Where can i go to get free information on my ancestors?

Question:miltary info.,death records
this information is for my family tree that i am working on. Thanks i need all the help that i can get.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: miltary info.,death records
this information is for my family tree that i am working on. Thanks i need all the help that i can get.

My suggestion is that you get the book unpuzzling your past by Emily Croom. She takes you step by step.

The first thing she says is to sit down with relatives and record everything so you can refer back to it. Ask your parents if they would make copies of their birth and marriage certificates. Ask if they have copies of any other documents of other family members. This will save you money.

Use the net only as a tool. There is a great deal of bad research out there. Unless you document with birth, death, marriage certificates, obits and cemetery records. Family Bibles could have clues too.

Use your local library. Check their homepage to see if they subscribe to heritagequest and ancestry. You have to use ancestry at the library but you can access heritagequest at home with your library card. Heritagequest has census reports. These are good for finding siblings etc.

You local LDS center has tons of stuff. You may have to pay a small fee to use some of the microfilm. Just remember that some of this stuff is submitted by people and has to be verified. I found bad info on my line because the person did not document.

Some states will allow you to get documents like birth and death and marriage. However a new law has been passed that has sealed records that are under 100 yrs old due to identity theft.

a couple of websites to use that are free are familysearch.org. This one is from LDS. Also rootsweb.com has loads of links. Cyndislist.com has loads of links to sift thru.

Ancestry charges for most records. You can get a 2 week trial but after that they want you to pay. That's why its wise to check with your library to see if they subscribe to it. You can use it for free there.

There are a ton of websites out there you just have to find them. Just remember they are a tool and not a magic solution. Unless someone is working on your family you probably will not find anything. Don't get discouraged. If you read the book I suggested you will find loads of places to look.

This is not a cheap hobby so don't expect to get freebies. Documents are costly but VERY important. Cemetery records are usually free. You'd be surprised what you can find in those. Library's in the area of the persons death usually have newspapers microfilmed and if you know the date they can look it up and make a copy for $2-3 and mail it too you.

Good luck

i would serch the web go on google yahoo ect.

Ummmm serach their names online, they might have something

Try going to an LDS church building, on many days of the week they have a Family History Center open and it's free. They're very helpful.

Check above the urinals at your local truck stop.

Ancestors.com gives you a free one month trial once a year. Not totally sure, but I think so!

Your grandparents.

Go to a local Mormon church. mormon churchs have a lot of information about geneology and they don't make you join their church to use their resources. The Mormon churh near my place even has subscriptions to web sources.

I just saw it on the Internet so that is great! And Free!

Go home and ask your family first everything they know about their relatives. Talking is free. Then try rootsweb.com, the internet oldest and largest free genealogical site.

www.cindislist.com or .net thousands of links

Did you know that many of the LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARIES have a full subscription to Ancestry.com

One good idea is to checkout out the Federal Censuses on Ancestry.com for your ancestors in towns in which they may have lived.
You may find them either under the indexed & non-indexed (more time consuming) censuses.

The census collection includes the years: 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (is limited, mostly destroyed by fire, some partial), 1900, 1910, 1920 & 1930. There is no guarantee your ancestor will be there. Look for errors in spelling, good idea to try other variations when your spelling fails to produce results.

Oher free sites:

www:/FamilySearch.org
(use 'Search' link to search for family surname)

EllisIsland.org -(free for basic membership, use alt variations if recieving poor results)

Surname Message Boards -are available at either Rootsweb.com, Ancestry.com and at GenForum.com - you will need to at least join as a basic member to post a message.

Cyndi's List (for resources, links, etc)

For additional advice or an initial lookup,
feel free to contact Di, at HuntressDi57@yahoo.com