Using Free Genealogy Websites to Find Ancestors
Free genealogy websites are great, but can also be full of incorrect information. Still, it is worth the time to get familiar with what kind of information you can find online for no cost if you are getting started doing genealogy.
A couple of free places that have helped me are the message boards at Rootsweb (.com) and Genealogy (.com)
First Steps to Find Ancestors
You can start your search with the surname message boards, but those can be difficult to use if you have a more common surname.
A better way to search is to search the message board for the county your relative lived in or was born in. If you know the city and state, but don’t know what county that your ancestor was born in or lived in, on the main page at Rootsweb there is a town/county tool – put in the city or town and the state and the tool will tell you what county that city or town is in.
Another useful place to search are the archives of the email lists – which can take quite a while, but typically the people who use these email lists are more experienced and their information is more detailed.
Next Steps
Once you know a bit more, say you know the names, places and dates of birth for ancestors you can search the world trees. These family trees show more details and have several ways you can search them. You can look at the pedigree – which shows couples and their children. Or you can search the surname lists for the trees.
If you want to save time, you can use Ancestry.com. They have a free trial, and after that is over the site charges a monthly subscription. It is not dirt cheap, but they have some of the best information and databases for you to search through. And you can connect with other users and share family history information with them.
So if you want to turbo boost your genealogy search, use a reputable paid service such as Ancestry.com. And don’t forget that the free searches can provide you with many good “finds” too!
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