Is there a good resource for finding geneology other than ancestry.com?

Question

I'm looking for a site or something of the sort to try to log back my father's ancestors, but am not too keen on spending $20/month to do it.

Answer 1

Hi I hope this will be helpful,the Church of latter day saints genealogy is a great site it is free and has many family histories, not just mormon, They are trying to compile as many records as possible and i find it to be a wonderful source (it has my family history and they were all Lutheren!) just go to Church of Latter Day Saints,Genealogy and from there they will pretty much "walk"you through it. Good luck

Answer 2

First of all, don't expect to find it all online.

Rootsweb and FamilySearch.org are to good free sites.

Now, information in family trees on ANY website, free or not free, are not be viewed as absolute fact.  The family trees are submitted by their subscribers, folks like you and me.  Most are not documented or they are very poorly documented.  There are errors.  Even when you see the same information repeatedly by many different subscribers that is no guarantee at all it is correct.  A lot of people copy without verifying.

The informaton can be useful as CLUES as to where to get the documentation.

Cyndi'sList.com is a webite with links to many many websites, free and not free.  You might find some that are helpful.  

I find Ancestry.Com is the best for the amount of records on line.  Your public library might have a subscription to it that you can use.

Another good  free source is a Family History Center at a Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church.

They have records on people all over the world, not just Mormons.  In Salt Lake City, they have the world's largest genealogical collection. Their Family History Centers can order microfilm for you to view at a nominal fee.

I have never had them to try and convert me or send their missionaries by to ring my doorbell. I haven't heard of them doing that to anyone else that has used their resources.

First, if you haven't done so, get as much info from living family as possible, particularly your senior members.  Tape them if they will let you.

They will probably be confused on some things, but what might seem to be insignificant story telling might later turn out to be very significant.

Answer 3

http://www.cyndislist.com/beginner.htm

One reason that I normally offer Cyndis list.. is that she demonstrates that there are THOUSANDS of sites where you may find your ancestry. When you LIMIT yourself to "one" site, you miss the whole point/ direction of research, which (to me) is using the widest number for the best results. The reasoning is this.. NO site is going to include all the records or information that go together, to put together the hundreds of facts/records that will be part of finding your ancestry.

Ancestry.com is the one place where you can find ALL US census records.  If you are in the US, that is a key to your research. Your local library may offer it for free, as long as you realize that you must invest time and gas to go there. It can wind up being more than $20 a month. Think.. ANY hobby has some cost involved.

Instead of thinking of ancestry as a finished painting, think in terms of a jigsaw puzzle.  If someone else has researched dad's ancestry, it may or may not be on the internet. And it may or may not be correct.

With all respect to you, the 3 most standard problems/ roadblocks to research are-  

1-  People looking for SURNAMES.  No.. you need to look for specific people, who are YOUR relatives.  

2-  It must be somewhere online.  No.  Genealogy is about facts and records, ALL of those being historical (existed long before computers), and MANY of which are not on the internet, but perhaps an unsurveyed cemetery, or a probate record in a courthouse basement.

3-  No one wants to spend any money.  SOME information, if you are fortunate, will be online and free.  Some will not.  

I strongly encourage you to think of research as FINDING RECORDS, not ready made family trees.  Once you break down the concept into what records do YOU need, then focus on if and where it MIGHT be found online.