Heritage Album

does anyone know of a free website where i can trace my family tree?

I want to know about my "African american" roots.

Public Comments

1. www.familytree.com
2. Before I paste my stock answer - don't get your hopes up. AA genealogy is tough and full of dead ends. You folks didn't even get to have surnames until the 1870 census. Sometimes you can read about your ancestors in wills, when they were treated just like other property. {Cringe!} If Anderson Pack wills "my negro boy, Alexander" to his son, Bartley Pack in 1820, and Bartly Pack wills "My negro man, Alexander" to his son Charles in 1845, and there is an negro Alexander Pack (Smith, Brown, Green, Miller), aged 60 in the area in 1870, you have a clue. Cyndi (below) has a whole section devoted to AA roots. Here is my stock answer: I save this and paste it because people ask the same question 1 - 4 times a day: What are good free sites for genealogy? Does anyone know about the {surname} family? How can I trace my family tree, for free? Sometimes they ask in the genealogy category, Arts & Humanities -> Genealogy. Sometimes they don't. Since this is a general answer, some of the paragraphs may not apply to you. If you search or browse the resolved questions in the Genealogy category, you can find more links from other people. Two warnings: 1) It takes time. Compiling a good family tree is like writing a term paper for a high school history class. You have to research. 2) Most of the genealogy data on the web is about people born before 1900, to protect living people's privacy. You'll have to find your grandparents (or great grandparents) off the web. Here are some large free sites. http://www.cyndislist.com/ (240,000+ links, all cross-indexed.) http://www.familysearch.com (Mormon's mega-site) http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi (450,000,000+ entries, some excellent, some bad, most in between) http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/default.aspx?ln= Surname meanings and origins; no specific individuals, but fun. These are for the USA only. http://www.usgenweb.net/ (Subdivided into state sites, which all have county sites.) (Canada has a Canadian Gen Web, with sites for each province.) http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi (Social Security Death index - click on "Advanced".) http://find.person.superpages.com/ (US Phone book, for looking up distant cousins) These two are for the UK & Ireland only: http://www.genuki.org.uk http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ If you get serious, you should probably buy a genealogy program. I like Roots Magic. Family Tree Maker is very popular. Both are $29 in the USA, but you can sometimes find old versions in discount bins at software stores. http://www.tedpack.org/begingen.html has some tips for beginners. I used to suggest people who were in favor of free data volunteer to ADD to it, instead of just taking it, but I gave that up as a lost cause. If you are interested, write to me via my profile. You will restore my faith in humanity.