Best website to start family tree

[kristy70]

I want to start researching my family tree but having visited several websites, all charging different amounts, I wonder which would be the best to join. I can't afford to keep having to pay every time I want to look up something. Is there one site where I can make a one off payment to look up birth and death records etc? Thank you for any help you can give to get me started.

[craft1948]

I belong to a couple but find the best to be ancestry.co.uk and I pay about �80.00 a year for this......you can however access this free from public libraries....I prefer to do my research at home....

[dot.haukes]

For a beginner, the best choice would be to use the ancestry.co.uk library editon in your local library, you can access the civil registrations from 1837 - 2005, the census 1841-1901 and many other records. It is totally free and all you need is your library card and a session booked on their computers.
Once you have found your way around the sources and feel you can use a paid subscription eficiently, it would be time to pay for a subscription, knowing you would not be wasting time learning how the records work.

[kristy70]

Thank you both for your answer. I will start my search at my local library then and go on from there.

[dot.haukes]

familysearch.org is the LDS site that is free to use, you can look at the IGI and the 1881 census.

[Polly1958]

At the moment Ancestry.co have a 14 day free trial.I signed up on Saturday after cancelling my subscription to them earlier this year as i i didn't have alot of time and felt i was wasting money.It is a very good site with a wealth of information.Just remember to cancel because as they take card details before you can get the free trial you will be charged a years subscription if you don't.Ive written it on my calendar to actually do it the day before it runs out,just to be on the safe side.Polly