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ancestry for free

Ancestry for Free: Genealogy Research Sites That Don’t Cost a Dime

Can you really research your ancestry for free? Yes you can!

Most seasoned genealogists know that there are an ever growing number of free family history resources online–but it is easy for beginners to get overwhelmed trying to find quality resources and end up turning to just one or two large paid sites, like Ancestry, for their information.

Make Instant Discoveries in Your Family Tree Now
Imagine adding your family tree to a simple website and getting hundreds of new family history discoveries instantly.

MyHeritage is offering 2 free weeks of access to their extensive collection of 12 billion historical records, as well as their matching technology that instantly connects you with new information about your ancestors. Sign up using the link below to find out what you can uncover about your family.
Discover New Genealogy Records Instantly

So, we thought we’d put together a simple list of high-quality, and completely free, genealogy websites to help you expand your research without spending a single penny.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to free genealogy resources online. Don’t underestimate the value of a good google search when looking for free sites that relate to a specific location or surname.

Get Started Researching Your Ancestry for Free with These Six Sites

Family Search: OK, this one was easy and most people reading this list have probably already heard of the absolutely awesome and expansive family history site from the LDS. But, could we really leave them out? With a huge amount of records and genealogies, a free online and downloadable family tree program, resource lists, information wikis and so much more–Family Search is not to be missed.

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Find a Grave: Looking for a tombstone? Find a Grave is a completely free, volunteer run website where you can search millions of grave sites from around the world, or request a search for relatives you cannot find in their database. Check it out here.

Library of Congress, Chronicling America: Search thousands of pages of newspapers from 1826-1922 and access the actual digitized images online. Name searches are easy and you never know what you might turn up about an individual you’re researching.

Ellis Island and Castle Garden: Are you one of the millions of descendants of immigrants who passed through Ellis Island or its predecessor Castle Garden? Not sure? Visit either one of these sites to see if you can find an ancestor from your family tree. Tip: make sure you are armed with at least SOME info about your relatives before searching. Many immigration records are vague and unless your ancestor has a very unusual name you will probably need estimated dates of arrival, names of fellow travelers, and/or estimated ages to find strong leads here.

National Archives Databases: Census records, military records, passenger lists and more can all be found in these extensive and free to use online databases. Looking for even more, check out their genealogy section.

Don’t see your favorite free genealogy resource on the list? Post it in the comments below!

You might also like:

50 Free Genealogy Sites to Search Today

12 Billion Genealogy Records Are Free for 2 Weeks
Get two full weeks of free access to more than 12 billion genealogy records right now. You’ll also gain access to the MyHeritage discoveries tool that locates information about your ancestors automatically when you upload or create a tree. What will you discover about your family’s past?

Claim My 2 Week Free Access

The 6 Top Family Tree Programs Reviewed: Find the Best One for You

Free Genealogy Sites for Every U.S. State

Reference Guide to the U.S. Census for Genealogy

Image: Making paper money, Bureau of Printing and Engraving, Washington, D.C. c1916 | Library of Congress

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185 thoughts on “Ancestry for Free: Genealogy Research Sites That Don’t Cost a Dime”

  1. Patricia Fischer

    Has anyone ever received a reply on this page? The present site is now flooded with advertisements. Blocking out the data. Very time consuming to STOP THEM from popping up. Pop UP BLOCKER does not work on the site.
    Very Annoying and Frustating.

    Reply

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  7. Daniel Moore

    Been looking for two years for my Great Grandfather Thomas Moore born in Yancey County abt 1850, don’t know his parent’s name. He married Mary Davis in 1866 in Craven County. Died in Haywood County, don’t have the year of the death. I’m 79 year’s old, got Parkinson Disease and have had two heart attack’s, don’t have much time, please help!!
    Daniel M Moore

    Reply
  8. Robert Hall

    Looking for genealogy information on Norris Alexander Senior. Believed to have been born in Christchurch, New Zealand. I also believe he was in the New Zealand Navy, on the Navy ship BELLONA. The family did move around abit. At one stage they moved to North Shore Auckland, New Zealand and then back to Canterbury.

    Reply
    1. Whendie

      Hi Robert. Know this post is quite a while ago now but I have just found it in one of my searches.
      Are you sure of the 1 st name. There is a Morris Alexander who was born in 1938 in NZ. His father was James Hamilton Alexander and his mother Florrie Collett. Her mother’s surname was Morris hence the son’s first name I quess.
      Not sure if this is of any Connection to whom you are searching for. But you never know.
      Have not found any Norris Alexander in our birth records from 1860 through to 1940 which is as far as we can go on our NZ site.

      Reply
  9. Sherry D Nawab

    Hi everyone, Im wondering if anyone can help with my roadblock? My 5th great grandparents; Isaac Patrick and Mary Overton married 27 Oct 1848 in Camden County, North Carolina. Their son; James Nelson Patrick b. 27 Nov 1854 married Margaret O’Kelly, on James death certificate it is stated that his father Isaac Patrick was born in Ireland. I have no further information on Isaac. Mary Overton had a sister Harriet Overton who married Elliott Alexander Creekmoore. Mary Overton’s parents were Levin Overton and Letitshi Keeter. I would like to get more info on Isaac and Mary and their parents.
    Thank you for any help.

    Reply

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  11. Ruth A (Glammeyer) Graham

    I am looking for my Germany ancestors by the name of Glammeier or Glammeyer. Everyone is named with the same names, ex: Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm….Friedrich Heinrich….Wilhelm Friedrich…and it goes on and on. The same for the girls…Sohia Marie…..Christine Sophia, Christine Wilhelmine Sophia, etc. My very first relative is Johan Heinrich Glammeier…born 1715 and married Anne Marie Meyers. Any help at all would be appreciated!! Thank-You! Ruth

    Reply
    1. Kay Speaks

      Yes! He has added a lot of new enhancements recently. Awesome technology and development goes into his One-Step research tools. If you haven’t used it, you are doing yourself a disservice.

