How do I even start with doing my ancestry?

Question

I just recently wanted to start doing a family tree to see who was in my family and the history of my family. Where do I even start? I can't use ancestry.com because you have to pay and I don't have any money to do that. Where's a free website where I could find that kind of stuff? Give me some ideas/tips please. Thanks.

Do I have to put down all of my family's brothers and sisters too? including their kids too?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, I found out on the internet that my father died. My parents divorced when I was 2, but as a child we were very close. We never really talked about ancestry. When I found out he had died, I went on a quest to find out who I was. I was amazed at what I found on the internet. I now have my family traced back to the 1100's (officially documented) and 600 ad (unofficially)

I found most of my information on message boards. I found people on both sides of my family who not only filled in missing links, but provided me with pictures. Last Christmas I gave my mother and her sisters a book on their family. They sat there and cried like babies. I had pictures of their grandfather who died shortly before they were born. Even their grandmother didn't have any pictures of him. I got them from a woman I found on a message board who's father-in-law is his brother. He was more than happy to share everything he had with us.

Check out the message boards, rootsweb.com, and ancestry.com. I'm not to crazy about ancestry.com, but it helps a little. All the information you can get from Ancestry.com, you can get within the free trial time. Also, Google every name you find. You can find out so much through Google. Don't expect it all to come together over night. It's a long process, but you get addicted to it and you have so much pride when you're finished... if you ever finish. I'm already working on the second edition of my book.

Answer 2

How do you eat an elephant? one bite at a time. Step back from the overwhelming thought of a family history, and realize it is made up of your ancestors... one person at a time. And of course, once you dip your toe in, someone will make a liar of me on that, and you'll find a distant cousin who has "worked" that whole side of the family. That won't upset me... just be aware that it may be great, and it might not be.
Don't make your goal to have 3 kazillion names in your file. Aim for 20 persons who you KNOW ARE RIGHT. One wrong ancestor can cost you months of researching persons who are not even your line. Been there/done that.
Look through the resolved messages here, this is one of the most usual questions. Find out from those messages (1) why the origin of a surname is not reliable about your history and (2) why not to worry about a coat of arms.
Contradiction- you do NOT need to use the "pay" sites. Genealogy is NOT free. Somewhere you will have to pay something, but that's true of all hobbies.
Unlike some other areas of yahoo answers... you may get 50 replies on this. They will all be "best" because there are so many tools and resources out there. Please don't think in terms of any one best place to look. I have hundreds of sites bookmarked.
The minute you find how to get death certificates (part of the process), you'll get back to the 1800's when they didn't exist. Now you have to switch to other types of records, appropriate to that era. But that is the fun of it. Every step builds to the next.
I do send most new researchers to www.cyndislist.com. Cyndi is a former housewife who started collecting genealogy web sites over 10 yrs ago. Bookmark cyndi along with google. Look at one of the "how to" links there. Come back and just cruise through what she has. ALLOW time for this..there is a lot, and it just opens your mind to what is out there, and can be used.
If possible, gently find something else besides the computer for your family to do. You will be hogging it, and having a ball, meeting fun people all over the world. Remind them often that you are doing it for them. They won't believe you, but hey.. its worth a try.
Yes to your question about siblings. One ancestor might be a quiet farmer with few records, his brother may have a long bio in the county history book. Or a death cert (with parent's names) when you can't find the other one.

Answer 3

Your own county may have a genealogical society which puts information on the web. I found tons of information about my family on the Smith County Texas genealogy website. ancestry.com, as others have mentioned, is also a very good site. Doing a generic on-line search can catch lots of information also. I did. Using Internet information only, I was able to construct a family chart of both sides of my family. I have been able to get information on some of my father's family dating back to 17th century Ireland, specifically Armagh, the see of St. Patrick.

Answer 4

Genealogists/Family Historians
The National Archives offers insight into the lives of people, their families and our history. Because the records at the National Archives come from every branch of the Federal government, almost all Americans can find themselves, their ancestors, or their community in the archives. Knowing how a person interacted with the government is key to a successful search.

http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/

Answer 5

You start with you, then work backward. You don't need anything fancy--at least not at first--just paper and a pencil. Ask your parents their full names, dates and places of birth, marriage, etc. Put down your brothers' and sisters' full names and dates and places of birth, etc. If any of your grandparents are still living, get the same information from them. If they live nearby, make yourself a list of questions, and ask them if you can record your conversation with them. You'll get delightful or sad stories all filled with important information. Ask the same questions of several people so you can compare the information. Most of all, get these stories and information before these people die.
After that, you can go to your local library for help with Social Security indexes, obituaries in newspapers, U.S. Census reports, etc.
And yes, the LDS church has extensive genealogical information and help. Try going online to LDS.org and clicking on the Family History option. It has information about getting started on your family history, as well as access to lots of online records.
Also, don't forget to start your own personal history, so future generations will have your dates, places, and interesting stories all ready for them. Don't worry that your life may not seem exciting. The dullest of days seems fascinating when read by your kids, grandkids, etc.
Good luck with this great project!

Answer 6

my suggestion is that you get a hold of the book unpuzzlilng your past by Emily Croom. You local library may have it. She takes you step by step.
Just remember what you find online may not be correct. There is a lot of bad research out there. You need to document your work (birth, death, marriage certificates they do cost. Cemetery records are usually free).
two free sites are rootsweb.com and rootsweb.com. You may or may not find anything there. Only use the net as a tool not proof!!!! This is important. Check with your library they may subscribe to ancestry and you can use it there for free. Also use heritagequest.com thru your library. If your library has a webpage you may find a link for heritage quest where you can use your library card to log in. Here you can access the census reports. These are important. You can find your ancestor, his wife and their children living at home.

