# Genealogy Site?



## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

Evening all. My good lady is becoming increasingly interested in her family history and we are looking for a genealogy site but don't really have a clue where to start. 

Can any genealogy fans on the forum recommend any of the websites available? We are looking for a company that will ease her into the subject rather than a high-end one expecting you to know what you are doing - if that is relevant.

Ron


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

There was a free weekend of searching allowed on 'FamilySearch' some weeks ago and thanks to its search engine I found my Father's birth and death details.

I had never been on genealogy sites before and found it easy to negotiate and find what I was searching for.

Finding my Father's details led me to discovering pictures of him in the 1940's, I had never seen a picture of him before this (it's a long story!), and perhaps in the New Year and a bit more time I'll start researching my family ancestors.

There may be better and more easily usable sites but 'FamilySearch' was a good place for me to start.

Note – it is provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


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## iansmithofotley (Oct 13, 2005)

Hi ob1,

I am not an expert on Genealogy but I started researching my family history, on a very casual basis, mainly on winter evenings, about four years ago. I joined Ancestry and have found it very good for what I want. I have only used Ancestry and bought a few birth, marriage and death certificates from some Registery Offices (they are usually about £10 each but sometimes you need them as the websites do not give enough information). I am not interested enough to go searching graves in churchyards or looking at parish or church registers. This year, I paid Ancestry £119.99p for a full year of access for the United Kingdom and Ireland records. If you want access for further afield, e.g. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, America, etc., then you have to pay more.

There are other sites such as Find My Past and other ‘pay’ sites. It depends what you want and how much you wish to pay. Beware of ‘free trials’ and also ‘automatic renewal’ memberships, which can cost you a lot of money if you do not cancel in time. You may end up paying for something that you do not need. I once joined Find My Past for a free trial and misunderstood the terms and conditions which ended up with me joining for a year because I did not cancel in time.

There is plenty of free information on the internet on sites such as Genuki and also on some government or local authority sites for such as births, deaths and marriages. I have found that searching for information in the 1800’s is easier than after 1911 (the last available census records). 

I think that it all depends on what you wish to do. When you are doing, or have done your research, what are you going to do with all the information and how do you record and save it all? I made paper copies of much of my research information but I am stuck with what to do with it all. I have found out most of what I wanted to know but I am having difficulty in how to document it all for the benefit of others in a reasonably concise format. Some people just want to compile family trees and others wish to write a book. As stated, it all depends what you wish to do with your information and how much detail to go into regarding people and places, etc.

There are Family History Groups in most areas and useful help and information would be available there. I have considered joining such a group myself but, to date, have not bothered. Some reference libraries hold introductory sessions on Family History but I have not attended a session. They also hold some census records and electoral rolls, which are freely available (I have used these a couple of times)

Before you get started, speak to all of the members of your family about your ancestors and relatives and get as much information as you can about names, dates, places, etc. Get them to identify and name everyone on old photographs, which you or they might possess. Keep records of everything.

I think that it is easiest to start off with your current family and then work your way backwards in time.

Researching family history is a very interesting thing to do and you may discover some shocks or surprises. It is nice to know where your ancestors came from, where they lived and where they worked.

I hope that this helps. I am sure that there are other people who have much more experience and expertise, or a much greater interest, than me on this topic, who could give you further information.

Ian


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## Bobmarley3 (Oct 12, 2011)

Don't forget that most libraries have subscriptions to numerous family history sites including Ancestry - so if you're a library member you can use their internet and subscription instead of spending getting on for £200 on a World Ancestry sub.
MrsBob


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I echo much of what Ian has said.
I joined two sites initially, Ancestry and Genes Reunited, but found Ancestry the best for me. 
It is very easy to try to just find as many people, as far back as possible, to "build" a large family tree. I made this mistake and it took me a long while to de construct it again. My advice would be to start with immediate family and verify their birth, marriage and death, with proper certificates, before moving back a generation. I would also stick to immediate family at first without all the marriages of cousins etc.
On my mother's side we found that her father was not actually the son of his father even though he had taken his name. He was the stepson. This upset my mother as she had grown up thinking herself one name when she was actually another. I wish had kept that little secret from her. Other people in the family found it interesting!
Ancestry comes up with lots of hints on things that might build your tree. Once you have names and dates of birth, marriage, death etc entered, it searches the census records for you and suggests that you look at certain records that might belong to your ancestor. It is a very absorbing hobby and I became quite obsessed with the online aspect of it. I have travelled to where my father's family came from and have visited the archives of records for births, marriages and deaths to find one elusive ancestor. I still can't find his birth records and it has stalled my research into that line. It is possible to engage the help of a genealogist and perhaps, one day, I might do that.
There are excellent on line records available back to the 1841 census which help enormously and give details of the kind of place our ancestors lived and the jobs they did.
Like Ian I have files full of records in paper copy as I find it more satisfying to read the information and share it with the family in that format. They are all bored with me telling them now though!