      Reply
  13. Tula Merrick

    Here is one that I didn’t know about until just recently. If you have a Wisconsin library card, you can login at badgerlink.net and have access to thousands of news paper articles from all over the United States and goes back to the late 1800s.

    Reply
  15. Charles Wardell

    If you’re involved in research in other parts of the world, then you’ll find the WorldGenWeb Project useful (see link below … along with its Facebook page, Facebook group, Flipboard, newsletters and many other resources). We are a non-profit, volunteer based organization and are always pleased to welcome new users.

    Reply
    1. Rebecca (Moseler/Mosler) Bailor

      Charles, Thank you for your additional input. Any other sources that you would recommend for searches into Germany? I am finding the Surname to have been spelled 8+ different ways, any suggestion or input how to master this challenge? The given names are appearing duplicate generation to generation, within the family and also show up in a siblings children’s names. Any hint or process recommended other than date of birth to sort this through? ( Not all the documents are providing date of birth.) Thank you for your kind attention to these questions.
      Rebecca (Moseler/Mosler) Bailor

      Reply
      1. BJ Benfer

        Rebecca, regarding many different spellings, if you have the option in the program you are using, do NOT use “exact” name in the search. Let the program use Soundex or other approximation system. Regarding name repeats, other than accepting that children were often named for an aunt or uncle, one tip that seriously helped me was understanding German naming conventions. Briefly – if there was a given name and middle name, the first name was usually a saint’s name and the middle name was the name they used in everyday life. That’s why you may see 4 brothers named Johann and all of the sisters named Maria. Look at their middle names. I was having a good laugh about a mischievous little boy saying “I didn’t do it; Johann did it” – until I read this article explaining the custom: http://www.kerchner.com/germname.htm

        Reply

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  17. terry hanson

    hi susan, my name is terry hanson, and i have been researching arno family tree. are you the same susan bowles who is related to my family? Terry Hanson.

    Reply
    1. Robin

      My surname is Hanson.. we r looking for family that was from North Dakota.. if u are part of that Hanson group please email me..

      Reply
  18. Tim Manners

    I created ogindex.org to filter the free data from the paid and quickly noted that most data is free if you know where to look. My site covers England and Wales and searches by place. It has saved hours, days, even weeks of research time and now has over 352,000 data sets covering all major sites. And the good news is the paid sites I list are free to use at any LDS Family History Center. This is my personal project and started in 2012 while recovering from surgery! I think it may annoy some of the paid sites as it shows where you can find their subscription content for free elsewhere. I hope you take a look and see if your research improves. I add to my site frequently as new collections are being released all the time. Transcriptions of graveyards, scanning of records, etc are happening regularly. I created this site as a free tool for anyone researching English and Welsh records.

    Reply
    2. Sally

      I have done much research using the family history site. My biggest complaint is that anyone can change the links and the information at anytime. If you haven’t printed your trees/pages then you are basically ripped off, to put it nicely.

      Reply
  19. joan ingalls

    I agree. There should be some place we can go to report them for false advertising. They all seem to be that was. I have not found one that does not charge even when they say they don’t.

    Reply
  20. Leann

    I am looking for info into the parentage of Betty Kathrine (Ford is original maiden name but Lovelace is what it was changed to by her mother later) her married name was Benton she Betty married Larry Bruce Benton and I’m looking for Betty’s father in the info about her family history. This is in the Cleveland County Gaston County area of North Carolina specifically the Kings Mountain Cherryville or Shelby area of North Carolina

    Reply
  21. trenda coleman

    if these are public records, why do we have to pay for the information? is it all about the money. some may be looking due to medical reasons.

    Reply
    1. pj

      I agree! There are so many of us who do not have money but we should be able to trace our family history without having to pay an exorbitant price. I do appreciate those who do all they do at places like Ancestory.com, but there should be a way for those with no money to find out OUR ancestors too.

      Reply
      1. bob

        You appreciate all that people at Ancestry.com and the like do?? You don’t have to qualify your thoughts with this statement. Ancestry.com is a big company and therefore makes a ton of money from its efforts. There is no need to “appreciate” what they do.

        Reply
        1. BJ Benfer

          Seriously, Tim?! Grow up. You don’t know if this person is unemployed, has huge medical bills, is trying to raise 4 kids as a single parent, or has other financially draining problems. Think before you criticize.

          Reply
  22. LouCarlsen

    I spent 12 years and thousands of dollars working on my ANCESTRY! A little over year a go I had to stop for awhile do to family illness and lack of money because of it. When I came back to finish up my trees parts of them were missing and pages my trees and pages of my Photos and some were just blanked out. I called and spoke with several people but they all have the standard answer. Mac Kafy did it’. Considering Mac Kafy had just come back on service after 3 years of being shut down I told them it wasn’t possible that they did it. I was and still am Sure it was Ancestry that did it. Be very careful who has axcess to you INFO and delagently print every paper out I did that for years and should have continud too.

    Reply
  23. Geneita Hanson

    I thought that this is free if it is free why do you have pay after a time . On the add it says you do not have to pay a cent ., What is up I do not understand . let me know what you all mean years ago did not have to pay to find out about the past

    Reply
      1. joan ingalls

        Have you had good luck with this one? I want to be able to put my name in and I can put my parents and my grandparents but i want everyone that could be related to me available.

