Advice for Family History/trees

I have started looking into my family tree also. The library is a great place to go. You can use a lot of different sites there like Ancestory.com for free. They have a genealogy room there with people to help. That's really nice. They also offer classes that aren't very long & pretty informative.

S.

My mom and mother-in-law both were doing geneology stuff, so I got into it. Ancestry usually gives a 3 day trial away to new visitors. I used those 3 days to type in as much info as I could, and found lots of great stuff. Once the free trial ends, you can still access what you've typed and add to it, you just can't see their hints on expanding the lines or use any of their records any more. My mom bought the subscription, and has traced one family line back to the 700s!!!! The best thing about Ancestry is One World Tree. If you type in a person who matches someone in another family line, it shows you decendants that are listed in that family tree, so you don't have to type all that in yourself, and you can use the research someone else has done.

The one caution for that is that this is all entered by someone, and you don't know how thorough their research is. My mom found a queen in our family line from the 900s, and when I googled her, there were a couple different husbands listed at various family tree sites. Based on the dates, I think one of them is wrong, but I can't verify which! :)

If you're close to Fort Wayne or can spend time at the main branch of the library, it is one of the best geneology libraries in the country. I think I heard you can access ancestry.com and some other online websites while you're there, too.

I would suggest you have a plan ahead of time of what you want to find. If you're just trying to see how far back you can trace the line, Ancestry is probably a great bet. If you're going for thoroughness (birth/death certs, military records, deeds, letters, etc.), go to the library and talk to someone who can direct you through it all.

Good luck, and try not to get addicted! :)

A.,

I tried Ancestry.com a few months ago because they had a free access promotion and found really great information on both sides of the family including civil war records that no one knew about my great-great-grandfather (he was killed a month to the day after enlisting when my great-grandfather was 4 so he didn't talk about). In a couple lines we now have records back to 1300's so I would maybe pay for a month to see if anything is available first and go from there. The ease was great - you type in name and birthdate or range if you have and it will show you what public or historical records they have on file that match so in a weekend I had a lot of information that would have taken me years to get anywhere else. Plus it's very easy to share your information with other family members - they can log in and see what you are doing.

I also still work with two free sites:

www.rootsweb.com - found very hard to get around in but a lot of information if you can find it - including cemetary records that were really helpful. Also does list emails you can contact if it looks like information matches and have found two distant cousins that are doing same thing with lot of info to share.

www.family.org - this site is sponsored by the Church of Latter Day Saints and members type in the information so just reverify if you can. I've found a lot of family members in here but several names are mispelled and some death dates were wrong - this is where the cemetary info came in handy!

Hope that helps - good luck with your search!

Hi A.,
I personally do not know any given websites via your at-home computer except to type in given name; etc. of your family.
But we've had a family history done and completed for both sides of my family.
A friend of my family is an author and she's an expert on genealogy. Her name is Doris Bland
If you would like to contact her via email or by phone, I will be happy to email you her email address and her phone number.
She did a complete genealogy of our, "Perigo" family and was inclusive with photos as well. Excellent book and record.
Another really good way to access info for a family history is to go to law library and public library to access endless, needed info and research; etc.
Hope this is helpful to you. Will wait to hear from you if you would like info of Doris.
Good luck. Our family is pleased and happy to have a genealogy of our Mom's maternal side and also one of our Bullock family. My Mom's Mom is a Bullock.

Sincerely,
L. G.

I do genealogy.....I spend lots of time at the library, the cemeteries, and on ancestry.com....I pritty much live with it....I'm usually on http://www.a-mommys-world.com/chat.php but tonight I'm getting ready to go to bed....But feel free to stop in....My name in there is amw-Brat....the other girls can answer your questions on almost anything not sure who all does genealogy in chat but I will be back in the morning....

Hello A. G,
My dad has been doing our family trees and it is one time consuming hobby. I suggest you getting other family members involved, the more information you collect from parents and other relatives the more easier it will be to search the rest of the ancestry. Also it may help having a FAMILY TREE MAKER cd-rom or family ancestry program to help you sift through all the data. Plus going to cemetaries, libraries, and yes some internet sights could help, but you really don't know for certain if they are indeed blood relation or just have the same last names. You will most likely learn the best way by trial and error and you will find the right path to get you where you need to go. Good luck!

Ancestry.com is a great site to get started. I recommend talking with ANY older relatives (Mom,Dad,Grandmothers,Grandfathers ect...) that really helped me get started. I had a pen and paper ready! There is a website from the government where you can search all state and county birth and death records but after a certain point that doesn't work. I hit a roadblock after 1700's with my mother's side and around the 1600's with my father's. I also bought some software that has a family search built right in and you can create numerous family tree's with it. I hope this helps! It is also better to have another family member who is willing to search with you! I have a distant cousin who got farther along on the family tree but he is able to travel to the cemetaries and other places around the country to verify information. E-mail me at ____@____.com if you have anymore questions! :D Good luck!

Rootsweb is a site that can be helpful. Ancestry.com (sp?) costs money, but is good! Have fun!