How do you find relatives with little or no money?

Question

Just curious trying to find my mom's family i know several things about them but don't know where to look and I am "BROKE" as he!!.

LOL thanks guys!! needed that!
Just wanna know are there any sites or anyway free or at least cheaper to find them.

Answer 1

We were all in your shoes at one time or another. I'm going to introduce you to a resource that is WONDERFUL in how much information it shares...for free. It's your public library.

They have paid for subscriptions to some of the most expensive genealogy databases in the country...and share them with users for nothing more than the cost of a library card...which is usually quite free (well unless you lost it...then it might cost you a dollar or two). They have massive resource books on their shelves. All of the local newspapers are filmed and available for use back to the inception of the newspaper...and you can find all sorts of news stories and obituaries, birth and marriage announcements...all the lovely information that brings our ancestors back to life. There are both local and state history materials in the reference section, along with all the old phone books and city directories going back to the 1800s.

The very best part about many library systems is that if you have a library card and activate it to use their computers, then you can also sign in to use their portal to other resources from home. In many cases, this means you get to use either Heritage Quest or Ancestry.com without paying for it. You get all the census info, military records, etc...and they pay for the subscription for you.

The other resource to explore is your local county building. That's where you get to go look for birth, marriage and death records on everyone who lived or died in the county. Most have genealogy research hours for free...though a few charge by the hour...just not that much.

Then there are churches. If your ancestors went to church, the odds are there's a pastor somewhere who has all sorts of info on them...even from the days before there were birth certificates or marriage licenses. They don't usually charge, either...except maybe for postage and copying charges.

So you can do really well with researching your family without spending money or trekking to other towns to find a Mormon Family History Center. Check out your local public library and see how much they can help you.

Answer 2

Step 1: Buy a winning lottery ticket.
Step 2: Hordes of relatives will descend like locusts.

By the way, if your public library has a government document section, it will have census records on microfilm. It probably subscribes to Ancestry.com or other on line genealogical services as well. Many public libraries also offer workshops on getting started in genealogy.

Answer 3

Check out

http://www.familysearch.org

Probably the best free online resource.

http://www.ancestry.com is one of the best but has a hefty subscription fee.

Also, you can check the surname message boards for his surname at:

http://genforum.genealogy.com

For links to helpful sites, you will want to take a look at:

http://www.cyndislist.com

And finally for a lot of different resources:

http://www.rootsweb.com

Good luck,
Dave
--
http://www.familypulse.org

Answer 4

www.familysearch.org

or go to the Family History Center at the local Mormon church. They'll help you and will NOT pressure you about the church.

Answer 5

You could try www.familysearch.org it's completely free and its excellent as well, its the Mormons site.

Answer 6

Oh I thought you had money to give away....

Answer 7

I have no money...

Maybe we're cousins...?!?