        Reply
  24. Pamela Pingel

    Looking for Helen M Lambert. Known to reside in Springfield IL circa 1940-1955. Was involved with a Curtis R Lykins. May have given birth to two daughters and a son while in this relationship, between 1946-1950. She is not believed to have married C R Lykins, although a marriage license was issued to them in Sangamon County, Springfield IL , as it was published in a local newspaper. She may be my biological mother.

    Reply
  25. Rolleen a card

    Looking for Anne Card born Dupree from 1892 – 1897. In NH. Looking for her mother and or father think his name was Alexander Dupree both mother and father from French Canada don’t know her mothers name. Also Anne had 2 siblings Louise and Eva any info would be helpful been stuck on this for awhile

    Reply
  26. opio enon

    Hello I’m Benon from Uganda(Africa),I am looking. For any living family member of My grandfather Angelico Ogwa Munduku who was burried in Canada the husband of Marie stewart

    Reply
  27. Peggy Claassen

    Question- Is there a site that a researcher gives tips on where they have found hard to find information? For example- the origin or hometown in the country they came from?

    Reply
    1. Suzanne

      You might try Rootsweb. It is still a free site though last I knew taken over by Ancestry with many of boards moved or copied to Ancestry boards.
      You have a choice of searching by name, topic, country, region etc. Used to be great site and you can spend months trawling through it for your many folk
      You join for free and can join E-mail lists or search whole/part of site. No luck then choose which board or boards you want to post your request for help on and then write up your message and make sure there is a tick below indicating Rootsweb will contact you when you get any replies to your notice.
      I did this several times and one got me my McDonald family back a few more generations thanks to a fellow researcher who had been able to afford references I never could that gave him my family who were absent in civil and some church records. He is a great example of how generous most genealogy researchers are with their own information and doing research for free for others using their own subscriptions.
      Try out Rootsweb.
      Familysearch.org is another free site run by Latter Day Saints (no religion preached just genealogy) which has huge learning section to teach you how and where to find information and how to find chinks in your brick walls or walk around them through a totally new route.

      Reply
  28. Susan Murray

    My grandmother gave birth to my father out of wedlock and would never reveal his natural father. Her name was Anna Gibble at the time of his birth in PA. She named him David (no middle initial). He was born 1917 or 1918. Her parents were Adam & Catherine Gibble, brother was Earl. May have been born in Delaware, PA. Can anyone help me, I can’t find a record of his birth, have been wondering for 50 years who my grandfather was.

    Reply
    2. Suzanne

      Depending on where you are I suggest you check with your local library, family history or historical society to see if they have access to any subscription sites. Libraries here in Australia are subscribing to draw people in so provide Library edition of mega sites for free.
      Societies usually do have to charge you to pay their bills which of course includes fees to subscription sites. Some have it because they have sold indexes or their own resources to one of the sites and got subscription as part/whole payment plus a code for their members to use to join that site at discounted rate.
      FindmyPast is presently where I am being pointed when I did a search for your civil war pension records just now.
      FindmyPast is accessible privately by subscription for a single month or a year or by purchase of a credit bundle. Hope this helps

      Reply

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  31. Naomi

    Great company for assistance with family research. They give monthly updates to everything they come across about your family. They helped me find the family who owned my family back to 1799. It was not an overnight process but the wait was rewarding. My supervisor who im very close with turned out to be kin to the slave owners who owned my family. It blew me away
    celestialpathexplorers.com

    Reply
  32. Patricia Strouse

    Could you send me information on my great great great grandma she was native american I need her name and what tribe she was she lived around Dover Pa or York pa my grandfather name was Charles Henry Dellinger Sr born 1906 died 1984 York pa it was his great grandma his mother name was Sadie Lease Dellinger Horn her husband was Milton Henry Dellinger Sadie parents are buried in Salem ceme try Dover pa Solomon an d Henrietta lease died 1932 send information to Patricia Dellinger Strouse 5133 w Canal Rd Dover Pa 17315 thank you

    Reply
  33. Debra Sanchez

    I am still confused how to work this thing I am still curious who I am related to ????????????????????????????????????//

    Reply
    1. Samantha

      I am so confused about my ancestry and I want to know how to get on the site . Do you think you could send me instructions for the one you are on IF you are on one

      Reply
  34. Kristina Peltier

    When you come from mixed races and/ or cultural heritages, along with broken home and lack of information issues, where do you begin? ( I am a black American – U.S.; and supposedly part South American on my dads side. The aunts and uncles I do have do not know anything or can’t help me. My grandfather had 4 children with my grandmother, (my dad, aunts, and uncle are unavailable for help here), then they divorced and his other 6 kids are from his second wife. On my white side of the family who I grew up with and know most about, (at least on my mothers, fathers side), comes English and some other decent. My grandmothers family I do not know too much about because she as well came from a broken home, and their family held a lot of secrets. I do know her parents, (my great grandparents), names and that my great grandfather was Irish. Can someone please help me to figure out how and where to begin; other than stating the obvious of starting with the part of the family tree I know most about. I am having difficulty with the latter – family history which I know little or nothing about. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thank you!

    Reply
    1. Anita

      Well, starting with what you know IS the best course of action … then you work your way backwards. It is not an easy, quick process. It is time consuming and requires patience. Everything you know — or think you know — is a possible clue. Make a list. As you search you will find that some clues are good and will take you somewhere and some may turn out to be just stories. I once traced an entire line back to the 1700s starting with only five little clues. But, sometimes a line just turns into a brick wall. That is where DNA testing can help, but it is not free.

