Is there a reputable genealogy site that won't try to take my money?

Your public libraries will most likely have both Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest free for anyone to use while at the library and with a library card you should be able to use Heritage Quest at home.

Another free online resource is the Latter Day Saints/Mormon site, which has many free online records at www.familysearch.org and original documents on their pilot site at http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.h... . They have also just added a new Beta site that has a few more databases, which you might find useful at: http://fsbeta.familysearch.org/s/collection/list . In addition to their online records, they have Family History Centers where you can go for personalized help with research and look at microfilm and while they will not do your research for you they will help you, a lot. They only charge if they have to order something specifically for you or you need photocopies and their charges are minimal. Look on the home page of their website to find a location near you and call to check hours of operation. http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Home/Welcome/home.... .

Additionally, USGen Web is another free online resource at http://www.usgenweb.org/ . This site is packed with how-to tips, queries and records for every state and most counties within those states. Then, there is Rootsweb at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ a free site hosted by Ancestry.com where you can search for surnames, post queries on the message boards and subscribe to surname mailing lists.

Also, be sure to check each state that you need information from as many have their own projects, for example, the state of Missouri has a great website that has many free source documents online at http://www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/ and South Carolina has many free wills and other court documents at http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/onlinearchives/sea...

Also, Family Tree Magazine’s 101 Best Websites, 2010 http://familytreemagazine.com/article/101-Best-Web... You may have to register for their free newsletter to access this list but you will find that helpful also.

And the only site that is included on this list that has some links that are free and some that are not is Cyndi’s List but it will be well worth your time to look through the list for the free websites because of their quality: http://www.cyndislist.com/

The last place you start is on the internet looking for information and records of people you don't know, not sure about where they lived, etc it is how so many start and soon get fed up and give up or they find a 'family tree' copy it thinking it is correct and continue from there researching thrilled because within a short time they have a family tree going back several generations........they have no idea if it is correct and many are not, many have no cited information and are copied, added to, uploaded, copied and added to without any checking..........so it i a collection of name, not a family tree and certainly not necessarily your family tree.

Start with yourself and in your own home with the primary records you have there, a solid foundation using primary records, which are already in your home and are free...this is possibly the most rewarding part of family history research. This website is simple, free, helpful, great links, checklists and advice and will help you start http://familytimeline.webs.com/recordsinyourownhom...

Good luck with your research

If you are really interested in researching your family tree, I would suggest a subscription to Ancestry.com. It is extremely reputable, not a bit sleazy, and has the most records and help of any site I've seen. I have been able to connect with members of my family that I never even knew existed. It is well worth the price.

Otherwise, you can try the LDS site or Cyndislist.

Try Familysearch.org, it is free and has the same data as Ancestry. But to actually verify your research you will probably need to order copies of records. There is usually a fee and the request is sent directly to the facility that has the record. If you indicate that the request is for Genealogical purposes it many be a little cheaper than a certified copy

There are over 400,000 free genealogy sites. Among them

www.cyndislist.com - 250,000 links, all categorized.

www.familysearch.org - The Mormons. Gazillions of records.

wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com - Roots Web World Connect - 600,000,000+ entries

usgenweb.org - Sites for every county in every state in the USA

ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com - Social Security Death Index, 83 million names

vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/ - California Death Index, 9,366,786 records

www.findagrave.com - 43 million records

genforum.genealogy.com - Query boards for every county in every state, and thousands of surnames.

boards.ancestry.com - The other Query board site; counties and surnames too.

archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com Roots Web Mailing List Archive - Over 30 million messages

I have a page with real links to all of those, below, but you'll have to wade through some advice and warnings first.

If you search the resolved questions in this category only for the word "Free"(use "Advanced" to limit your search to this category only), you'll find there are thousands questions with the word, and at least 2/3rds of them ask "How can I trace my family tree for free?", just like you did. The answers to those questions have lots of links and tips. We top 10 paste our stock answer to that question 3 - 12 times a day, sigh, and wonder why you kids haven't read the resolved questions. You are rare and special in some ways, undoubtedly, but not in your curiosity about your family. As of October 2010 there were 4,795 resolved questions with the word "free" in them in Genealogy.

If you didn't mention a country, and you didn't go into Yahoo! by one of their international sub-sites, we can't tell if you are in the USA, UK, Canada or Australia. I'm in the USA and my links are for it.

If you are in the USA,

AND most of your ancestors were in the USA,

AND you can get to a library or FHC with census access,

AND you are white

Then you can get most of your ancestors who were alive in 1850 with 100 - 300 hours of research. You can only get to 1870 if you are black, sadly. Many people stop reading here and pick another hobby.

No web site is going to tell you how your great grandparents decorated the Christmas tree with ornaments cut from tin foil during the depression, how Great Uncle Elmer wooed his wife with a banjo, or how Uncle John paid his way through college in the 1960's by smuggling herbs. Talk to your living relatives before it is too late.

You won't find living people on genealogy sites. You'll have to get back to people living in 1930 or so by talking to relatives, looking up obituaries and so forth.

Finally, not everything you read on the internet is true. You have to be cautious and look at people's sources. Cross-check and verify.

So much for the warnings. Here is the main link.

http://www.tedpack.org/yagenlinks.html

That page has links, plus tips and hints on how to use the sites, for a dozen huge free sites. Having one link here in the answer and a dozen links on my personal site gets around two problems. First, Y!A limits us to 10 links in an answer. Second, if one or more of the links are popular, I get "We're taking a breather" when I try to post the answer. This is a bug introduced sometime in August 2008 with the "new look".

You will need the tips. Just for instance, most beginners either put too much data into the RWWC query page, or they mistake the Ancestry ads at the top for the query form. I used to teach a class on Internet Genealogy at the library. I watched the mistakes beginners made. The query forms on the sites are NOT intuitive.

Start with your living family members if that is possible then go to public records.

Overpriced? What is your family worth?

Why do people always think that they have the right to take someone's hard work for FREE!!! I would call trying to get something for nothing .... sleazy!

Don't use the Mormon site (I'm not Anti-mormon but it isn't as helpful as everyone makes out), and I don't know what to make of Cyndi's List. But Rootsweb is very good. Besides no one seems to think about where the Mormons get all this information, do they? They could be making up sh@t for all we know.

I would like to know as well. And yes, I'm question mooching.

Hey people, he said "for a fee"!