I also discovered that the place I found the most like "home" on my travels (Languedoc) was, in fact, the birthplace of some of my direct ancestors!


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I did start to find it a little expensive to buy all the certificates so that slowed down my efforts. If money becomes available I may start collecting the certificates again. Don't buy them through Ancestry but go direct to the government records office online and order them there as they are cheaper.


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## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

Thanks all for your kind replies and I am sorry for my delay in replying, due to my having been called out last night.

You have supplied some very useful information which I will pass over to yours truly to dwell on. Looks like I might not be getting too much of her attention in the near future if the hobby is that absorbing.

Thanks again.

Ron


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## homenaway (Jul 27, 2005)

Hi,

We bought a software package a few years ago which made it easier to keep track. It wasn't very expensive and came with a 30 day subscription to Ancestry. Not sure if it's still around. 

I think it was linked to the BBC series. They sell a Who Do You Think You Are?
magazine which will have lots of links and adverts.

I bought a few birth and marriage certificates some of which were from the wrong family. If you have an unusual surname there may be an website set up by someone who has done a lot of the searching.

Our library (Derbyshire) offers free online magazines through Zinio - saves a lot of dosh 

Steve


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

like others I have used Ancestry.

it's a good resource but like many of these things, you can get bamboozled with info and find yourself going down blind alleys. I found it sometimes quicker to look at other members family trees to sometimes follow connections and make quick "hits". there are also issues when you are dealing with local areas where surnames are pretty common so you get confused by the sheer numbers of names like "John Smith" and then trying to find the right one that fits your knowledge base. it can also get difficult where ancestors have altered their names from their birth ones but have never registered this fact so you may end up looking for the wrong person which is frustrating as birth records may not tally with censuses or even marriage details.

I've traced parts of my family back to the turn of the 18th Century but to go further I would need to expand the membership I had to go international and by that time my enthusiasm had petered out so I cancelled totally. I might come back to it at some time but for the moment I'm pleased with how far I got in a relatively short time.


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## Webby1 (Mar 11, 2012)

Find my past do a 1 month free trial.............................which was enough for me to do most of my research.....................before losing interest !!!!!

No problem to cancel and no charge, although I think it's only £9.99 per month after


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

Another thing to remember is that the further you go back in time, the less literate our ancestors.

I've found family members with names that were written and transcribed phonetically. Their Breckland Norfolk accent must have been very strong. :grin2:

Genealogy is like a jigsaw puzzle, and if you have a mindset that like puzzles, then you'll be hooked.


.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

As HurricaneSmith says, spelling of names can be problematic. A recent search on a new listing of 1930 census, my great-grandmother's surname was spelt as Beich, when it was Birch. I only traced it through the address, which I was fortunate to know as it was the home I lived in until I was 10.

My pensioners' newsletter recently had an article on a free online genealogy search program called GENI. I haven't looked it up yet so the jury's still out.

Then there is also the genealogy department of the Seventh Day Adventist Church which has worldwide records anyone can search. Not sure what the UK options are but of course the main office is in Salt Lake City.

One can also google the surname and family tree. Sometimes one finds that a family member has done some of the spadework already.

Good luck to your OH. Hope her search yields interesting results.


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## StephandJohn (Sep 3, 2007)

Find My Past. They do a pay as you go subscription so you can just stop if you lose interest.
as someone has said libraries do free access to Ancestry.
You will sometimes need to buy marriage, birth of death certificates to get information on parents names. Sometimes the person signing the certificates or registering the information will give you a relative you couldn't find otherwise.
Also just google. I found out some very interesting stuff about about various relatives by googling and then finding out about them from newspapers that you can now access on line.
I use http://www.familyecho.com/ to make a family tree. Its free and easy to use. All the genealogy sites allow you todo this but I've just found this one simpler.
I find it very absorbing and interesting and you never know what you'll find out.


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## jonesy1 (Sep 28, 2008)

I, like others on here have become interested and absorbed in my family history. I was with ancestry for 12 months, but am taking a little break right now. I found them good. There is a lot of good replies on here. I came across a book called family history for the older and wiser by Susan Fifer, which may be obtainable from libraries. It contains a lot of good information and advice. 

Les.


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