      So begin … make a free account at LDS Family History, plug in some names (the search is really easy to use) and see where it takes you. Also, you might want to try ancestry.com through a library, the LDS Family History center near you or take advantage of one of their free introductory periods. By the way, the digitized newspapers through The Library of Congress is a great resource but the collection only covers from 1836 up to 1922 and not all newspapers or areas are represented.

      Reply
  35. Justin Wipperling

    I’m working on my family tree I went on ancestry.com and went back to the 1700s I’m looking for Chistoph Wipperling family.
    In Germany. Anyone can help thank you.

    Reply
    1. V J

      Could this be it?! 🙂

      U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
      Military
      View Image

      Name: Fred John Wipperling
      Birth: date – city, Germany
      Residence: year – city, North Dakota, USA

      Reply
      1. V J

        It’s all I could find once I typed in the first and last name and the country, I’m sorry :\.

        Best of luck! 🙂

        Reply
  36. Marsha Moore

    For some reason my mother kept many secrets. I have done my best to find someone I am related to. My mothers name was Alice Ophelia Moyer. She was born June 16,1916. Her mother was Jenny Moyer, father was Alfonzo Moyer. My mother told me that we were Cherokee. I know she was born in Nevada, I think Panaka. Sorry for misspellings. Mom told me her grand mother was sold to a Morman named James Whitlock. Her first name was Sara Jane. I was told my great grandmother witnessed the Meadow Mountain Massacre. She saw the Morman men washing blood off their bodies. The story was told that Sara Jane ran away and was semi rescued by a Piute warrior. My mother used to laugh and say her mother had more husbands than Elizabeth Taylor. And there were a few people I was able to find that said everyone thought my mother was involved with my so called fathers brother after my father Francis Kendal Sherrick tried to kill her by throwing her off a staircase. I really don’t care about that. Right now I am completely alone. I can’t find anyone I may be related to. Mom told me about one of her older brothers. His name was Kelton. No last name. Ok, I’m taking up too much space. I was born in 1954 so getting a bit long in the tooth. I want nothing from any relative except to finally know I’m not alone. Thanks

    Reply
    1. Judy Schuur

      You need to join the Facebook group called “Search Squad” They would be able to help you. It is a closed group.

      Reply
    2. Kristina Peltier

      I do not know if it will or will not pan out for you but I may have information . I have a cousin Carol Moyers I am aware that the “s” on the end of the last name is not exact in accordance to your search. However I do know that misspellings of names were common and sometimes people were lost in the shuffle – if you will. Anyhow I say that to say this my cousin Carol is very big into the ancestry thing and has dated, ( if I’m not mistaken), some of her family tree back to the 1700’s. She uses ancestry.com and can be found there. Her mother was my great aunt but it was her father who carries the last name Moyers and I never knew too much about him – where he came from, if he had siblings etc. I know it’s a stretch but it never hurts to to just see. I wish you well in your search, it can become frustrating. I am trying to search for my family history as well but I come from many different races with a history of broken homes and lack of family information, so for me I do not even know where to really begin. Don’t give up though, be diligent in your quest.

      Reply
    3. T

      I have been working on my Myer Myers line and found that prior the spelling was Moyer so this is another spelling you might want to check out.

      Reply
    4. Anita

      There is at least one public tree at ancestry.com that has Alonzo B. Moyer in their tree:
      NAME: Alonzo B Moyer
      BIRTH: Oct 1868
      MARRIAGE: 1893
      SPOUSE: Martha Jennie Nelson

      Alonzo is on various census records but only the 1920 with wife named Jennie and daughter Alice in his HH.

      Home in 1920: Caliente, Lincoln, Nevada
      Street: Denlin Avenue

      A B Moyer … 51 (or 57) yrs old Head of Household, b. Illinois, Occupation Gold Miner
      Jennie Moyer … 40 yrs old wife, born Nevada
      Fred A Moyer … 16 yrs old, son, born Nevada
      Mamie Moyer … 13 yrs old, daughter, born Nevada
      Alice Moyer … 3 & 6/12, yrs old, born Nevada
      =================================
      U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
      Name: Alice Sherrick — [Alice O Haloway] [Alice Moyer]
      Gender: Female
      Race: White
      Birth Date: 16 Jun 1918
      Birth Place: Panaca Lincoln, Nevada
      Death Date: 8 Jun 1997
      Father: Alonzo Moyer
      Mother: Jennie Nelson
      Type of Claim: Original SSN.
      Notes: Jan 1945: Name listed as ALICE SHERRICK; Aug 1954: Name listed as ALICE O HALOWAY
      ====================
      PS — if you are looking for kin, you may want to consider something like ancestry.com DNA testing. It is not free, but not too expensive and they offer specials all the time … and case in point I do know adopted twins who found their blood kin through this method.

      Reply
  37. Shirley McNicol

    I have signed up for a free trial with anchestry.I have managed to get back as far as 1776,but have now come to a stop. I am looking for the parents of Joseph Hawtin born 1776 in Oxford,

    Reply
    1. kevin

      ancestry is a joke. They just hold information that other people searched for. Its not all true it is just what other people think or search for and they charge you for it. You buy there family tree disc and it pings there site and steals all the info you put in it. Garbage and it should be free because it is not facts, it is just other people looking for the truth about there family history.

      Reply
      1. Roisin

        Why do you go to ancestry to just look at the trees? Personally I used ancestry to see the birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, court records, etc. Those primary sources are usually pretty accurate. Once you have extracted all the documentation on your ancestor, THEN you can look at the trees, but only as a possible starting point of information you may nt have found yet.

        Reply
        1. Cindy

          Exactly. If you’re looking at trees for anything other than maybe hints, you’re wasting your time. But Ancestry has a tremendous database of source records that I find invaluable.

