how do you get started...

[SecretAdmirer]

i would love to see who my ancestors are, how do i get started. is there a place to look that doesn't cost money...

 

[SecretAdmirer]

no one?

 

[TurtleChele]

I'm actually wanting to know the same thing. How in the world do I get started? Anyone?

~Chele

 

[Ms.Garnet]

Try going to ancestry.com and/or genealogy.com and read all the free online helps about how to get started. Also, write down every family member you know already, ask parents, aunts, uncles, etc. for names, dates, cities, states, etc. I have only begun this search myself and I hit the jackpot on my first try by going to cousinconnect.com and posted a query under my family surname. Someone was so kind to help me with census records that showed my family. If you post a query - post everything you know about the surname. Also, read their helps on posting, etc. Also, if you have some names and dates, cities, states, etc. to start with you can go to familysearch.com and begin a search. You have to look around in these sites to find what they can or cannot do for you. I have found the most information on familysearch.com as far as locating soc. security numbers of my father's sisters & brothers who have died. Also, go to intelius.com and you can search on their by social security # and sometimes see a list of places people have lived. I did that to verify some of the social sec. #'s I had found. I put my own # in there & freaked out - it showed the last 8 places I have lived in the past 20 yrs. Interment.net is also another place you can search cemetaries by state & county - is you have the time to search - you might find an ancestor listed. Not all listing are complete - but you never know what you might find. So far I have found the birthdate, death date, soc. security # for about 15 or more ancestors. I haven't gotten into it enough to really start going back far, but I am surprised by how much I am finding. Also, if your local library offers genealogy classes or just has a genealogy section with someone there to help you - you might try that. I am going to attend a genealogy all-day how-to get started type conference in Feb. It costs $20 , but I think it will help me a lot.

 

[Sybaris]

Rootsweb is another great place where you can post queries by surname or location. I think their queries are crosslinked with Ancestry.coms forums so it gets widest dissemination. Also I think Roostweb sponsors the genealogy pages that counties set up. Most county's have something and the best way to find it is to Google "County Name State Name Genealogy". If you're lucky enough to live where your family has settled for a hundred years or more just get on over to the local library or state library and start looking up the obits of your grandparents. They contain a wealth of information. Usually the local libraries have genealogy files on local inhabitants so be sure to ask about those. The military records of your ancestors can be very useful as well. Many Civil War veterans had extensive pension files that contain family history and very interesting reading. You'll have greater success with the files of ancestors that were with the Union though. The WWI draft registration cards that are online with Ancestry.com even give physical descriptions along with parents names.

Here's the free 1880 census: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp

Civil War Rosters:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Lair/3680/cw/cw.html

Civil War Records:
https://eservices.archives.gov/orderonline/start.swe?SWECmd=Start