Monday, August 19, 2013

How to Search Family History for Free

How to Search Family History for Free

There are some incredible resources on the internet where you can search for information on your family's history. Genealogy is a fascinating area, with many more people than ever before putting together their family tree, and re-discovering their roots. Here are some great resources you can use for free.

Instructions

    1

    **Start with Ancestry.com's Free Trial**

    Ancestry.com is a subscription service, but it happens to be the best and deepest family history resource available. In the area of genealogical research, nothing else really comes close.

    Use the link in Resources, below, to visit the ancestry.com site and sign up for their free trial. This will give you a two week period in which to explore this rich database at no cost. You can use it free-search format, or to begin constructing a family tree. If you decide not to subscribe, be sure to cancel your free membership before the two weeks are over.

    2

    **Use FamilySearch.org as Your Next Resource**

    This church-sponsored site is also a tremendous and deep resource for searching for family history. It is particularly strong for ancestors from England, Ireland and Scotland, but also has in-depth resources covering other areas of the world. It also provides an enormous number of pointers for sites or resources that can be used for more information.

    3

    **Check Immigration Records at StevenMorse.org**

    Steven Morse, an inveterate family history researcher, has created an unbelievably valuable collection of genealogical resources at stevenmorse.org. What's more, he's custom designed search interfaces to allow easy and in-depth exploration of databases from Ellis Island, Castle Island, and other entry ports for the waves of immigrants that arrived in the US in the nineteenth century. There is also information here from Census records, Canadian archives, manifest from ships arriving in Boston, San Francisco, New Orleans, and elsewhere, and tons of other information. All in all, a great site.