          Reply
          1. Peggy C

            I found out the hard way about trees on ancestry. Now I find at least two other sources before I add anything to my tree.

  38. shahid durrani

    I am trying to trace my husbands ancestry, original family name before coming to Canada from Holland was Van den Vorstenbosch.Once the family entered the country in the1960’s they dropped the Van den.Is there any free sites that may help me.?

    Reply
    1. Maaike Kortleever

      A free site I used for my Dutch ancestors is wiewaswie.nl The opening page is in Dutch, but at the top of the page is a link to translate it into English. Its a database of government records and church records from the Netherlands.

      Reply
  40. Michelle

    That Familysearch.org is NOT free… The reason why. I have been frustration to search online for Italy heritage for 10 years. I cannot find my grandfather’s family name in Italy. Because I cannot read old italic style Italian language in 1810 to 1900. That I cannot afford Italian Professional Genealogy cost me around $5,000 to $10,000 for search family name in Italy. Not American here. Over there Italy have old record there!!!! That is why I am very frustration. I saw TV show ” Finding your Roots” and ” Do you think you are?”. Those celebrators stars who can afford. They are rich. We don’t. We are poor. We feel not fair.. We need your help for free!!!

    Reply
    1. Judy Schuur

      If you have old Italian records you can join the Facebook group “Genealogy Translations”. They have people in the group who will translate your documents free of charge.

      Reply
  41. Maaike Kortleever

    Familysearch.org is completely free. Or there is the best free way to find out things – relatives! Talk to your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles etc. They can usually get you back far enough in your tree for things like census records to become useful. Another free site I like is genealogytrails.com.

    Reply
      1. BJ Benfer

        There is a misunderstanding somewhere, Craig. I use the FamilySearch site almost every week, including yesterday – and have never been asked for a penny. I’m Lutheran, not LDS, and don’t get their mailings. And this use is from my home, not an LDS Family History Center. Good luck.

        Reply
  43. Jenyne

    I am trying to find some information on my great grandfather. His name is George M (or MD or Milfin) Hobbs. He was born in New York and died at the Vet’s home in Leavenworth Kansas (1915) The problem is, I don’t know if he was really the father of my grandfather, Frank Whitney Hobbs (born in Little Rock).
    Frank’s mother (Minnie Maxey-Huffman) married George in 1900. Frank was born in 1897 and is listed as George’s stepson on the 1900 census. Another problem is that Minnie was married to a Brice Huffman, but he died in 1892…Frank wasn’t even born during that marriage. HELP! I have tried to find Frank’s birth certificate, but no luck.

    Reply
    2. Bob Allison

      Jenyne,

      I found your Frank Hobbs on the 1920 Census in Minnesota, living with his mother Minnie. He was 21 and listed his birthplace as AR. I also found his WWI Draft Card that gives his date of birth as 20 October 1897 and that he had blue eyes and red hair. He died 14 Nov 1968 in Finlayson, MN. In the 1900 Census, he was listed as a stepson with George M. Hobbs. So looks like his original father was Brice Huffman and then Minnie married George Hobbs and George adopted him at some point. It also says his father was born in Kentucky. Brice’s son Jasper Brice Huffman was born July 31, 1892 in Boone County, Arkansas. Soooo, if I were going to be looking for a death certificate, I would be starting there if you know he dies in 1892. That seems like the logical spot. I have checked Kentucky records that I could find online and could find nothing. And there are not enough Arkansas records online to really find him. Hope this helps you out somewhat. Maybe give you a starting point.
      you can email me at [email protected] if you need any more help, not sure that I could but willing to try.
      Bob

      I found Dr. Jasper Brice Huffmans Find A Grave memorial with his headstone. I am at a loss whose son Frank is right now, Brice died in 1892, Frank was born in 1897, and Minnie and George did not marry till 1900 so, it is anyones guess. I will keep digging and see what I can come up with.

      I found this marriage record for Minnie:
      Name: M M Maxey
      Gender: Female
      Age: 19
      Birth Year: abt 1870
      Residence: Snowball, Searcy, Arkansas
      Spouse’s Name: J B Huffman
      Spouse’s Gender: Male
      Spouse’s Age: 23
      Spouse’s Residence: Snowball, Searcy, Arkansas
      Marriage Date: 28 Jan 1889
      Marriage License Date: 26 Jan 1889
      Marriage County: Searcy
      Event Type: Marriage
      FHL Film Number: 1031118

      Also found this one:
      Name: Minnie M Huffman
      Gender: Female
      Age: 29
      Birth Year: abt 1871
      Residence: Harrison, Boone, Arkansas
      Spouse’s Name: George M Hobbs
      Spouse’s Gender: Male
      Spouse’s Age: 52
      Spouse’s Residence: Kansas City, Missouri
      Marriage Date: 17 Apr 1900
      Marriage License Date: 17 Apr 1900
      Marriage County: Boone
      Event Type: Marriage
      FHL Film Number: 1035451

      So there is a 8 yr gap in there between the two marriages and a 2 yr gap between Frank being born and her second marriage. Now, it could be, that they listed his name incorrectly on the 1900 census as Huffman and he could have been born out of wedlock. And then after they got married, he took the Hobbs name. You will not know anything till you get the birth certificate. And I would look in Boone Cty, Arkansas for that or write to the Arkansas Vital Statistics to see if you can get it. Sorry I could not help more.

      Reply
  44. Elmer

    Among its billions of records… and index records:
    All United States Census 1790-1940 are free at FamilySearch.org. That includes the index and all images.
    Includes also the 1850 Mortality & Slave Schedules, the 1890 Civil War Veterans and Widows census, and 1930 Merchant Marine Census.

