does anyone know of a website that is free to search your family tree? one that doesn't lead to Ancestry.com>

Answer 1

For those with native American ancestry, try:
http://www.tribalpages.com/

http://www.searchforancestors.com/...

http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739...

http://www.usgenweb.com/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.rootsweb.com/

http://www.ukgenweb.com/

http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.familysearch.org/

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/...

http://www.cyndislist.com/

Assuming they emigrated from Europe, start with Ellis Island and the Battery Conservancy sites:
http://www.ellisisland.org
http://www.castlegarden.org

You can also search for "Smith Family Genealogy", google the name, complete with birth/death dates, place of birth, etc. Then there are county, state, and historical sites that have genealogy websites, such as:
http://www.woodfordkyhistory.org/
or:
http://www.nps.gov/ande/ for the Andersonville Cemetery website.
Don't forget county courthouse records, libraries (for books and to use their subscription-based genealogy programs such as ancestry.com.
When you really want to know where your ancestors came from, try such sites as: www.familytreedna.com, dnatribes.com, dnaancestryproject.com, and, of course, the National Geographics Genotype program, https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/faqs_about.html
The problem is not so much where to look, but where do you get the time to do the reseach?
Because I have gone back more than 100 generations, I have abandoned all of the programs and merely type into a word document, with my Mom (another one for my Dad) being 1, her dad is 2, her mom is 3; for the 3rd generation, the dad of #2 is 4, his mom is 5; #3 goes to 6 & 7, and so forth. This gives a direct line of who is whose father, grandfather, etc. I type all info I have, name, birth, marriage, death dates and places, who the parents were, etc., then type in my sources, then list any children. One reason for doing it this way is the programs are not set up for people with no surnames (which go back to about 1400!) and are not set up for a father with one surname and each brother with a different surname (which happened when surnames were first used) nor do the programs allow for a couple that had 8 children, 3 of whom became ancestors, or for folks who married more than once and left ancestors from each of the spouses! This causes duplications, triplications, etc.
Also, by typing, all the info is available at a glance; with the programs, you must click, click, click different buttons to view all your info. (I have thousands of ancestors typed into 4 documents, each more than 100 pages; add to that the offspring and other relatives...The commercial programs cannot handle that much info!)

www.israelgenealogy.com
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/judai...

Have a look at these sites these are South African ones,
http://genealogy.about.com/od/south_afri...
http://www.rupert.net/~lkool/page2.html...
http://www.jewishgen.org/safrica/website...
http://southafricanfamilyhistory.wordpre...

http://www.winslowtree.com/surname-meani...

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/f...

Two good places I use are www.zabasearch.com and www.peoplefinder.com
also..
http://www.cyndislist.com/finding.htm...

Answer 2

There are lots of websites. Cyndi's list has
a multitude of them.

Now, you have to be very careful about taking as fact everything you see in family trees on any website, free or paid. The information us user submitted. Most is not documented. Even when you see the same information over and over by many different submitters, that is not a guarantee that it is correct. People are copying without verifying. You have to use the information as clues as to where to get the documentation.

If your problem with Ancestry.Com is the cost, your public library might have a subscription to it you can utilize. I think Ancestry.Com is the best for the amount of records on line and they seem to be getting more all the time. They have all the U. S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 is not available to the public yet. They also have the U. K. censuses.

Also have you checked with your nearest Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Church to find out if they have a Family History Center? They have records on people all over the world, not just Mormons. In Salt Lake City they have the world's largest genealogical collection. Their Family History Centers can order microfilm for you to view at a very nominal fee.

They will not bring up their religion and they will not send thei missionaries by to ring your doorbell. They are very nice and helpful.

Don't think you can find everything on line. Use websites as a supplement.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

yes. www.familytiesthatbind.com
It says to share a gedcom, but that is not needed. Just register and you will be able to search the whole database for free. If you chose later on to share your info. you can upload it to the website owner. there is also an online community, but you will also have to register to get on that as well. It is all free searching. You will not be able to download others trees unless you contact the person who owns that tree and they give permission. Unlike Ancestry, this site will never sell your research.

Answer 4

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ("The Mormons") have a very extensive database of family records from all over the world. Even people who aren't members can access this by visiting: http://www.familysearch.org/ and click on related links for more information. They keep cemetery, marriage, community and other records.

Answer 5

umm... well, tribalpages.com lets you search other people's family trees that may have your relatives in them