Family Tree

loopylass

Hi
I want to find out about my husbands family
His brothers came down for christmas with an old photo of their mum and her siblings and sitting in the middle was their grandad it was really interesting to see
I would like to do this for them but dont know where to start or how much it will cost free would be nice or as cheap as possible
Does anybody know of any web-sites that offer this or how i can get started
Thankyou

billy_the_kid_2

Probably the easiest free site is genesreunited.co.uk however you will have to suscribe to email other tree owners, plenty of resources and guides though. Then theres ancestry.co.uk who offer a free trial period to search databases on records etc. As for putting a tree togher I use the free download from Legacy which can use gedcom files from other family members if they have already completed part of your tree.

However be warned it gets very addictive. My tree now goes back to 1750 but unfortunatly goes cold from there.

browolf

ancestry.co.uk has loads of different censuses going back from 1901. to begin with you want to verbally ask all the old people in your family what they can remember and draw a rough tree on paper.
i've used geno pro before as i like the way the tree is visual

to get anywhere you have to be able to find someone on the 1901 census. if ancestry is a bit pricey there's http://www.familysearch.org/ which is free but then you have to be able to get back to 1891 to start with.

ka7e

I've used genesreunited which cost £13 to register and put your family tree online. It then searches it's database for any names that match on other people's family trees. You can swap info to establish any links.
I have found the site a bit slow to update and it's a bit "buggy", but it's quite useful.
Like most genealogy sites it directs you to follow up research on the Census website - you have to buy credit points to view any really useful details. The points are only valid for a limited period so you need to organise your info.

wurzelsar

Apart from every census from 1841 to 1901 as mentioned already, you can access the birth, marriage and death index free on ancestry.co.uk.

Also, at our local Register office, we can book an hour for family history research. They'll look up the info on computer ( if available) and then check the register for you. We are lucky that they'll do this in our town but a lot of others require you to purchase all the copy certificates @ £7.00 each.

You get a lot of info. from the cetificates and if you can, ask family members if they have any paperwork/certificates etc. or if they can give you any details on the family. Everything helps!

katecheshire

Genes reunited is OK but you do have to pay a fee. Really good sites that are free: https://www.familysearch.org is run by the Church of Latterday Saints. They have a huge worldwide database - takes a bit of getting around but once you get used to it is good. It will find you census info. as well.
freesurnamesearch.com - this has information by counties and links to sites where you may have to pay something but they have free chatboards where you can ask for info by your family names.
british-history.ac.uk is great for finding out about the places where your family lived
local history societies, your local library, the National Archive at Kew. OldBailey on line is also intriguing!!
Do a google search for your family names or places.

We found a huge amount of info from a simple google search and by following up leads from there. Other people will be extremely helpful - they love to share their info! We now have people all over the world keeping us up to date and us sending them new info.
One of the best moments: meeting a 93 year old man, who had known my friend's great grandmother (born 1853) - he could tell us loads. My friend was able to give him a bible which had belonged to his father, killed in WW1 when the boy was 6.
As Billy the Kid says IT IS ADDICTIVE!!!

loopylass

I can see what you mean about addictive i was up till 2 this morning it took me a while but im getting there im still having trouble finding people who have passed away(my husbands brother he died when he was only 2) but cant find any records
I will keep searching but is there a way of finding out if you click on the name who he married,children etc it would make it a lot easier
And would the library be able to help as this is very interesting
thanks

consultant31

Ask at your local library.

I work in a library and here it's free for borrowers to use the computers and access Ancestry. Since it began we've had hundreds of people using it and they all seem to think it's brilliant.