    Reply

  45. Pingback: A Search Engine Just For Parents. | 7Wins.eu

    1. David Bofinger

      If you mean, were any of them people of West African ethnicity who got brought to North America as slaves, I don’t know. But if you want to know literally whether any of your ancestors were slaves then yes, lots of them. Slavery has been around a long time, Europeans for instance were enslaving each other more or less from the arrival of agriculture up until the middle ages. We’re all descended from slaves and kings and every rank of human in between.

      Reply

  52. Pingback: Search Engine Genealogy. | 7Wins.eu

  53. Spencer Allen (Columbus,OH)

    Search for pictures/graphics of ancestors of Allen-Spencer, 1000AD to 1800’s England, Europe, N C, VA, southern U S; also “Place of Pleasure “& “Redbrick Hall “in No. Carolina? Where to find? Help deeply appreciated!!!

    Reply
  54. carmen Lacombe

    I have no information on my biological family except description and where I was born can I found anything on this site
    birthname Blandine , marie Gisele danièle, born at pointes aux tremble the 6 of July 1950 at la crèche de la réparation (ou rehabilitation maintenant paroisse notre dame) fabrique de montréal
    mother 5 feet 2 inches 18 years old black hair pretty and 120 pounds and father 22 years old 5 feet 5 inches blond, 155 pound here is where it get to me he was a journalism in that period time so from 1949 to 1950 and nobody is able to gave me a clue but by this time they would be like 80 and 82

    Reply
  55. Cheyenne Chadney

    Hi! My name is Cheyenne Chadney. I am 23 and trying to find information about my birth family. I was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and as far as I know my parents were born inside Canada. But i am having a very hard time finding information about my father, Norman Lawrence Chadney and my mother Joanne Lynn Gross. I know nothing about either side of my family and could really use some help.

    Reply
    1. Lillian

      Are you an adopted child? Are you trying to make contact with your birth family ?

      If so I may be able to give you some leads to follow up.

      Contact me and we’ll go from there.

      Reply
      1. Crystal Renee Pratt Hunt

        Born 11/5/79 Louisville, Indiana, Tennessee, or KY through KY Baptist Board of Childcare Shelbyville Rd Louisville, KY Adoptive parents – Randolph and Rita Pratt – Erlanger, KY Birth Mother 16 yrs dk brown hair, Birth father 17 yrs med brown hair, both attended school & church together, birth father was also adopted; good students, athletic, had siblings, Not much to go on. Official adoption papers legalized June, 1980. Was placed with adoptive family on Nov. 28, 1979. All help would be greatly appreciated.

        Reply
      2. craig fisher

        hi, im trying to find my birth parents and have had no success so far, I have my original birth certificate and my adoption certificate, I also have my birth name and my parents names, if you could please contact me it would be appreciated.. thanks

        Reply
      4. Cheyenne Chadney

        I was a foster child and I only know my parents I don’t know who any of their relatives are I know my grandparents are dead

        Reply
        1. Judy Schuur

          All of you need to join the Facebook group “Search Squad”. They help people find birth parents and their families. If you have names of relatives they are good at finding those relatives. It is a closed group.

          Reply
  56. Sharon

    Anyone know of free records from kansas, esp Wyandotte county???
    I can find marriage records from Johnson county but absolutely nothing
    from Wyandotte.

    Reply
    1. Calvinia Hudson

      Kansas Historical Society they are on line and have great resources, will copy articles about ancestors or towns and send it to you

      Reply

  57. Pingback: Ellis Island Records for Genealogy Research

  58. Kim Melchior

    My name is Kim Melchior and I am a professional Genealogist specializing in Danish and Swedish research. I have a Facebook page called Scandinavian Genealogical Research Center and it is found here: http://www.facebook.com/scangen
    When I find links and other tidbits I believe could be of interest to people interested in Scandinavian genealogy I post them on my Facebook page. I would like to invite you to take a look at the page and if you like what you see, like, share and follow it. I would also welcome a friendship request from you here on Facebook.
    Kim Melchior

    Reply
  59. Michelle Della Pelle

    Big Problem….. My Italian heritage…. I am from New jersey. My hobby is genealogy. I have search my Della Pelle family in Penne, Abruzzo, Italy That I cannot find it. the reason… Very very very struggle frustration. My grandfather Aurelio Della Pelle was born and raised in SAME house in Penne…. I have no clue about his family in the past….. I cannot afford to fly to Italy cost me very expansive tickets and the hotels. The professional Italian Genealogy cost me between $1,900 to $5,000 or more. I am not rich. Because those Italian language is old style italic like 1800 AD. How you can help me to find in Penne, Abruzzo, Italy for me???

    Reply
    1. Nancy Averill

      I found this on a passenger list, I don’t know if it is your relative but it lists father’s name.
      Name: Aurelio Della Pelle
      Arrival Date: 3 Apr 1922
      Birth Date: abt 1898
      Birth Location: Teramo
      Birth Location Other: penne
      Age: 24
      Gender: Male
      Ethnicity/ Nationality: Italian (South) (Italian)
      Port of Departure: Naples, Italy
      Port of Arrival: New York, New York
      Ship Name: Regina D Italia
      Search Ship Database: Search for the Regina D Italia in the ‘Passenger Ships and Images’ database Father: Franco Della Pelle
      Destination Quebec, Montrl

      There is a seven day free trial at the link below.
      http://www.italyheritage.com/regions/abruzzo/teramo/

      http://www.abruzzoforum.com/forums/teramo/

      Reply
  60. marilyn

    my sister and i have found a lot of great information by searching any states historical society. i.e., if i were looking for information on an ancestor who lived in mississippi i would simply key in MISSISSIPPI HISTORICAL SOCIETY. you have to dig around on the sites as each state sets theirs up differently. but, so far, most have census records, death records….all kinds of information and it is all FREE.

