to even more obscure sources.

Those options are all FREE.

You could of course hire a professional genealogist, but beware.  Unless you do the research yourself you may not find that option near as satisfying.  You may also not get what you pay for.  For every kind and good professional genealogist out there, there is at least one fraud.

If it was me, I would first verify the data back to the 1795 date.  Make sure the documentation has been done.  After that, it all depends on location and available records from that time period.

Answer 3

Your off to a very good start from 1795!

You can start with familysearch.org, it is sponsored by the Church of Latter Day Saints, but anyone can use it for free. They have one of the largest databases online. The LDS website also has many tutorials about genealogy, and printable forms you can use in your research.

Cyndis list is also a good place to get started in your research. It is an index of catagorized links to thousands of useful genealogical websites, many of which are free.

Also try the genealogical and historical society websites for the local area that your ancestors are from.  

I have a blog that might be useful to you, it has some tips for using historical information to enrich genealogy, and links to websites I find useful, and information about genealogy and history books that I recommend.

Good luck, genealogy is very addictive, it's a wonderful hobby to get into.

Happy ancestor hunting.