Happy hunting

Answer 7

No you don't have to pay at ancestry.com, there is lots of free stuff. The trees are free to search through for instance but you might be more comfortable looking at them through rootsweb.com which is all free. You can begin filling in your 'tree' for free at either site also. Same goes for the message boards, and rootsweb offers email lists too. Genforum.com's message boards is another site to help you get started. Familysearch.org may also be useful.

#1 don't believe anyone else's work, they may have copied errors. Research and document your own family yourself.

What you will want and need is access to census images. ancestry.com's are the best but are by paid subscription - but you can get images free in many states through your library system, ask about HeritageQuest Online.

Eventually you'll run out of things you can learn free. It'll cost you for postage, cost you for copies, cost you for fuel to drive to courthouses, cemeteries &c.

Answer 8

If you know the local where your ancestors were born or married and lived, you can write to the various churches and County Recorders requesting records of anyone by that last name and then you have to "gum shoe" it from there, Small towns have "grange halls" and cemeteries, city hall where old marriage licenses might be, also land and title offices in a certain community. The Mormon Church does extensive family trees and may offer assistance.Especially if you are of that denomination. Good luck!

Answer 9

familysearch.org is a great free place to start. I got almost a dozen names from this site. Also, you can go to yahoo search. Just type in 'free genealogy' and check out the list.

Answer 10

These questions come up every day:

Where can I find my family tree for free?
Does anyone know the {Surname} family?
What are good sites for ancestors / genealogy?

They are all about tracing your family tree on the Internet. I am not chastising you for failing to search the resolved questions first. I am explaining why this is the same answer I gave to many other people. The fourth time I typed my favorite beginner's links I realized I should save them in a text file and paste them in. This is a long, detailed and general answer. Because it is general, some of the links (or paragraphs) may not apply to your question.

These may help get you started. They are large and free. Many of them, however, have subtle ads for Ancestry.com in them - ads that ask for a name, then offer a trial subscription. Watch out for those advertisements.

http://www.cyndislist.com/
(240,000+ links, all cross-indexed. If you want Welsh or Pennsylvania Dutch or Oregon or any other region, ethnic group or surname, chances are she has links for it.)
http://www.familysearch.com
(Mormon's mega-site. Click on "Search")
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi
(460,000,000+ entries, of varying quality)
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/default.aspx?ln=
Surname meanings and origins
http://www.tedpack.org/begingen.html
My own site: "How to Begin"

United States only:
http://www.usgenweb.net/
(Subdivided into state sites, which all have county sites.)
(The Canadians have Canadian Gen Web, by province)
http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi
(Social Security Death index - click on "Advanced". You may find your grandparents.)
http://find.person.superpages.com/
(US Phone book, for looking up distant cousins)


United Kingdom Only:
http://www.genuki.org.uk/
(Biggest site for United Kingdom & Ireland)
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
(Free Birth, Marriage & Death Records)

(If you posted your question in Genealogy, ignore this paragraph. If you posted it in the "Family" category, read on.)
Tracing your family tree is called genealogy. YA has a category for genealogy,
Home > Arts & Humanities > Genealogy
There are hundreds of more links in the resolved answers there.

In the USA, some public libraries have census image subscriptions. Many Family History Centers do too. FHC's are small rooms in Mormon churches. They welcome anyone interested in genealogy, not just fellow Mormons. They have resources on CD's and volunteers who are friendly. They don't try to convert you; in fact, they don't mention their religion unless you ask a question about it.


Notes:

You usually have to do some research. Sometimes you get lucky. Don't give up if your Great grandfather with your surname isn't there. Try all eight great-grandparents.

You won't find living people on any of the sites except the phone book one. You won't find many people born after 1920 on any of the sites except the SSDI one. Genealogists hide the birth dates, birth places and other facts of living people to protect their privacy. You will have to find your grandparents' or great grandparents' birth dates and maiden names somewhere besides the Internet.

The best way to get started is to ask your oldest living relatives about themselves and their parents. You may find great-grandpa's death date and burial place on the web, but only his children, your grandfather and grandaunt, can tell you what sort of man he was.

The free sites are supported by advertising, just like TV. You can't watch the Super Bowl without seeing a beer commercial, and you can't surf for dead relatives without seeing an Ancestry advertisement. Many people complain about advertisements. Please don't. They bring you the "free" sites. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

If you get serious you'll need a genealogy program. They are to family research what "Word" is to writing a novel. I like Roots Magic. Family Tree Maker is the market leader. Both cost around $29. The Mormons will let you download PAF for free. It is clunky, but it is free. You can sometimes find old versions of FTM or Family Origins (FO is the predecessor of RM) in bargin bins at CostCo.

This is a general hint: Even though you go in through YA Canada, YA Australia, YA UK or YA USA, all of the questions go into one big "pot" and get read by everyone in the world who speaks English. Most of the people here are in the UK and USA, but you sometimes get questions and answers from people who worry about kangaroos eating their roses. So - put a nation, or, better yet, if you are asking about a specific individual, a nation and a state / province in all of your questions. It will help people help you.