Heritage Album

Trying to trace my family tree.?

I am trying to trace my families history and where they originally descend from, i have tried a few websites that ask for a subscription fee, i was wandering if there are any site out there that are free to use? i tried genes reunited but when i found results all i could do was send the author of the family tree a message and when i tried that it tried to make me upgrade and it costs money.

Public Comments

1. Genes Reunited is free
2. Sorry GERS but what with deforestation and web fees it looks like a lost cause,i tried the same path some time ago and found the same,nothing is free.You should follow the same paths as the HEIR HUNTERS they trace lineage on a regular basis and have everything taped to a "t".Follow their methods and you cannot go wrong-----erm?
3. There is a site by the mormons which is free http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp Genes Reunited is limited for free, but you have to pay to get detailed information. I think this one is free too - it's not complete, but I did find a lot of what I was looking for: http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/ There are also other places to search, like criminal records and army sites.
4. All family tracing sited are free to a certain point, but one I found to be quite good is www.findmypast.com , my niece is currently building up ours and so far so good, and I believe they give you credit tokens via use of the site. Give it a go you've nothing to lose. Good Luck
5. You're learning one of life's most important lessons. It's abbreviated TANSTAFFL - There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch! You get what you pay for - and in this case, you pay nothing, you get nothing. The only way you can trace your family tree for free is by questioning your relatives. That, of course, leaves you in the position of trying to figure out how accurate ninety-year-old Great Aunt Zelda's memory is and whether or not Uncle Bob is up to his old tricks of exaggerating everything he says or lying just to get your goat, and whether or not the relationship between certain of your ancestors was a blood relationship or merely one attained through marriage. Yo: don't be a cheapskate; pay the subscription fee(s) or wait until you grow a bit older and have a job that gives you enough disposable income that you can afford to get real about tracing your ancestry.
6. Try: http://www.freebmd.org.uk for birth, deaths and marriages from 1837 (the start of civil registration. It's not complete but it's pretty useful. To save legwork on parish records, you can start with www.familysearch.org but it's got a lot of omission and mistakes in my opinion. Finally.. By far the best source I have found is Ancestry.com (or co.uk). If you look around you should be able to get a free trial.. Look hard enough and you might find a 30 day one! In fact.. here is a hint for you!! http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/features/ancestry_2.php
7. If you are serious about researching your ancestors you must be prepared to spend money. There are free sites that you can use, but you will eventually have to buy BMD certificates to back up your research. Gary has given you a link for a free trial with Ancestry, my advise is to use it, all you need is a credit card and as long as you cancel before your trial ends they wont bill you for a full subscription. 'Findmypast' is also an excellent site, it is more expensive than Ancestry, but you can buy 60 units for 6.95 (pounds). GR costs about 10 pounds per annum and is an excellent way of contacting others researching the same ancestors, there are also many members who will do look ups for you and give any advice you need. Freebmd, freecen and freereg are also invaluable to family research, however freebmd only gives you the volume and page numbers for you to be able to order certificates - they cost 7.00 pounds each. (sorry no pound key on my keyboard) If you would like me to message a GR member on your behalf, please feel free to send me your info.
8. There are free sites. You can also try the local public library. See below: 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... www dot usgenweb dot com/ http://www.census.gov/ http://www.rootsweb.com/ www dot ukgenweb dot com/ http://www.archives.gov/ www dot familysearch dot org/ http://www.accessgenealogy.com/... http://www.cyndislist.com/ www dot geni dot 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: http://www.associatedcontent.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.