Geneaology Searching Without Scams?

[SanFranciscan]

I am seeking information about relatives which I thought that I would be much better off forgetting about. My parents' families were victims of genocide, and I thought it best to leave the past in the past. I have decided that I can accept their deaths, however gruesome they may have been. I just want to know something about what they were like as people while they were alive and which descendants of theirs might still be alive. I will decide whether I have the nerve to contact any living relatives found with history that they have perhaps tried to forget as well after I know a little bit about them.

Are there any people here who have found family records without being scammed? I am seeking organizations set up for people seeking family and not those set up for corporations doing background searches on people because my belief that blood is thicker than water is at odds with my belief in the right to privacy for any living relatives since I would be a stranger contacting them.

I have decided that the time has come to face my ghosts of my family's past so I will am willing to pay legitimate organizations for legitimate information, but web sites promising free searches before immediately demanding credit card information raise red flags in my mind.

 

[TinaMcTeer]

I do my family's Geneology. I use two websites that are very useful. I use Ancestry and familysearch. Both of them offer lots of information. Familysearch is free but Ancestry is a pay site. Ancestry is really neat site too, It matches census', birth and death records along with lots of other things. I recommend both of these sites and if you need any questions answered feel free to ask me.

Christina

 

[Vivianne]

My interest started with my DH's grandmother who was gathering info on her ancestry and left a few sheets of information on her family line. I decided to skip quite a few generations and did the National Genographic mtdna test. https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.htmlI I was surprised at the result. That's another option for you.

One interesting website, already mentioned, is hosted by the Mormons http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp You can also do census searches. I was able to find relatives on the 1910 and 1920 censuses http://www.allcensus.com/. The 1930 census is also available.

The first suggestion is to interview living relatives for information. There are also programs that you can enter information as you collect it. I bought the familytreemaker program years ago. There are probably others out there as you gather your information and want to organize it. The internet is loaded with information, just be wary when a fee is requested as some data can be found for free. As even with planning a Disney trip it takes research. Genealogy can be a long-term search for data. Good luck.

 

[buckler]

You didn't give details regarding your ancestors. But perhaps this site might be of use
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/

 

[Linda in sunny SC]

I have used Ancestry.com and the Mormon site, Family Search to find quite a few of my maternal ancestors. I didn't have much info to go on when I started. I have also done DNA testing with 23andMe. They test the autosomal DNA as well as mitrochondrial (and y DNA for men) and they have a new tool called Relative Finder that compares the people in their database for identical DNA segments. I have 211 cousins listed from 3rd all the way to distant. Not all members have signed up for the tool yet so they are not contactable. I have been able to contact 13 of them though. It has been interesting. If you are of Ashkenazi Jewish descent though, you can end up with alot of cousins. I think one man reported that he has over 800 listed.

 

[buckler]

Can you share the country of origin with us? That might help us point you towards some databases. I have an Ancestry account and would be happy to do a search for you if you felt ok with PM'ing me some info to start.

 

[Mskanga]

If you have a library card your local library also may have remote online access to ancestry , I know mine does and I get in that way.

 

[Purseval]

http://www.cyndislist.com

http://www.rootsweb.com

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/standard-edition.html

 

[GenieCat]

Many beginning family researchers have had to make the leap of faith, searching origins of a family that has had a tragedy in their recent past. I hope you will find comfort as I did, in researching the generations previous to those who have caused so much pain. Finding my earlier ancestors who were town founders, Union Soldiers, Revolutionary Patriots, and hard working farmers has been therapeutic.

Cyndis List and RootsWeb (both free) have already been mentioned. More specifically, their beginner resources are:
http://www.cyndislist.com/beginner.htm

and

http://rwguide.rootsweb.ancestry.com

You might also search the message forums at RootsWeb and http://www.genforum.com to look for others already searching for the same ancestors. Although Ancestry.com is a fee service, their Learning Center resources are free for anyone to use.

For software to help keep organized, I prefer http://rootsmagic.com/RootsMagic over Family Tree Maker. RootsMagic is very intuitive and has great tech support. Unlike FTM, most RootsMagic updates are free.

If you are looking for someone to do the research for you, certified genealogists can be found at http://www.apgen.org/articles/hire.html. It's more fun and much less expensive to do it yourself.

As for being aware of scams, this is a good place to start.
http://www.cyndislist.com/myths.htm

Two of the more common genealogy scams are surname books, and Family Coats of Arms. The surname books are just collections of names from phone directories, which are otherwise free to anyone, and please don't waste your money on those nifty "coat of arms" sometimes sold at mall kiosks. There is no such thing.

http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=4133&cj=1&o_xid=0001029688&o_lid=0001029688

There is an ongoing genealogy thread on the Community Board.

Best of luck in your quest.

 

[roadtripper]

I second the local library with remote access. Go to your library's website to see if they subscribe to ancestry.com or others. My favorite site is www.heritagequest.com; they have all the US census records plus other databases. If your library subscribes, you can use your library card to access it for free. Have fun!

 

[mommyoftwinfants]

Another suggestion for visiting your local library.
We actually have volunteers that help people find what they are looking for or at least get them started on what they need to do to find the information they need.

 

[SanFranciscan]

Thank you so much to you all. I will check these things out. I have almost no knowledge of my family history. The past was discussed in whispers when it was discussed at all. The shame was incredible.

I met my grandmother when I was 14. She talked some about things that happened during the war, but my parents did not consider her a credible source of information. She was in experiments that many people did not survive. Her body lived through it, but her mind did not. I thought that maybe she had Alzheimer's because she could remember things that had happened 20 years earlier but not things that had happened just the day before, but her problem was that she had been a twin while that was a very bad thing to be. She had an irrational fear of anyone in uniform, even the postman.

So many records were destroyed at the end of the war that it is going to be tough to learn things. Plus, as my parents and grandmother said, some people used aliases to hide who they really were so that they could live. It would just be interesting to know how much of what Grandma said was true.

 

[RangerPooh]

We use Ancestory.com and have been very pleased with the results.

 

[debdreamsofdis]

Here are the locations of Family History Libraries near you.

from www.familysearch.org

San Francisco California
975 Sneath Ln
San Bruno, San Mateo, California, United States
Phone: 650-873-1928
Hours: W 9am-4pm, 6:30pm-9pm; Th, Sat 9am-4pm.

San Francisco California West
730 Sharp Park Rd
Pacifica, San Mateo, California, United States
Phone: 650-355-4986
Hours: T-W 9am-4pm, 6:30pm-9pm

San Francisco Golden Gate California
1900 Pacific Ave
San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States
Phone: 415-771-3655
Hours: By appt

Family History Centers are branch facilities of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Centers provide access to most of the microfilms and microfiche in the Family History Library to help patrons identify their ancestors. Everyone is welcome to come to the centers and use Family History Center resources.