genealogy information help please

[piglet50]

Please share any information that you have about genealogy search sites - ancestry.com, etc. Some basic information about ease of use, what types of records can you find, marriage, death, etc. I know that there are free trials sometimes and that to really find info. you need to subscribe. The search feature is down or I would have looked myself. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[UConnFan]

As part of the mormon faith, believers are required (I think?) to research and know their genealogical history, so they have a very good website and centers you can visit to research family history. You don't need to be mormon to use these resources, as far as I know. I was surprised to find out they have a mormon genealogical center near me in CT, so you may have one near you, as well.

I think this is the website: https://familysearch.org/ (I believe it's totally free)

Hope that helps (Sorry if my information isn't 100% correct. Hopefully someone can correct me if I'm wrong)

 

[Marionnette]

Please share any information that you have about genealogy search sites - ancestry.com, etc. Some basic information about ease of use, what types of records can you find, marriage, death, etc. I know that there are free trials sometimes and that to really find info. you need to subscribe. The search feature is down or I would have looked myself. Any help will be appreciated.

I joined ancestry.com for the trial period and I've maintained my membership for about a year. I've unearthed a lot about my family and my husband's. I've used Census records, ship's manifests, marriage records (but not certificates), Social Security death records, draft registrations, and other members' trees to connect the dots and make my ancestors seem real.

I'm fortunate in that we have relatives on both sides of the family who are in their 80's and are more than happy to share their recollections. I've contacted other researchers on ancestry.com who have common relatives in their trees and I've also been contacted by people doing the same.

Ancestry.com also has a message board where you can connect with other members. I found a few clues from another member about a different spelling for my maternal great-grandfather's last name. Using familysearch.org, I was able to find his baptismal records from Slovakia. It confirmed a family story about my great-grandfather and his brother, who took a completely different last name when he came to the United States. The brother took their mother's maiden name.

I work on my tree once or twice a week and I'm still finding new things. It can become addicting because once you find something, it can open up other clues, pathways to follow and new members to add to your tree. You don't want to take a break because you don't want to break your concentration. Before you know it, the day is shot and you still have laundry in the washer and dinner that needs to be prepared.

 

[tvguy]

My daughter got on ancestry.com and unearth an unbelievable among of information. My Grandfather and grandmother's deaths made the front page of the newspaper 93 years ago, and anestry.com had scans of those papers.

 

[chamonix]

If you want to get a feel for ancestry.com and what it offers but you don't want to pay, your local library most likely offers free access from the library computers.

Some libraries also offer access from your home computer through their website to other genealogy databases. (will need to log in with your library card).

Local historical societies have a lot of great information for free too, if you live near the area you want to research and can just stop in. Your local library will also have archives of local newspapers, and you can find lots of newspaper archives on the net too. Start just googling the people and locations/years you are interested in, you might be surprised what comes up.

 

[DisMN]

geni.com is a fantastic site. We've used it for about 4 years now and have created a wonderful viewable family tree!
We've got loads of photos and only recently decided to join the pay site. Before that everything we did there was totally free.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I like FamilySearch.org. It has census, immigration, military, marriage, divorce, baptist, social security death records, etc.

I also use Geni.com (although the free basic account is somewhat limited in access) for organizing my tree and sharing research with others.

Also, don't be afraid to use actual libraries. I was able to find obituaries of local family through newspaper microfilms.

 

[sue1013]

One piece of advice about ancestry do not take what is on others trees as fact. I've been on ancestry for many years and can't tell you the number of times people have completely wrong information in their trees then someone else comes along copies it.
Family search is another good site.

 

[Marionnette]

One piece of advice about ancestry do not take what is on others trees as fact. I've been on ancestry for many years and can't tell you the number of times people have completely wrong information in their trees then someone else comes along copies it.
Family search is another good site.

Amen to that! Copying from other trees should only be done if the information also has supporting documentation and reaffirms information that you already have. I've seen many trees with mistakes because of the Italian tradition of naming first-born sons after the father's father. The two names can be repeated every other generation and sometimes there are two or three Francescos (or Guiseppes or Gaetanos, etc.) within the same generation - all with the same last name, born within a couple of years of each other and living in the same neighborhood or village.

 

[NotUrsula]

Oh, it isn't just similar names that cause problems when people copy. Some folks seem to be just flat-out making things up. I've been a librarian for over 25 years, and I've seen some whoppers in amateur genealogies.

Take for example, a woman who is married to someone distantly related to a cousin of mine on my cousin's other side. She tracked down my cousin and then decided to work backward on our side for some reason, and the heck of it is, of the 9 children in my mother's family, she got about half of their names correct, but got half of them wrong -- and that is with the official census records online and free for anyone to see. Based on that erroneous info, she went two generations further back, and is now claiming that my grandmother is some woman who I've never heard of. I have photos and letters from my grandmother, AND my mother's original BC -- I think I know who my grandmother was. We've written to this woman to point out the error, but she doesn't want to hear it, because she doesn't know us, but she trusts her online "source" who has no connection with my family at all.

FWIW, one of THE best starting points for amateur genealogists interested in tracing backward from the US is the Midwest Genealogy Center, part of the Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence, MO. http://www.mymcpl.org/genealogy The center got started with a major grant from the LDS Church, but the Library has secured further funding over the years and has done a great job.

 

[piglet50]

Wow, thanks for so much wonderful information! I am trying to decide if I want to commit to looking up info. about my mom's family. I called our local library, and we do have free access to some sites. My only fear is that I'm not patient enough to follow the trails and put in the time that it will take.
I knew the folks on the DIS would have answers for me. I am going to look at the other sites mentioned. Thanks again.

 

[princesspumpkin]

I also utilized ancestry.com (the free trial) after collecting as much info as possible from familysearch.org, for my family reunion.

It was so addicting and I was able to track my ancestry back to the actual slave owner's slave census (with sex and ages of the slaves) of my first relative that was brought to America from Guinea.

 

[Jaya]

Geneology research can be highly addictive. You find one little snippet of info and BAM! you're off on another search. I've tapered off in the last year because it was just taking too much time. I spent a wonderful day in the Mormon Geneology Center in Salt Lake City a couple of years ago and that really got me going in the right direction. If you go to the Mormon geneology website, you can get into some of the "paid" sites for free.

 

[Praying Colonel]

We use ancestry.com and still love it. They keep adding stuff that makes it worth the while. But I still need to get out and do some stuff the old-fashioned way.

The best piece of advice I ever got was this: "Genealogy without documentation is mythology." Just because somebody has a connection on their ancestry.com family tree doesn't mean it's accurate, and I've found out more than once after I found the actual documentation.

 

[chamonix]

I agree and will pile on to say, Don't use ancestry.com family trees as true evidence! Family trees are hints, but until you see the actual source document for yourself and figure out how it fits (or if it fits) you cannot take it as fact.

I use ancestry for the access to the source documents (census, birth, marriage and death certs, etc) and only look at other family trees for hints that may or may not turn out to be true.

I use ancestry.com for my job, so believe me when I tell you not to believe other people's family trees. I see wrong people, events and facts tied into trees nearly every day. Many similar names and dates, but you have to find the right one.