    Reply
  61. Cindy

    I am trying to trace my husbands ancestry, original family name before coming to Canada from Holland was Van den Vorstenbosch.Once the family entered the country in the1960’s they dropped the Van den.Is there any free sites that may help me.?

    Reply
  64. Olga

    Thank for the information
    I found my great gran father in family search. There are not many places to find family from Europe or Africa. Those are from American people.
    I still try to find my grand ma and my great gram I could not
    thank

    Reply
  65. Gail

    One of my favorite free websites is . I initially searched it because my great grandparents lived in Fulton, N.Y, but it covers the entire state. The site has newspapers from all over New York (and a handful from other states, too) and is easy to search. It is an absolute goldmine. But be forewarned. If you have family in New York, expect to spend at least a week sitting at the computer…it is almost impossible to pull yourself away!

    Reply
  67. Pam Mortensen

    The only problem with familysearch.org is that when I find errors (and there have been many), there doesn’t seem to be a way to contact anyone to correct them. At least on Ancestry, I can leave a comment, whether or not the person who has made the mistake cares to pay attention, say thank you, or (last resort) fix i! This is distressing when it is MY family they are messing with! Any suggestions?

    Reply
    1. Roisin

      Transcription errors can be quite common, When I cannot find someone that I am sure should be, I get creative on the search and search for just given names.

      Reply
    2. Joyce Smith

      Pam, I have a phone number that will help you with the problems you are having. They helped me bring one of my relatives back to life. 1-866-406-1830. Let me know if you get everything worked out or if you need anything else.

      I hope I was able to help you. Joyce Smith

      Reply
    3. genealogy lover

      The new family search has a few ways of dealing with incorrect information…I’m not expert yet and I am sure there are more ways than I am aware of. I know that you can merge people and reject incorrect information when you are working on your family tree. Also, sometimes information is incorrect because for example…a census worker, back in the 1920’s, wrote phonetically how they thought the family’s information was spelled. I hope this helps you.

      Reply
    4. Wanda Daniel

      I have also found incorrect information on Family Search. They did follow up on my emails promptly but even though the information for my great-grandmother is incorrect, they stated they checked the microfilm and because it’s that way on there they won’t correct it. So be cautious of info you find on websites…they may be incorrect!

      Reply
  68. Dave McDougle

    http://www.wikitree.com/
    There are many personal benefits of membership but everyone in our community shares one mission: to connect the human family.
    Modern family history on WikiTree is private. As you go back in time the privacy controls open up.
    Collaboration between genealogists is kept enjoyable and productive through a simple nine-point honor code.

    Reply
  69. Susan

    I have my family tree back to late 1700 but I was wondering how to find history from the UK. It is for my son-in-law. With my first grandchild on the way, I thought a family tree would be really cool for them

    Reply
  70. Leon Jose

    hi, I am looking to trace down my family as far back as possible…the oldest relative that I know of, is Colonel Charles Young ( Charles Young was born March 12, 1864, in Mayslick, Kentucky)…my mothers relatives, are prejudice against african americans, so I have no clue about her family

    Reply
    1. Leon Jose

      U.S. Army,,,,he was in command of a squadron of the famous 10th Cavalry,,,”A native of Kentucky he graduated with the class of 1889, 49th out of 49 graduates, at West Point, and reached his Majority in 1912. He was retired for physical disability early in World War I, with the rank of Colonel.”,,,He died on January 8, 1922 and his funeral was one of only a handful in history to be held at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. He is buried in Section 3 of the cemetery.

      Reply
    1. Rober

      Heather – At FamilySearch.org in their records collection you will find Colorado Statewide Marriage Index, 1853-2006 which can be searched by name. They also have images (but no index yet) of Colorado, County Marriages, 1864-1995. I didn’t note any death records there. FamilySearch.org is totally free.

      Reply
      1. Heather

        We don’t have a LDS library in our area. I’ve subscribed to ancestry.com for a number of years, and had no luck with information for Colorado. I did not renew my subscription at this time.

        Reply
        1. Teresa

          Heather just go to lds.org on the website there is a meetinghouse locator, plug in your area and it will give you the closest LDS church to you. The family history centers are actually in the church building and is staffed by volunteers at the church. They will be more than glad to help you with your search. If you run into a problem finding a local LDS family history center you can email me your address and I’ll find the closest one to you and send you their address, phone number and hours the center is open. Good luck with your searching.

          Reply
    3. Helen

      Heather, you can also type in the name of your county and then Colorado and then the work linkpendium. It will call up a lot of sites for that county on the internet.

      Reply
  73. Thomas

    Many states have free GenWeb sites. Also don’t forget LDS. There is information on that site that extends into other countries and centuries back. Also don’t hesitate to search church records, and library newspaper archives.

    Reply
  74. Joe

    Let’s not forget our Ancestors Photos! DeadFred.com

    Trace your roots for FREE with our searchable database containing thousands of identified and mystery photos for genealogy enthusiasts looking for long-lost family.

    Reply
  75. sheryl

    The DAR has many records at their website for Revolutionary War era and forward. You can find some things out free of charge, but still have to pay for in-depth info. Still a good source to check and getting better all the time.

