Free genealogy site where I might start looking?

I would suggest that you use the computers in public libraries or at Family History Centers, it is free and most have access to several subscription Genealogy sites.

You could access historical records on Familysearch.org from home. I no longer use Ancestry because there is to much information on the site that is either incorrect or has been copied for a chart that is already on the site, which is a waste of time for a legitimate researcher.There is a tutorial on the Family Search site under the research tips tab, that has very good information about researching in Ireland and Scotland.

Hi Jim, if you are just starting, I suggest you work with your local libraries and hopefully you live near a good genealogy library, such as Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, INdiana or Newberry Library in Chicago, Ill.

When you first begin you should be hands on and very little on the internet. Your local libraries might have the WPA Records or other indexes that have been done by genealogical and historical societies. Also DAR Patriot Books.

Ancestry is not free unless you sign up for a 7 day or 14 day free trial. Scotlandspeople is a good one for your Scottish line. You can search a few different types of records for free and all others y ou must pay in advance, the explanation is lengthy to explain here.

Also check website: www.genealogy-research-tools.com to help you get started.

Your best bet would be to go to your local library branch because most of the local libraries are set up with ancestry.com and you can use their account to do research for free.

As you already know from the other posts you can get a free trial period on Ancestry for 14 days. Even after the 14 days you can still access your account for free and make any additions or changes to it.

What I've done is set up a free account on Ancestry.com and MyHeritage.com. They are very easy to use and navigate. The only thing I will say is make sure you double and triple check your research, there are a lot of wrong names and dates. Also common family names that go down through the generations can also be tricky, so make sure to check everything thorough. I log onto Ancestry through my local library and then I write down or type up a MS Word document with all the verified names and dates. I then log on at home or on my laptop in the library, and add the new information. Ancestry.com is the only place within the last 2 years that I've been able to find all census records and immigration records for my family.

Doing this I've traced back to the 1600's on my fathers side.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

A great free website for genealogy is http://www.usgenweb.org/

It is an organizaton that is trying to put free information for genealogy on the net so that anyone can look up their family history without charge. It is made up of volunteers from each state and county in the US and elsewhere.

A pay site that is definitely worth the money is http://www.footnote.com/

The fee to join is very small annually, the last time I joined it was $40.00 for the year and I found some awesome information on my family through it. They are in the process of downloading information from the National Archives and are adding more and more every day. It is an absolutely great value for genealogists.

I was a member of Ancestry.com for awhile too, and while they have some great resources I find the steep monthly subscription rate to be too pricey.

1830s? 1880s?

As always, a time frame is very important, not only in your search, but also for us to provide a worthwhile answer.

When I first started using this site, everyone suggested Ellis Island...My most recent immigrant ancestor came to the U.S. from England in the 1830s....so, none came through Ellis Island.

With no time frame, I have no idea whether or not your ancestors might have come through Ellis Island. But, if it applies, Ellis Island is a good start. Don't forget the Censuses; both State & Federal.

Try www.cyndislist.com...a good directory. Try your local library; try all the libraries that might apply to your situation (many immigrants came through the port of Philadelphia; so, PA libraries is good. Also, the L.O.C. (Library of Congress). Ohio, New York, Virginia and Alabama are all good libraries for genealogical research.

Wherever your ancestors lived, try newspaper archives, historical societies, genealogical societies, etc.

And, of course, ancestry.com and others, often available at your local public library for free.

There are many free resources at most libraries. At my local library I signed up for access to other free genealogy resources that I can get to from my home through the library website - however, ancestry has to be done at the library. All free except printing.

Not free but worth the $25 or less to purchase last years family tree database, it comes with a 3 month or longer subscription to Ancestry, which is a great deal. The family tree database is an excellent tool for keeping and printing out info. on your family.

If you have Scottish ancestors you may find Scotland's people website to be useful. There is no fee BUT you will have to pay a small amount to view the record and possibly some more to download a copy of the record you want. However, It is not necessary to get a copy of the certificates and etc. Last time I was on it I believe it was £6 for 30 points. Most records were a point to access although some were 5 points. Once you have bought a record it will be stored in your account and you can view it at any time.

I'd recommend you start off with a free based website such as Familysearch.org then branch out once you've become familiar with records, and starting a family tree. Familysearch.org is a database of the LDS (Mormon) collections, and are constantly updating and adding new records. They also have free tools and software that are great for keeping track of your records.

I presume you have done all the foundation work asked living relations, checke out all records/documents you and they already have at home, set up FH software on your own computer to keep all your information secure, safe and organised ( online commercial websites offer these however harvest your information to use and sell, limit numbers of people you can put in before you have to pay and you then have to continue to pay to access your own information)

All this can be done free, Free FH software, checklists of records at home, help sheets on the documets page ( and some free record indexes for some UK counties) and several links to Scottish and Irish websites, forums, look up services, messsage boards all free. UK/Ireland based http://familytimeline.webs.com/

ancestry.com is awesome. ive been using it for quite a while now. you will have to pay for it though. you can do the world access one. thats what i have. and you can do a 14 day free trial, and then just cancel it. or, just sign up and pay the money. its just under $30 and then cancel ur account after 30 days. its well worth it. expecially cus your looking into other countries.

hope i helped