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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: JEFF1964 on Monday 06 February 06 22:44 GMT (UK)

Title: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: JEFF1964 on Monday 06 February 06 22:44 GMT (UK)
Can anybody help with this request. I have just begun to research my family tree, but being on the dole it is quite expensive doing this kind of thing. Especially when you have to buy into a website to use the information contained in it, so i was wandering if there are such things as any FREE family history resources out there. I have come across free trials, but you have to give them a card and number before you can start. (Not much use in my predicament)

Any help would be appreciated.

Jeff
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: SS from The Rhondda on Monday 06 February 06 22:52 GMT (UK)
Quote from: JEFF1964 on Monday 06 February 06 22:44 GMT (UK)
Can anybody help with this request. I have just begun to research my family tree, but being on the dole it is quite expensive doing this kind of thing. Especially when you have to buy into a website to use the information contained in it, so i was wandering if there are such things as any FREE family history resources out there. I have come across free trials, but you have to give them a card and number before you can start. (Not much use in my predicament)

Any help would be appreciated.

Jeff

Have you tried FreeBMD & FreeCEN ?
http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/
http://freecen.rootsweb.com/

They are also looking for volunteers to help with transcribing of the records.
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: casalguidi on Monday 06 February 06 23:03 GMT (UK)
The 1881 census is indexed and there are many (mostly mid 19c and before) baptisms and marriages http://www.familysearch.org

The full GRO birth, marriage and death indexes are currently free to view http://www.ancestry.co.uk but I'm not sure if you need to give any card details to register

Some county registry offices are starting to put their birth, marriage, death indexes on the web http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/

Much would depend on the area and timeframe of your interest :-\

Casalguidi
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: suttontrust on Tuesday 07 February 06 08:36 GMT (UK)
I sympathise - it can be very expensive.  And even if you can get information for free you have to buy certificates.  If your research is local, you can get a lot of information from the local library or record office.
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: dennford on Tuesday 07 February 06 10:35 GMT (UK)
        You're on the nearest thing to free here at rootschat - that is if you discount the reciprical help you give others.
        You will get more hints and tips, glean more info and "idle away more time on here than you thought possible.
        This site plus your own effort and a few free census will be all you can handle.
                                             Denn

P.S. Trystan do I get a commission for this kind of plug.
                                             Denn
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: Burrow Digger on Tuesday 07 February 06 12:16 GMT (UK)
And if you want to put your research online at a good site with NO large annoying pop up ads - you can get free webspace here at Rootschat. The only ads they put on is a small ad at the bottom of the page. This place is way better than geocities or tripod for webspace.  ;D

I too am on a low income, and I use freeBMD and freeCEN and the familysearch dot org websites a LOT. While I have purchased a few items, I have not been able to purchase most of the certificates that I need.

One place I did purchase a subscription to is British Origins. Its 22 pounds for 1 year and you have unlimited access to the 1841 & 1871 census records. OF course since not all the counties have been transcribed, its really only useful if they have already transcribed those counties that you need. I was lucky - they have done the West country already and I have found my subscription to British Origins has paid for itself over and over again.  ;D

Burrow Digger

Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: trish251 on Tuesday 07 February 06 12:48 GMT (UK)
Hi Jeff

For the first 12 months of my research I spent very little money. To start RootsChat is free. Ask lots of questions - many will be answered. Look at the boards for your counties - there are many links to free sites. Look at beginners links - again - mainly free. Use google - it will return an amazing number of links for your areas of interest and names of interest.

Do you live close to a LDS Centre (you can check locations at www.familysearch.org )  - they provide access to many online and offline sources at no charge. Many libraries provide free access to sites such as www.ancestry.com

Trish
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: Guy Etchells on Tuesday 07 February 06 13:27 GMT (UK)
Quote from: JEFF1964 on Monday 06 February 06 22:44 GMT (UK)
Can anybody help with this request. I have just begun to research my family tree, but being on the dole it is quite expensive doing this kind of thing. Especially when you have to buy into a website to use the information contained in it, so i was wandering if there are such things as any FREE family history resources out there. I have come across free trials, but you have to give them a card and number before you can start. (Not much use in my predicament)

Any help would be appreciated.

Jeff

You make it very difficult to answer in anything more than the most general terms as you do not give any information about yourself, your location or your intrests.

There are thousands of websites containing free data on the web but without knowing surnames or areas the search cannot be narrowed down.
For surnames Rootsweb has many surname lists see-
http://lists.rootsweb.com/

More general free sites include the LDS familysearch at
http://www.familysearch.org/

There are census transcripts at
http://www.census-online.com/links/

There are also thousands of sites containing transcripts of Parish Registers across the web.

