How can i find information out for free about my ancestry without using ancestry.com which cahrges for info?

Question

Looking for a reliable and free way to do it i know nothing at all about my fathers side

my name is Christopher Pelkey i was born in New Haven CT on Feb 3rd 1988 mother is Kathryn

Answer 1

Go to the library and you can access the full subscription to either Ancestry.com or Heritage Quest for free. The library pays the subscription for you. It's a great deal.

Answer 2

Its frustrating when everytime you think your gonna get lucky and hit on a family record...what pops up??? "Ancestry.com." If this is what happens to you, I know your frustrations all too well. Anyway, this is what I got to offer and I hope it might help.

If your father is still living, there is a privacy data issue, BUT birth records and Church records are a possible start and those records would be available. Court records, also another possibility.

If your father has brothers and sisters, and you know where they reside, try to locate any of his living relatives. If you happen to locate any of them, go the next step and try to arrange a visit.

Historical Societies and Genealogy Societies of the State(s) of which your late ancestors lived, might be a good place to start. Many State Historical Societies have an online database, references, and resources such as birth, death, marriage, immigration and family files and more. County Courts have Probate records among other records for a small fee as opposed to Ancestry.com.
Church Records are also another VERY valueable source.
Funeral Homes are also a good source.

I have included other possible FREE sites that may be a good beginning point:

http://www.familysearch.com
(Lattre Day Saints, or IGI Records)

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/
(National Archives NARA)

http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/Logon/Logon_Form.asp
(USA Land Patent Search)

http://www.quintinpublications.com
(Wonderful Publishing Company I recommend to many)

ROOTSWEB.COM
http://www.rootsweb.com
This website has quite a bit to offer for free.
Be sure to click on the MESSAGE BOARD AND FAMILY TREES TAB at the top of the rootsweb webpage. You just might find others searching for your same surname.

A great place to share and connect with family ties is the following website:

http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/index.html
Click on any of the links to subscribe. You will recieve messages from the list via email. I met alot of family members who I never knew existed, and turned out where we worked together on the same family lines.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/cen_img.htm
FREE US CENSUS IMAGES

If your ancestors have/had native blood, request a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for family records from the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Rez which you suspect they may have been enrolled. Along with this request you will need to included the names of your g-grandparents birth, place of birth, death, as well as your parents info. The more info you supply, the better your chances at locating possible records.
The NARA (US National Archives) have the Dawes Roll (5 Civilized Tribes) enrollment records available online in the above NARA link. Hope this helps!

I wish you all the best to you!
Happy Hunt'n! :O)

Answer 3

Just use any good search engine and type in "genealogy" and you will get a lot of hits.
However, if money is the issue, go to your public library. Many have ancestry.com or other genealogy sites to use free-of-charge.

Answer 4

Start with your birth certificate. Then go for your father's birth certificate. You might try a public library that has a genealogy section or a Mormon Family Center.

Answer 5

This is a long answer that I paste now and again to questions like yours.

The short answer to "How can I find my family tree?" is that if one of your great-aunts has spent 30 years researching it, AND has posted her research on the Internet, you'll find it. If not, you will have to do the research yourself. It is not difficult, but it takes time. Most young people do not want to spend a couple of hours a week doing research, because it is too much like homework. So, you may want to skip the rest of this answer. If not, read on.

If your line has been "done", chance are it is on one of these two sites. When you search, don't fill in all of the fields. Start with given name, surname and birth year. Use (+/-) 5 for the birth year. Expect to spend 15 - 45 minutes on each. Neither has any living people, so don't enter your own name.

http://www.familysearch.com
(Mormon's mega-site. Click on "Search", to start with, or "Advanced Search")

Roots Web
http://www.rootsweb.com
and in particular,
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi
(Roots Web World Connect; 460,000,000+ entries, of varying quality)

Here are a few more. The resolved questions have lots of links and tips.

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.)

Ancestry.com
http://www.ancestry.com/
(which has free pages and FEE pages - so watch out)
and, in particular,
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)

In the USA, some public libraries have census image subscriptions. Many Family History Centers do too.

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, if you are asking about a specific individual, put a nation and a state / province. It will help people help you.