Where can u find ancestors for free and you dont have to pay anything ever?

Question

Where can u find ancestors for free and you dont have to pay anything ever?

Answer 1

I have been doing genealogy for almost 50 years now, counting the time I sent off for Revolutionary War pay records when I was 12. I've been doing it seriously for 10 years; (2 - 8 hours a day, 3 - 7 days a week, depending on how hot the trail, how high the lawn is and how big a pan my wife hefts when she suggests I get off the Internet and into the yard.)

My nephew got one of those "Find out about your ancestors" assignments that school teachers who are not genealogists give out every once in a while. I showed him where to go to see my data on the Internet. I sent him a 165-page report on his ancestors, going back through the Civil War to a privateer born in the 1600's. I sent him a 4-page list tracing his line back to Charlemagne, which required quite a bit of faith.

Note again - I showed him where to go to find my 10 years worth of research on the Internet. Any uncle would. (It works the same with nieces or aunts, but aunts tend to be more polite and better looking than I am.)

I'm not the most ambitious or devoted genealogist in our little world. I'm about average, and there are at least 100,000 of us. About half the time one of us shows a nephew where to go to see 10 (20, 30, 40 . . .) years worth of research on the Internet, the nephew's schoolmates get the impression that everyone can look up their ancestors on the Internet with five or six clicks.

Usually you can't. Usually you have to do the research yourself. It isn't rocket science. I usually compare the research to doing a term paper in a high school history class. 99% of all teens think the idea of doing research for fun is as odd as mowing lawns, bagging groceries or delivering papers for fun.

You can download a genealogy program (PAF) from the Mormons for free. There are 400,000 free genealogy sites on the Internet. You can search the resolved questions in this category for the word "Free". If you look at enough resolved Q, you can see the stock answers of all 10 of us top 10 answerers. Most of us don't paste our stock answer in if we see someone else has pasted his/hers, so don't expect to see all 10 in the first 10 resolved Qs. (Sometimes we do anyway, and sometimes we both answer at once.)

Answer 2

You ARE delusional, aren't you?  NO hobby is ever totally free.  If you want to play the piano, you will have to pay for lessons, buy the piano, and song books.  If you want to be an artist, you will have to pay for canvases, paints, brushes, etc.  If you want to play softball, you will have to purchase uniforms and sneakers and a glove.  In all hobbies, you will also invest in gas for transportation to go to piano lessons, or ball games, or to the craft store to buy your art supplies, etc.  Also in all hobbies, you will invest countless hours of your time for which you will never be financially compensated.  If you are really not willing to invest in anything, then it is the wrong hobby for you.

Answer 3

Dear, you are really asking for a big order not to have to pay for anything ever. If anyone has told you, for instance, that their Aunt Sallie found their complete family tree online, you can tell them if Aunt Sallie hasn't verified it with documentation, she doesn't know that what she has found is totally  accurate or not.

The above person gave you a great website for records and is correct; your public library might have a subscription to it.

Ancestry.Com has all the U. S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 and later are not available to the public yet.  They have U.K. censuses also. Ancestry.Com has lots of records.  Let me tell you, though, not all records are beginning to be on line.

Actually, you need to see what all your public library has in the genealogy area.  

You cannot take as absolute fact everything you see in family trees on ANY website, free or paid.  The information is subscriber submitted and mostly not documented or poorly documented. There is absolutely no way the people who run those websites can verify all the information that is submitted and I really don't think they care.  You could make up a family tree with all sorts of speculation and guesses and it would be accepted with no question whatsoever.  

Even when you see the same info repeatedly by many different subscribers that is no guarantee it is correct. A lot of people copy without verifying.  The information can be helpful as CLUES as to where to get the documentation.  Actually, I understand some people have fun making up a lot of stuff to see how many people will copy.

Documentation usually requires a cost.  You start with yourself and work back one generation at a time documenting everything as you go.

The first thing to do is get as much information from living family as possible, particularly your senior members. Tape them if they will let you.  It might turn out they are confused on some things but what might seem to be insignificant story telling might turn out to be very significant.

Find out if any of your family has any old family bibles.  Ask to see and make copies of birth, marriage and death certificates. Depending on the religious faith, baptismal, first communion, confirmation and marriage records can be very valuable.

A Family History Center at a Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church is free to use but you should find out their hours for the general public. You can do that by calling them or checking their free website, FamilySearch.org.   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.   They are just very nice and helpful.

While you are at your library and the Family History Center, you will probably be able to talk with other reseachers who can give you some valuable hints and ideas.  That is how a lot of us learn, sharing experiences.

Don't expect to find information about living people online.  It is considered an invasion of privacy and can lead to identity theft.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

ancestry.com

Answer 5

Try using ancestry.com at the public library where you have a card.

Answer 6

Ah, well, do we expect a miracle? I have degress in business; you WILL have to pay, whether in money or in time.  If you were to access ALL the records at the library and not pay at the library, unless you can walk there, you will have to pay gas/transportation.

As to getting the INFORMATION for free, start by asking all your living relatives for all the information they can give you, write it all down, organize it, head to your local library.  Ours has both www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com free for use.  (AND I do NOT need a library card.  I am not checking anything out; just using the facilities!)  They also have periodicals, such as Mayflower Descendant (applies to millions of Americans, by the way), books and a volunteer who helps people.

IF you have a computer to use and internet connection, you can check these 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 is the best for finding referral websites.

Have fun and good luck!