# free geneaology sites **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-geneaology-sites/222956 "2004-01-06T04:34:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![seaworthy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@seaworthy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seaworthy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-geneaology-sites/222956/1 "2004-01-06T04:34:51Z")
So last week my dad decided to do a little geneaological research and, using the national archives, found some old census records with my grandfather and great-grandparents. He printed it out and all, it was free, I was excited that I could finally start making my family tree. Ran into a bit of a problem though. Somehow during his research he was directed to the heritagequest website which is where he searched the census database. Now, we can’t find the site again. You can’t get there through heritagequest because you have to be a member, and I guess my dad was searching the national archives for a long time before he found anything so he can’t remember how he got to the place with the census records. Of course, he didn’t bookmark that page. So basically, any geneaological help would be great. I’m just looking for free sites with searchable information, because I’m going to go blind if I don’t find one soon. All these damn geneaology sites you have to pay for, and it’s pissing me off. If these are public records, why do I have to pay to search them? ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-geneaology-sites/222956/2 "2004-01-06T07:22:33Z")
Why do you have to pay? Because genealogy is a business, as well as a hobby. In some cases, data is inputted manually, and sites are costly to maintain, so someone ends up having to pay for the service. Try the LDS site [Family Search .org](http://www.familysearch.org/). ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-geneaology-sites/222956/3 "2004-01-06T08:48:50Z")
You probably stumbled across a trial database of heritagequest. Hertiagequest and [Ancestry.com](http://Ancestry.com) are most assuredly not all free. The records are free. If you go to where they are located. No one ever said that the Federal Government had to provide TIFF files of 150 year old census records for free. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-geneaology-sites/222956/4 "2004-01-06T11:58:52Z")
Try [Rootsweb](http://www.rootsweb.com/) which has a great amount of previously researched family trees (semi-reliable) in the World Family Tree Project. Also be sure to check out USGenWeb for it’s various county sites and their archives. There is also the Census Project to provide free transcriptions of census schedules. I’ve done a few census transcriptions for them but the coverage is very spotty. Maybe you’ll get lucky. Look at various [State Archives](http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/html/index.html). That one’s Maryland. Most don’t have anything but some like MD have tons. Familysearch linked by Ice Wolf is good. Be sure to check out their free fully indexed 1880 US Census and 1881 Canada and English census. Also be sure to check out some of the IGI indexes [with codes found here](http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers.htm). Codes that begin with P, C, M are transcriptions of Parish records. Watch out for some sites. They like to make you pay for things that you can get free elsewhere, like the Social Security Death Index and the Maryland Archives. I’m having trouble calling up some of my links but I am fairly certain they’re good. Before you pay for anything check out your local library. You might have a decent genealogical library which could save you lots of money. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-geneaology-sites/222956/5 "2004-01-06T12:01:40Z")
Oh and if you’re close to a [National Archives](http://www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/index.html) site then score huge! ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-geneaology-sites/222956/6 "2004-01-06T13:39:27Z")
There should be a lot of free stuff up there too, because one of the religions (Mormons?) include geneaology as part of their practice, IIRC. Tracing their ancestors has some religious significance. ---
**Author:** ![LemonThrower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@LemonThrower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LemonThrower)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-geneaology-sites/222956/7 "2004-01-06T14:16:23Z")
I believe members of the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) baptize their ancestors, so genealogical research is important in their faith. They have voluminous records in Salt Lake City, and significant amount of materials available on microfiche at family learning centers in hundreds of cities throughout the country. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-geneaology-sites/222956/8 "2004-01-06T17:22:59Z")
One thing to be especially aware of in doing genealogical research is that most stuff out there on the Net is _wrong_. People are very sloppy, etc. The LDS is particularly notorious in this regard. Too many amatuer genealogists whose goal is to “save” ancestors rather than get facts right. So use online info as a _guide_ only. Once you have enough info, get thee to a LDS Family Learning Center and order the microfiche. It’s really fairly cheap. Check absolutely _every_ piece of data yourself. If you don’t, you’ll end up wasting many hours searching for people who turn out not to be relatives, etc. Make a reference list for every iota of data you collect. Where you got, how likely it is correct, etc. Publish your references with the family tree. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-geneaology-sites/222956/9 "2004-01-06T18:16:16Z")
[www.usgenweb.org](http://www.usgenweb.org) [www.cyndislist.com](http://www.cyndislist.com) [www.us-census.org](http://www.us-census.org) [www.rootsweb.com](http://www.rootsweb.com) Also, [Ancestry.com](http://Ancestry.com) and Family [Treemaker.com](http://Treemaker.com) will let you do limited free searches, but they are a for-profit business. ---
**Author:** ![cadolphin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@cadolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cadolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-geneaology-sites/222956/10 "2004-01-06T18:57:42Z")
The sites already named are great. I have a very bad habit of bookmarking every site I go to. I’ll go through my gen folder and link them for you or some of them anyway. They might be of help to you. As great as the internet is for doing gen research at home now, you’ll still need to get out to a library to do real research. If you need help finding one in your area, drop me an email and I’ll help you find one in your area. There is no end to reserach done by other people but if you want to make sure it’s accurate, you need to verify everything that has been done. Mistakes are easy to make and not everyone is good about double checking. [Census online](http://www.census-online.com/) [Ancestral Findings](http://www.ancestralfindings.com/) [Access Genealogy](http://www.accessgenealogy.com/) [Genealogy Search Engines Page](http://www.censusdiggins.com/ssdi_search.html) [Genealogical WWW Pages](http://www.tic.com/gen.html) [Newspaper Archive](http://www.newspaperarchive.com/DesktopDefault.aspx) [Vital Search](http://www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com/) [US GenWeb](http://www.usgenweb.org/) [Family Group Sheet Project](http://www.rootsweb.com/~usfgs/index.html) [Olive Tree](http://olivetreegenealogy.com/oliveyourhome.shtml) [Rootsweb Message Boards](http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=localities.northam.usa.states) Several of the Rootweb sites seem to be down right now. Hopefully they will be back up soon. Good luck to you. If you have any questions drop me a note. It would be fun helping you get started.