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Position:Home>Genealogy> I'm just starting this family history stuff, any helpful hints or good web s


Question:Ancestry.com is amazing, and they let you try it for two weeks free! Trust me, once you get past your great great grandparents, it'll start merging other members trees, and it's really neat! I've gotten back to 400 on mine! (of course, not all branches are complete yet, lol)

And family search is good, it's run by the LDS church and trust me, we know our stuff....haha.


Just make sure you know some stuff about your family members...they won't let you have census records after 1930. that's where a majority ofgood information comes from.
Don't merge just anything, make sure you check carefuly to make sure dates and children and names add up...
And as I found out the hard way, people from a long time ago were not very literate....my family's census record from 1920 to 1930 have different birthdays for my great great grandparents, cause they were filled out by two different people...pray and use good judegment, lol ^_^


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Ancestry.com is amazing, and they let you try it for two weeks free! Trust me, once you get past your great great grandparents, it'll start merging other members trees, and it's really neat! I've gotten back to 400 on mine! (of course, not all branches are complete yet, lol)

And family search is good, it's run by the LDS church and trust me, we know our stuff....haha.


Just make sure you know some stuff about your family members...they won't let you have census records after 1930. that's where a majority ofgood information comes from.
Don't merge just anything, make sure you check carefuly to make sure dates and children and names add up...
And as I found out the hard way, people from a long time ago were not very literate....my family's census record from 1920 to 1930 have different birthdays for my great great grandparents, cause they were filled out by two different people...pray and use good judegment, lol ^_^

http://www.familysearch.org/

This run by the Mormon church, which has the largest collection of genealogy.

You should also start talking with your living relatives for starters. Get some names and dates.

Don't depend on websites alone.

Start with your living family and get as much information from them as possible, particularly your senior members. Tape them if they will let you. It might turn out they are confused on some things but what might seen to be insignificant story telling might be very significant. Find out if there are any old Family Bibles.

Go to your public library and check out the genealogy section. See what all they have.
They might have a subscription to Ancestry.Com which has lots of records and seems to be getting more all the time.
They have all the U. S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 and later are not available to the public yet. They have U.K. censuses also.

Now be very careful not to take as fact everything you see in family trees on any website free or paid. The information is user submitted and mostly not documented.
Even when you see the same information from many different submitters that is no guarantee it is correct. A lot of people copy without verifying. Use the information as clues as to where to get the documentation.
Documentation is essential in doing family history.

A Family History Center at a Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church has 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 nominal fee.

I have never had them to try and convert me or send them missionaries by to ring my doorbell. I have not heard that they have ever done that to anyone else that uses their resources.

Vital records are important,Births, Marriages and Deaths. They usually have the names of both parents. The application for a social security number not only gives the names of both parents including mother's maiden name but their places of birth.

Now, until the first quarter of the 20th century, most governing bodies, (states, counties and cities) in the U. S. were not recording vital data. They didn't all start at the same time. Also even once they started a of people who were born at home or died at home were not recorded. Also each state has its own laws as to who and when a person can get birth and death certificates. InTexas, for instance, if you were not immediate family, you had to wait 50 years after a person was born in order to get a birth certificate. Now, you have to wait 75 years. A lot of states are clamping down due to identity theft. A person who is not immediate family can get a death certificate in Texas 25 years after a person's death.

Before those records were kept, church records will be very helpful, Baptisms, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriages and Deaths. In Catholic records they have the names of both parents including mother's maiden names. I feel some of the other faiths probably have family information also.

Rootsweb and FamilySearch.org(LDS site) are two good free sites.

The most popular sites are:

RootsWeb.com
ancestory.com
peoplefinders.com

Roots is free on getting started but like any genealogy site
expect an annual fee if you want to be a member so that
you can exchange info with other possible matches to who
you are seeking.

Welcome to what may be just too easy or so difficult it is impossible.

I thought my genealogy was going to be hard, had so little info to start..... but I got on to ancestry.com and i found that relatives that I was unaware of already had done an extensive tree. To start you need your grandparent's or if you're young your great grandparent's name. Access to Ancestry.com is usually available for free at your local community library. Start searching in the oneworld tree tab

write me with questions and I will help.... I have documented my family to the arrival in the US around 1712,

American History & Genealogy Project is Free. I am a pround member and have found it very helpful. It is located at http://www.ahgp.org/
USGenWeb is also good. It is located at http://www.usgenweb.org/ I am a member of it also.
Both AHGP & USGenWeb is divided into States and then into counties. They also have special projects like the Cemetery Project that has been very helpful to many people. When you are compiling your information, don't forget to note your source. I did not do that when I first started and have had to go back and re-do some of my research.
Hope you have a lot of success in researching your families.