Heritage Album

How to trace family tree for free?

My mum is from Langholm (Dumfries) in Scotland and wants to trace her family tree. Is there a way of doing it easily and free of charge? Also does anyone know anything about the history of the Musgrave/Hughes family from Langholm or could help? (a few names for reference - Margaret Musgrave (my mum who was born 4/5/34), Helen Musgrave, Thomas Edward Musgrave, Thomas Hughes, James Hughes). Many thanks if you can - it would make her year!

Public Comments

1. you can get a fair amount of free information from various sites, try http://freebmd.rootsweb.com, www.familysearch.org. But you will still have to pay to obtain birth, marriage, death certificates etc. For a start, I would pay to join www.genesconnected.co.uk, I think it's only about £7 a year, and they have a message board where you can ask questions about specific families and register what you do know to see if anyone else has the same relatives.
2. Try ancestry.co.uk it seems like a good site :)
3. There are a few sites you can look at, but be aware of the ripoffs. (they are names worth looking into 'the name Hughes is found in the doomsday book) I used http://www.ancestry.com/ and have traced one side of my family back to the fifteenth century. they offer many services including certificates birth,marriage and death. these have to be paid for (around £9 each if you are willing to wait) there is no way you can do it for nothing, even travelling from one office to the next will cost, but at-least with http://www.ancestry.com/ the costs can be spread and needs to for me. "Daddy Dave"
4. Apply to become a member of Parliament then hey presto the press will do it for you!
5. Go to Big Brother and you will find out upon leaving.
6. Call all your relatives!
7. I believe the mormons, Latter day Saints have a free website now to track your geneology
8. Go th familytree.com from there you can get alot help. Also, ancestery.com they have free forums where you can post these questions. You might even find relatives Other places are the local library, they usually have books about different familys, not all family names, but quite a few. You can also look up on microfilm the records of people who got married or when they were born. Just go to the library in the town where those events occurred.
9. i've avoided this question in this catergory for over several times today. Mainly because i do not know what to suggest. I wish you all the best in finding your mother and family.
10. 1, You won't find out anything asking questions like that. 2. Get the death certificates of you gransparents. 3. GP death certs have their parents namee 4. You will only find the country, not the town so you have to rely of familty for that info and they may not know it. ASk questions of the eldest members of the family. Ak everything, like what did they do for a living, maiden name, siblings. 5. Checik the state achives 6. Shecik the National Registry's. One in Pittsfield, MA and Waltham, MA. Look up census reports... 7. Check with the Latter Day Saints (mormons) in Salt Lake Citywww.sdl.org. 8, Check the social secturity death index. www.socialsecuritydeathindex.com 9. Do not overlook the cemeteries...I was surprised at the info I got there. A lot of them are computerized now. Also some of the private cemeteries have funeral notices on file. 10. Check the microfiche files at the library where some of your relatives lived...if you have the approximate date of death check the obituaries. Look for the survivors...if you find any, contact them...they may also have some family folk lore to pass on. It is an addictive hobby and lots of fun to know where and who you came from. I have been asking questions all my life getting no where. One I got into it I uncovered more that I ever thought possible. Also, ships passendger list can be found on Cindy's List..com and at the LDS. Ellis Island also has records. It was opened in late 1880's of early 1890's and closed in prior to WWI Good Hunting!.
11. Talk to the oldest family members that u have living and see what they can remember. Visit the home city in which they traveled to and fro and visit the libraries and old historical societies... good luck and happy hunting...