Is there a truly free genealogy web site?

Answer 1

http://www.usgenweb.org/

and

http://www.familysearch.org/
on Family search..you can also locate a Mormon church that has a free genealogy center near you..you can go get free help with look-ups free computer use..you have to pay for copies and as you get into it you may want to rent CD's to take home to use to do a search..fees are low and worth it if you are serious about finding kin info.

I have used both extensively and never had to pay except for copies and extra files I needed that were located out of town.

Answer 2

Here is a list of some of the free ones.

www.rootsweb.com -This is a good one that is free. It is run by Ancestry.com but shouldn't be confused with Ancestry.com- the pay site.

www.cyndislist.com

www.familysearch.org website for the Church of the Later Day Saints.

www.genforum.com This is a site that is full of individual message boards. You can search and post by last name, state, country, or county. This is a great one. Simply post your question on the respective board, and when people answer you will get a notification on your E-mail.

I must say, however, that a good genealogy query, doesn't just say. " I need information on John Smith" I good one would go something like this. " I am looking for information on John Smith of Holland, Michigan. John was born October 11, 1913 in Holland, Michigan and was married to Geneva Jones on October 12, 1937 also in Holland. He died on July 1, 2000. They had six children named. Abraham, Benjamin, Charles, Daniel, Edward and Franklin. I would really like to find out who John's parents are.

As you can see, a good query has

1) the persons name
2) all of the biographical information you know to date and
3) asks a specific question

The reason it is so specific is because people won't waste your time and theirs telling you what you already know. Also, by providing ALL of your known information (for example, the childrens names) it gives people alternate people to research to help arrive at your answer.

http://www.usgenweb.org/ -When you get to the main page, you can get to the state and individual locality pages by clicking on the appropriate links. Keep in mind that some towns are going to have more information than some smaller obscure towns. It all depends on what kinds of volunteers contribute information to their sites. Genealogy is very much a hobby that depends on people.

Check your local library. Many libraries have subscriptions to Ancestry.com or hertiage quest that you can Access from home with your library card number. Heritage Quest is geared mostly toward the US records.

www.interment.net or www.findagrave.com These are cemetery sites that have grown by leaps and bounds.

http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-b...

This is the link to the Social Security Death index. This is a very helpful resource to finding death dates of people who died in recent years (since about the 60's)

Good luck in your search. It is a satisfying and rewarding hobby with lots of twist and turns. Remember, you are not going to just find your entire genealogy in one search. It is an ongoing puzzle. I tell people, if you can find one thing every time you are searching, you are doing GREAT. If you find any more than that at any given time you are LUCKY!! Blessings.

Answer 3

There's also

www.rootsweb.com

The search engine on the left side of the home page is totally free. The one on the right hand side of the page links to Ancestry.com, which has some free databases but also some fee-based ones.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Yes, Rootsweb is totally free, it is owned by Ancestry.com, but there is no charge to use Rootsweb at all. Lots of info there as well as published trees and website links to surname sites. I have joined many of the mailing list from Rootsweb, great site.

Answer 5

I just want to thank you for asking this question. I have gotten so much information from those who have responded to you. I can not thank you enough.I have been trying to find out what Indian tribe I'm from and this will help me.
My Great Grand mother was full Cherokee and my Father was 1/2 Black Dutch which is Cherokee.

Answer 6

It's not realistic to do it for 'free' . You can use Ancestry for no charge at a number of UK public libraries,

Answer 7

ancestry.com has alot of free stuff to look at.

Answer 8

You mean .... you would ACTUALLY trust ... something like that?
Wow.