Where Can i Find Ancestry online-Free?

Question:i've tried www.ancestry.com,
but it sucks.
I just want to find my ancestors.
thanks,
peeweescout

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: i've tried www.ancestry.com,
but it sucks.
I just want to find my ancestors.
thanks,
peeweescout

i prefer to start with
genforum.com

rootsweb.com

familysearch.com

all are free and fairly easy to use- i also use the program Family Tree Maker to keep the data i find organized- just remember that these sources are NOT perfect and use them as resources not the be all and end all of your research- also ANY information you copy be SURE to put source information in your notes.
that is especially useful when data doesnt match - in your notes you can remind yourself of who has what information and their sources. this can really really help

good luck and have fun geaneology is fun!!

Diving headfirst into the internet when starting family tree research is not an especially bright idea. If you don't have any kind of an idea what you are doing or what ancestry.com can offer, it's no wonder you can't find anything. Read some books on the subject first so you know what you are looking for and how the system works in your part of the world. Very few people can enter their name into an internet search engine and find their family tree just like that. And you're not likely to find much information online about living people from the 20th century due to data protection reasons. The US census is only available from 1930 backwards, the UK census goes from 1901 backwards. Until you can get back confidantly to these years at least, you probably won't find much of interest on ancestry nor anywhere else on the internet. It is only really in the 19th century and earlier (and WW1) that the internet really comes into it's own as a research tool.

Sooner or later, you'll have need of the ancestry website, so I wouldn't dismiss it just yet. Just be careful when you sign up to the free trial and cancel before they start taking out the annual membership fee. Good free sites are few and far between. It's a commercial world. We live in a capitalist country, and all these firms are out to make money. Most of the decent sites require paid memberships or pay-per-view vouchers.

Mental Mickey is right

Kometcat offers the best advice on free websites. I go to the Library to research Ancestry.com for Free

You don't "find" it; you have to create it.

You can’t just go on some website and *poof*, your whole family tree is there, all completed and accurate and free. Considering the years it takes to do the research, who is going to do that for you? Unless you have a great-aunt or someone who has already done some research and posted it on the net, then your family will not be on the internet. People don't usually go around researching trees of total strangers for no reason at all and just put it on the internet for that stranger to one day find their whole family tree in 5 clicks or less.

Genealogy is not that simple. It does not work that way.

First, you are not going to find anything on anyone who lived in the last 50-100 years. It is unethical to post anything on anyone living or that recently deceased as it protects the identity of the living from identity theft and scams. Professional genealogists know this.

Second, IF you do find anything on the internet of your family (probably starting around 1900 and going back), you cannot assume just because it is on the internet means it is accurate. The only way to know if the information you find is right is to do your OWN research from scratch. A lot of people out there copy and paste other people's bad "research" and don't verify anything. That is wrong.

Third, genealogy is fun and rewarding, but also very difficult and challenging, like putting together a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. And will take longer than doing that puzzle to do.

The best thing to do is to start by asking questions of your living relatives. Collect as much information as possible regarding names, dates, places, etc. and DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.

Then start an internet search as well as doing some research the old fashion way (going to libraries, court houses, cemeteries, etc.). If you find anything on the net, you need to try to reproduce the research yourself and see if you can find legitimate documentation of the individual, dates, or event in order to be sure the information is accurate. Trees on the net are to be used as clues and guidelines......not as gospel. Ask the poster about their resources and proof. Many times, you can find scanned copies of original documents such as census records. Otherwise, I would not take their word for it that what they have is right. As far as what sites to use, there are tons of them. You will need to just google for genealogy sites and sift through them. Some are free, some are not. All are subject to many errors, inaccurate, undocumented information that you will have to sift through and find what is right and what is not. You will probably end up using a combination of free and paid sites.

Last, you will not accomplish this overnight, in a week, month, or year. It is a LIFETIME hobby and passion, that, inspite of the countless hours you spend at it, it will never be completed. There is always another piece of the puzzle to find.

If you expect it to fall into your lap, all done and completed, and accurate, and FREE, with no work or challenge at all, then you are going to be disillusioned. Besides, that takes all the fun out of it.

Try the main branch of your library, most have an historical section. Also, try the closest historical society or your state archives - they usually have reference areas with terminals linked to their subscriptions and Ancestry.com is a popular site.