family tree

[DONNA1458]

my mum is interested in finding out about her family tree are the websites worth the money they ask for to search or are there any that are free.
TIA

[Eve]

There's a genealogy section, they should be able to point you in the right direction...

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/History/Genealo gy/

[echokilo]

Hi Donna

You really need to post in the Genealogy section in future to ensure you get the best answers, BUT I would strongly recommend the ancestry website - they usually do a free trial to start with, and I think I pay about �10 a month ....... which may seem a lot but compared to driving around and paying for birth, death, marriage certificates it far more cost effective.

There are a couple who allow you to search free (eaither for all or some of there archives, but none are good and easy to use as ancestry in my opinion.

Another consideration is how to store the information you find. I use a website which is very easy to build (it must be if I can use it!!) Go here to register for a FREE website:
http://www.tribalpages.com It only becomes chargeable if you wish to use the advanced chart building sections or if you find you have huge amounts of photos you need to store. Everything i have found (over 3000 relatives) and all my photos, certificates, newspaper cuttings etc are on mine - and the huge benefit is that you can (via giving out a password) allow other people to access it and share information.

Another place to put your tree (for a nominal annual fee) is at www.genesreunited.com Again other people can contact you this way and share information.

You can use both methods without duplicating your word as once you start building your tree you can download the file (they are called GEDCOMS / .ged files) and you can import them from one application to the other.

If you have any other questions just post them in the genealogy section on here (under HISTORY) and I will be pleased to try and help you ...... I have had to learn for myself, and knowit can be confusing at times...... but best to start with a big piece of paper and write down everything you living relatives can tell you and draw up a ro

[showcatbenga]

Try this;
http://www.one-name.org/
The Guild Of One Name Studies (GOONS) should be helpful & will guide you on how to get started. Also national census records along with birth, marriage & death records are a mine of information. If you pay someone to find all this information where is the fun in researching & finding it for yourself? It all depends on how common the surname is & how much family information is already available. Beware, not all our ancestors are as we would wish them to be - we have drunkards & a bigamist in ours!

[echokilo]

Too tight showcat ..... I have romany gyspsies and a poacher who committed suicide ..... I just need the tramp to have the gypsies, tramps and theives trio !!! Great fun discovering it all though
EK

[echokilo]

Did your mum get started Donna?