Research Your Family Tree for Free

The cost of researching your family tree can start to add up, especially with premium services such as Ancestry.com and Fold3.com that charge you to view most of their databases. However, there are ways to do genealogy research for free.

First, start with your local library, which can provide a wealth of information in two ways. Your library might have access to catalogs and online databases that you would have to pay to privately access. My library offers a free membership to Ancestry's U.S. database as long as you search from the library's locations. Your library might also have useful books relating local families or local history that might relate to your research if your ancestors lived in the area. Some libraries also are able to borrow books from larger libraries or historical societies so you don't have to buy them.

If you are looking for a specific book, you also should search on Google Books because it might just be there - at at no charge. For example, I found Genealogical and personal history of Fayette county Pennsylvania, Volume 2 by by James Hadden on Google books and it gave me the information I needed and it didn't cost me a penny. Another place to view books online for free, or at least discover what organization might have a copy, is Open Library. Archive.org is another site to try if you're searching for books or other media relating to your family history. There are ways to use some of the bigger online databases for free. Fold3 offers a free 7-day trial and Ancestry has a 14-day free trial to search their records. Ancestry also offers special collections to the public for free to mark various occasions such as holidays. To commemorate its 15th anniversary, Ancestry.com opened up a different collection for free for 15 days. Family Search can be a useful online database and sometimes it offers records not found on Ancestry.com. However, some Family Search transcriptions have errors so researchers should try to view scanned images or confirm the information elsewhere if possible. The US GenWeb Project has a wealth of information for genealogists and it's all free. You can search by state and then by available collection. Two other free sites that could be a great resource but have macabre sounding names are DeadFred and FindaGrave. Dead Fred allows people to post photos of deceased ancestors so you might discover that someone posted a picture of your great-grandfather or you can post your own photos and maybe someone can tell you who the people are. FindaGrave comprises online memorials of deceased people and can provide basic information or be a gold mine. Some memorials include a transcription or a photo of the tombstone or even of your ancestor. Maybe you aren't sure when your great-aunt Mabel died, but a photo of her tombstone on FindaGrave shows the exact date. The Social Security Death Index is another free resource that could help you determine an ancestor's birth and death dates and often where they died. This information could give you precise dates to search for a birth or death certificate, which you might also be able to find online for free. You can also check a state archives website to see if they offer free online records. The New Jersey State Archives has 12 free searchable databases including one for New Jersey men who were killed or died while in military service during World War I. This collection includes cards for every serviceman and photos when available. If you're searching for veterans who served Canada in World War I and II as well as other conflicts, you should check their free indexes of soldiers. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has free records of soldiers and some civilians in service of the Commonwealth who died in World War I and II. If you have immigrant ancestors who might have come through Ellis Island, you might find them on the Ellis Island website. You have to join to obtain transcripts and in many cases, scanned images, but it's free. To learn more about genealogy research, there are several places to find free courses. Your library, a local genealogy group or historical society may offer a free class. Family Search and Ancestry also offer free webinars; some you can simply watch and others you have to register for but they're all free. Genealogy.com also provides several free classes and free how-to articles. And once you start collecting information you might want a way to organize it all. You could buy a program. If you decide you like Family Tree Maker, a great deal through Amazon is that you can get a free 3-month membership to Ancestry with the software (just check the product description). You can post your tree for free on sites like Ancestry or you can download a free program such as the Personal Ancestral File offered by Family Search. So put your credit card away and start searching for your ancestors for free.