What is the best site or software to research family history for family tree?

Question:The best site depends on your ancestry. Huguenot.com would not be much good to you if you were Chinese or Cherokee, but if you were a Huguenot, it would be ideal.

Ancestry.com is to genealogy what HBO is to movie buffs - you pay for it and get premium service. There are 400,000 free sites devoted to Genealogy.

The best software depends on your purse and operating system. There isn't any software that will do the work for you. The people who wrote "Roots Magic" have a program called "GenSmarts" that will make suggestions, based on what you have already found. I haven't tried it.

There ARE programs that will record and arrange your research. Trying to do Genealogy without a program is like writing a novel with a pencil and yellow pad, instead of "Word".

The four most popular programs:

The Mormons will let you download PAF for free.

Roots Magic ($29) is my favorite.

Family Tree Maker ($39, but you get access to some data bundled with it) is the market leader in the USA.

Reunion ($79) is the only one of the four that works on a Mac.

You can Google "Genealogy Program Comparison" to see what reviewers think. There are another dozen popular programs and hundreds of less popular ones.

This page:
http://www.tedpack.org/yagenlinks.html
has links to 11 huge free sites and tips on how to use each one.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: The best site depends on your ancestry. Huguenot.com would not be much good to you if you were Chinese or Cherokee, but if you were a Huguenot, it would be ideal.

Ancestry.com is to genealogy what HBO is to movie buffs - you pay for it and get premium service. There are 400,000 free sites devoted to Genealogy.

The best software depends on your purse and operating system. There isn't any software that will do the work for you. The people who wrote "Roots Magic" have a program called "GenSmarts" that will make suggestions, based on what you have already found. I haven't tried it.

There ARE programs that will record and arrange your research. Trying to do Genealogy without a program is like writing a novel with a pencil and yellow pad, instead of "Word".

The four most popular programs:

The Mormons will let you download PAF for free.

Roots Magic ($29) is my favorite.

Family Tree Maker ($39, but you get access to some data bundled with it) is the market leader in the USA.

Reunion ($79) is the only one of the four that works on a Mac.

You can Google "Genealogy Program Comparison" to see what reviewers think. There are another dozen popular programs and hundreds of less popular ones.

This page:
http://www.tedpack.org/yagenlinks.html
has links to 11 huge free sites and tips on how to use each one.

ancestry.com

There are several software's out there to help you gather and implement your information. FamilyTree is one used by my dad.
The Mormon's were and are impeccable at keeping information thru the years. Census records, births, deaths, communities,,,,,,,
You can go to your local library and find information on where to go in your community or look in the yellow pages for your local genealogy society.
If you get so far back in years, the National Archives, in DC has a lot of information as well, be prepared to spend the day looking!
Local college's/universities have local history sections, to which you can look up information as well.
Family Bible's are another good place to look as well. Most of our older generations kept that information in "the" Families Bible.
Talk to your elders, grandparents, aunt, uncle's, great-grandparents. Not only do you get information you didn't know, but they have wonderful stories to tell. Take a tape recorder, truly listen and absorb their information. Not only will you gather information, but you will make a person's day by wanting to be with them and hear what they have to say!
Good Luck! This is a wonderful project that we all need to stay on top of.

I have been researching for 12 years.. everything will lead to Ancestry.com and it is the best site and worth the money.