Genealogy Research

dogpeeps
dogpeeps Posts: 57 Member
in Chit-Chat
I am interested in knowing more about my ancestor (particularly my dad's fam since he left when I was 6 or 7) and I wondering if anyone has any hints for my searching. I know they say ask other relatives, but the only one I can possibly ask is my mom ... and she has never been forthcoming with info ...so scratch that idea.

I know ancestry.com has a lot of info, but I don't have $30-$40/month to shell out. I don't mind doing the "hoof work," I just need some resource leads (preferrably free) to build on the info I already possess.

Replies

  • airdiva1
    airdiva1 Posts: 198 Member
    Check to see if there's a genealogy group in your area. Often they have monthly meetings and a website with info.
    I can understand about the cost of using ancestry.com. I do use it because I'm at the point where it's vital.
    But getting back to the geno group, often they know about free websites with alot of info. I went to a geno session at Alex Haley's home. The people there showed me websites dealing with grave sites, family history,etc that gave me info that I wasn't aware of. Also going to the meetings can be helpful. I got info concerning my grandfather service during WWI and was lead to a free site that gave details to the battles he was in.
    Do you know any relatives at all on your father's side? Also tell you mother that while she might not want to deal with your father, certain issues, esp with health need to be known.
    I hope this helps!
  • miranda_mom
    miranda_mom Posts: 873 Member
    Ancestry.com is free for the first month (at least it used to be!). Maybe you could try it out to see if you like it. If you hit a brick wall within that month, you can just cancel. Don't forget to cancel though!
  • Mitzki5
    Mitzki5 Posts: 482 Member
    I have been doing this on and off for the last several years. Ancestry.com is the best site by far. They usually have a free trial period. You could check it out and start a tree. Just cancel before the subscription kicks in. Also, you can pay for a month and then take a few months without subscribing and then pay for another month and so on. I paid for it a couple years until I was pretty much stuck and not finding much new info. So I didn't pay for 6 months or so and then renewed subscription. Your family tree and all info is still there. You can even still access you tree while your not paying, you just can't look at the records you attach to each person.

    Some other great sites I use;
    www.findagrave.com (free and can possible lead to a lot of info.)
    http://genforum.genealogy.com/ (great message board, where you can find info)
    www.familysearch.org (free....haven't used in a while but provides a lot of info.)

    There are lots of resources out there, just take all info with a grain of salt.....I like documentation to verify stuff. That's why Ancestry.com is so nice.

    If you know what county your family members lived in, there are many county historical societys and county webpages out there that may help.

    Stay away from Archives.com, I tried it a few years ago and it sucked.

    Good luck
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    Start working your way back with birth and death records and visiting home towns. My aunt did this research for our family and I now have a family tree reaching back into the early 1500s. It's a lot of effort though. The online options are fine but make sure that you're reviewing the right documents.

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