Where can I research my family tree for free?

Question

I have been looking to research my family tree but everywhere charges you! Its your own family information for goodness sake!

Does anyone know a good site or one that is free?

Thanks

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/

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:

associatedcontent dot 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

You have some good answers already. I just wanted to add that the local history room of the county library is a good place to look, and it is free. So are tombstones, if you want to walk a cemetery.

If you don't happen to live near the county(s) your ancestors lived in, then you will have to either fly there and check into a hotel, or pay some company a subscription. Ancestry.com and the other fee sites are charging you for the convenience, not for the data. There is a difference.

If I knew your grandparents, for instance, I'd be happy to tell you about them. If I didn't know them, and didn't know you, but you wanted me to drive to their grave site and take a picture of it for you, I might reasonably expect you to offer to pay for my gas and film. That would save you havng to fly to the town, rent a car, etc. You'd save money in the long run. The information is free in either case. Getting it to you is where the money comes in.

BTW, that is a bad example. Findagrave.com is full of generous, gracious people who take pictures of tombstones out of the goodness of their hearts, not for cash. I look up obituaries for complete strangers in my county. I've never asked for money. I do tell people that they are morally obligated to look up one for a complete stranger in their county.

Answer 3

The LDS church offers a few free genealogy sites.  Probably the biggest is found at http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.... . They also have a free software program called Personal Ancestral File. (http://www.ldscatalog.com/webapp/wcs/sto...

Answer 4

You can go on these websites www.ancestry.com and www.onegreatfamily.com i hope they work