Where can i find a completely free genealogy?

[ricanbonita08]

i need to find a totally free site that will trace my ancestors down for centuries (or as far my family goes back) there cant be any hidden costs or any free trials. I really want to figure this out and also we are just starting on a school project on this i need help FAST

[Violet]

Genealogy is not that simple. It does not work that way.

First, you are not going to find anything on anyone who lived in the last 50-100 years. It is unethical to post anything on anyone living or that recently deceased as it protects the identity of the living from identity theft and scams. Professional genealogists know this.

Second, IF you do find anything on the internet of your family (probably starting around 1900 and going back), you cannot assume just because it is on the internet means it is accurate. The only way to know if the information you find is right is to do your OWN research from scratch. A lot of people out there copy and paste other people's bad "research" and don't verify anything. That is wrong.

Third, unless you have a great-aunt or someone who has already done some research and posted it on the net, then your family will not be on the internet. People don't usually go around researching trees of total strangers for no reason at all and just put it on the internet for that stranger to one day find their whole family tree in 5 clicks or less.

Fourth, genealogy is fun and rewarding, but also very difficult and challenging, like putting together a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. And will take longer than doing that puzzle to do.

The best thing to do is to start by asking questions of your living relatives. Collect as much information as possible regarding names, dates, places, etc. and DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.

Then start an internet search as well as doing some research the old fashion way (going to libraries, court houses, cemeteries, etc.). If you find anything on the net, you need to try to reproduce the research yourself and see if you can find legitimate documentation of the individual, dates, or event in order to be sure the information is accurate. Trees on the net are to be used as clues and guidelines......not as gospel. Ask the poster about their resources and proof. Many times, you can find scanned copies of original documents such as census records. Otherwise, I would not take their word for it that what they have is right.

Last, you will not accomplish this overnight, in a week, month, or year. It is a LIFETIME hobby and passion, that, inspite of the countless hours you spend at it, it will never be completed. There is always another piece of the puzzle to find.

If you are not willing to do all this, then you really are not interested in the truth of your family. If you expect it to fall into your lap, all done and completed, and accurate, and FREE, with no work or challenge at all, then you are in for a rude awakening. Besides, that takes all the fun out of it.

[ZinaRae]

Build your family tree on line.

You can use a paid site like:

http://www.ancestry.com/


OR You can do this for free on:


http://www.tribalpages.com/


Start with yourself, and then attach living family members.
Find out all you can about you family from living members, then attach it to your tree.
Now it is time to look for historical records and attach the info to your tree:


It is ALL about census records, and other historical records!


You might get lucky and others may have done some work on your family tree. Google family members names i.e. "Mary Smith" + "family tree"


Free sites:


http://www.searchforancestors.com/


http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=27399&o_lid=27399


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.findagrave.com/


Genealogy message board:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/messageboards/newguide/?board=history


http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=ab-genealogy&nav=messages&lgn...


http://boards.ancestry.com/


http://www.gensource.com/common/search.cfm


http://messages.yahoo.com/yahoo/Family___Home/Genealogy/


http://genforum.genealogy.com/


http://www.genealogyforum.com/messages/


http://www.progenealogists.com/messageboards.htm


http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/boards.php?boardId=56406&func=2&channe...


http://boards.rootsweb.com/


ECT.

The time may come when you want more information than you can find for free. When this happens you can back up your "tribalpage" tree to your computer on a "GEDCOM" file
you can then go to (I think it is the best subscription site)


http://www.ancestry.com/


Upload your "GEDCOM" file
and start to work!
You might need to make a few adjustments to your tree to make it look better.

[Shirley T]

I think the above posters has pretty much covered it.

A good free source is your public library. They might have a subscription to Ancestry.Com which has lots of records. They have all the U.S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 and later are not available to the public yet. They have U.K. censuses also.

Just don't take as 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. 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 informaton should only be used as CLUES as to where to get the documentation.

A Family History Center at a Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church has records on people all over the world, not just Mormons. They are free to use but you need to call and find out their hours for the general public. 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 anyones else that has used their resources.

But as the others stated, get as much information from living family as possible, particularly your senior members. Tape them if they will let you. It might be they are confused on some things, but what might seem to be insignificant ramblings and story telling might turn out to be very significaint. Ask to see and make copies of birth, marriage and death certificates and depending on their religious faiths, their baptismal, first communion, confirmation, marriage certificates can have useful information.

While you are at your library and the Family History Center, you will no doubt have an excellent opportunity to talk with other researchers that can give you some great tips and advice.

[gene-e]

It's extremely unlikely that you will find your exact ancestry online -- unless your brother or sister has researched it and posted it on the web!

Start with yourself and then work backwards. Talk to your parents, grandparents and relatives first. Gather all info you can from them.

These sites can help you research your family tree, but they can't do it for you:

familysearch.org
rootsweb.com
cyndistlist.com
usgenweb.com (if your ancestors are in the US)
ellisisland.org
genforum.genealogy.com

There are thousands of location-specific or surname sites as well. Just google "Fayette County Indiana genealogy" and you'll get a hundred hits (just an example, of course.)

Libraries, state archives, state libraries, county courts, genealogical societies, etc. etc. have genealogical info -- more and more of which is online now.

These are all free, but, of course, the subscription sites have more information. Check with your local libraries to see if they have ancestry.com or heritagequest.com databases. You may be able to access these with your library card at home.

WARNING: not every tree you find on the Internet is real or "true." There are some very sloppy, ignorant, or dishonest "users" out there. You have to document what you find with reliable records.

For a good intro on how to do all this, see "How do I get started?" at familysearch.org.

[indigo]

Well hate to say it, but in the number of years that I've been researching I haven't found one. Libraries sometimes let you use census sites or whatnot for free, so check there.

Also, tracing it down as far as it goes usually isn't that simple unless you have a surname and family tree that is well known and well documented. The paper trail has to exist first in order for you to find it. And if it isn't online at this point in time...well that's another problem.

[Ted Pack]

It is late and I have just had a five-course dinner with a different wine for each course. The charcoal grilled asparagus was especially toothsome. The folks at Mt. Veeder can certainly craft a Cabernet. Gewurztraminer is flowery; ideal with cheese to start. Port and cigars are SO retro and SO nice. If I was sober I would paste a long answer. I'm not and I won't.

Click on "Advanced" and search the resolved questions in THIS CATEGORY ONLY for the word "School" or "project." You will see that your teacher is a fool or you have misunderstood him/her.

Some poor schmuck asks the same question every week or so. The answer is always the same - you can't do it in the time allowed with the skills you have.

Sorry.

If your idiot teacher sent someone who had NEVER fished out, armed with a spinning rod and two lures, and expected them to catch enough rainbow trout to feed 100, she would be cruelly disappointed as well.

Feel free to print this off and leave it on his/her desk. He/she can write to me at
tedpack2@yahoo.com
I'd be happy to elaborate.