Offline there are libraries and archives which offer local information and LDS Family History Centers where you can order films & fiche of parish registers for virtually the cost of postage from the USA to the center.
Cheers
Guy
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: Berlin-Bob on Tuesday 07 February 06 18:20 GMT (UK)
I think we've all gone throught this - lovely hobby but expensive  :)

At some stage you will only get further by buying certificates, so it is a good idea to use the free sources to find out as much as possible, and to find the exact reference numbers for information that you will have to pay for, so you can be (reasonably) certain that it's the right stuff.

Here is another source of free information:

The Online Parish Clerks (OPC)

this description appears on almost all the OPC pages:
Quote
An Online Parish Clerk (OPC) researches all  the available historical data they can find on a parish,  records are transcribed, and in order to promote further private research, are made FREELY available to any researcher. This will include census, parish transcripts, bishop's transcripts and churchwardens accounts, overseers accounts, land tax records, postal directory extracts, church & village histories, etc. An OPC is a volunteer and should not be confused with the civil Parish Clerk appointed by a Parish Council.

Some OPC sites just list the resources that the OPCs have available for look ups.
Other OPC sites include the transcribed material and are mines of information.

Here are some OPC sites:

Devon: http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/OPCproject.html
Dorset: http://www.dorset-opc.com
Kent: http://www.kent-opc.org.uk/
Lancashire: http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/
Sussex: http://www.sussex-opc.org/
S. Derbyshire: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~brett/sdindex.htm
Warwickshire: http://www.hunimex.com/warwick/opc/opc.html
Wiltshire: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.brown6666/wiltsopc/

Although not an OPC site, this has a wealth of Norfolk information:
The Norfolk Transcription Archives:      http://www.genealogy.doun.org/transcriptions/index.php

There are many, many more smaller sites, with parish information, which you will find here, on "Useful Links" and the County "Resource Boards" or through search machines.

Happy hunting !!

Bob

Update: 08.09.2006

Sorry, forgot this one  :-[

OPC Cornwall:  http://cornwall-opc.org/

and here are some new ones:

Cumbria and Westmoreland: http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cumbria-ops
Leicestershire: http://www.rootsweb.com/~engleiopc/
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: Sylviaann on Wednesday 08 February 06 09:01 GMT (UK)
Found this site as a possible
http://www.genealogy-search-help.com/index.html

Sylviaann
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: Questa on Saturday 11 February 06 07:17 GMT (UK)
I have only been doing this for about a month...have spent nothing at all! Yet I have got back into the 1600's already, have photos and grave pics as well, and thats from my father's side of which I only started with my grandparents names!

My tip? Google is your friend. If you know how to use google to its fullest potential then it is easy to search for names and places and other bits of info that you have.

I have come across many of my anscestors already researched by others who have provided their info on websites. I have then contacted them and we have swapped info and both our trees flourish!

Good luck :)
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: Boongie Pam on Saturday 11 February 06 18:56 GMT (UK)
Hi Jeff,

There is a lot of luck involved as well.

I save money by saving up for a visit to the record office.  Cheaper does mean slower but hey the rellies ain't going anywhere.

If you live in or around London the the Family Record Centre has ALL the census on film (All Free).  I still get a bigger kick out of scrolling through a film than searching online.

Some LDS centre and libraries and Records Offices have an Ancestry subscription that you can use fro free.

Again it's luck on where you live.

All the best,
Pam
 ;D
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: dinkey on Friday 17 February 06 13:34 GMT (UK)
I would register all your surname and place interests on Rootschat but also include them in your profile. They will then be shown whenever you ask a question or reply to another post and you never know a Rootschatter may share your interests and be able to contact you  to exchange information.

Good luck with your research.

dinkey
Title: Re: FREE full family history webpages
Post by: Andy001 on Saturday 18 February 06 11:49 GMT (UK)
Hi Jeff,joining your local family history society is a good money saver.Mine is £12.50 per year and I can go 4 days a week and search through Ancestry for free,and any of the other websites already mentioned-and it's a lot quicker on their computers too!!
Using the UKbmd sites is a good tip-if you find a marriage you are looking for,you can get a print from the parish registers for abot 50p,it's exactly the same as the one on fancy green paper for £7 or £8.50 if you order from Southport + don't have a bank account! If it's not in your area,ask on here if anyone can get the info for you.
If you do send off for certificates,try to send off to local register offices where possible-the office in the registration district.They will check against other info you provide,say there are 2 Mary Smiths,born in the same quarter,tell them her fathers name and any other info and they will issue the correct one,if they're both wrong,you'll get your £7 back.If you use the GRO refs and order from Southport-they'll just issue it.
Local offices can't do marriages unless you have the correct church,though.
Good Luck,Andrea