    Reply
  76. mireille sauve

    looking for family tree of the Sauve and Sarault family tree> My grandpa came from Water Town NY like to find family there

    Reply
  79. Jill

    I don’t think anyone has posted findagrave.com – Findagrave has a lot of individual memorial pages, with a lot of them linked with their family members already. It’s been online for 15 years now and it’s growing bigger. It’s kinda like a community effort, where some people are the grave walkers and photographers, and others are the researchers who link people together by sending edits to the people that maintain the pages. They’ll even transfer your close relatives’ pages to you to maintain, if you ask. It has helped me piece together my family tree a whole lot. Still got a ways to go, though. But it helps me feel more like I’m visiting graves of my family members that I could never go so far away to ever visit them. And you can even leave “flowers” on their memorial pages. Just thought I’d suggest this and see if it might could help you all in your family searches.

    Reply
    1. Heather

      Find A Grave is a wonderful site, I’ve been using it for years. I try to link as many family members and add additional information when ever I can.

      Reply
      1. dianne hyde

        I have used Find a grave and a few times it worked for me but i have tried my best to find my gg grandmothers grave at morton Mississippi and i think it is impossible. I dont think the cem. is listed because it is an old cem. hidden out in the woods and most likely has not been used in years. She died in 1877 in a freak tornado off of hwy. 13 and i believe those woods are just across from the old home place.

        Reply
    2. Toot44

      FindAGrave was the 2nd free site mentioned in the lead article. It can be a great ‘clue’ resource, but don’t depend on it being accurate. Many Memorials are posted by Genealogy Societies from actual cemetery records or gravestones, but a lot are posted by individuals who do not have accurate information. This site is not a primary source for citing your research. However, I’ve been using it for years for research and clues.

      Reply

  80. Pingback: Free UK and Irish Genealogy Sites for Finding Your Ancestors

  83. Jane Struckman

    Looking for information on William Duncan (Dunkin) Austin killed in Hawkins, TX buried in Big Sandy Cemetery around 1910. His son, Moses, was living with him at that time.

    Reply
  85. Denise

    This is a site that is free and done by volunteers. The site offers a photograph of the gravestone or monument with a bio if applicable. You can view by county, name or cemetery. If you go to the bottom of the page see Other AGP Projects. There is Tennessee, Texas, Missouri and other states.

    Reply
    1. Kykendra

      Wikitree is an excellent resource! I am a frequent genealogist contributor on there, and the contact and collaboration with other members is fantastic and helps with accuracy.

      Reply
  90. kateherine prewitt

    what is the best site to find a lost sibling? have dob, father name, mother name, unknown last name of sibling. Do I have any chance of finding this person?

    Reply
    1. Jan

      Hi I have Ancestry,com. If you’d like, I could do some look up’s for you to see what I can find out. They have almost all documents that might help! I would need those names, dates and where they possibly lived. Jan Nolan

      Reply
    2. Judy Schuur

      There is a closed group on Facebook that helps people find “lost” people. Their name is Search Squad. They can help you.

      Reply
  94. Bill

    How can I find out my step dad’s social security number? He died in 78. Social Security Admin refuses to help since I’m a step son. His only daughter just died. I’m trying to sign up for the GM Legacy program and they need his SS # in order to find the right person.

    Reply
  95. RUTH T.

    DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO RESEARCH NORWAY’S RECORDS? DRAMMEN FOR MY DAD AND LILLEJAMMER FOR MY MOTHER. THANK YOU.

    Reply
  96. Jason F

    If you are looking for Dutch (Netherlands) vital records from 1811 forward, you can use http://www.tresoar.nl. It has a searchable database and scanned images of the actual documents, all available for free. The only downside is that the records are in Dutch, but that’s where translate.google.com comes in handy 🙂

    Reply
  97. Eden Joachim

    For researching Jewish heritage in Lithuania, don’t miss http://www.litvaksig.org.

    For Jewish heritage anywhere, http://www.JewishGen.org is a must visit site. From there, one can find SIGs devoted to specific geographic areas and topics (Sephardic ancestry, Rabbinic ancestry, Vaudeville and Yiddish Theater plus more).

    For New York City and environs, don’t overlook the searchable indices to vital records and naturalizations at http://www.italiangen.org.

    http://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com a virtual Jewish History website which includes hundreds of links to free databases such as Jewish cemeteries.

    http://www.jgsny.org – The Jewish Genealogical Society Inc., New York City.

    Reply
  99. Jim Heddell

    3 additional things that are free:
    1. Lookups free from Family History Library in SLC and other archives–sent via email in 3 days
    2. Online research group in Skype where you can get free help finding your ancestors (via instant messaging) from professional researchers
    3. Weekly webinars taught by professional researchers

    Reply
  103. V. Chris & Tom Tinney, Sr.

    Family Genealogy & History Internet Education Directory – Wiki:
    Scholarly mega site map of world wide Internet resources.
    Free Coverage of the Genealogy World in a Nutshell.

    Professional, worldwide humanities and social sciences mega portal,
    connected directly to numerously related sub-sets, with billions of
    primary/secondary database family history & genealogy records.
    http://www.academic-genealogy.com/

    https://plus.google.com/118149218835758643095/about

    Reply
  109. Alena

    I’ve been using Open Library (http://openlibrary.org/) lately. It has many scanned in books that have had genealogy information in them. The books can be saved to the computer or kindle. I’ve checked Google Books for the same books and they don’t exist there. I also like to use Rootsweb, GenWeb, and message boards or forums.

    Soldiers and Sailors Civil War Search ~ http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm
    DAR Genealogical Research System ~ http://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search/
    Indiana Digital Archives ~ http://indianadigitalarchives.org/
    Illinois Digital Archives ~ http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/home.html
    Ed and Debby ~ http://edanddebby.com/
    Tipton County, Indiana Newspapers ~ http://tiptonpl.newspaperarchive.com/Default.aspx

    Reply

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