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Researching Family Tree - which provider to use?

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Hi Forumers,

 

I am going to start researching my family tree and am bewildered by the array of websites out there that offer subscriptions services for access to records. Is anyone able to recommend any one particular site, or those to avoid?

 

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading.

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Hi Forumers,

 

I am going to start researching my family tree and am bewildered by the array of websites out there that offer subscriptions services for access to records. Is anyone able to recommend any one particular site, or those to avoid?

 

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading.

 

Yes try hillsbro on this thread ... Brilliant guy

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Hi Melb1971, For starters try Family Search.org which is free, make sure you type in England when you search or you will get lots of results from America as well! Happy searching:)

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Hi Melb1971, For starters try Family Search.org which is free, make sure you type in England when you search or you will get lots of results from America as well! Happy searching:)

 

Exactly! If money is not an unlimited, start with free sites and build up or you can pay for access to bigger sites that have more detailed information. One of your best initial resources is "older relatives". Ask them what they know, record it all and who told you and collect certificates - you will want to prove or be sure of your "facts". Family Search is good as is FreeBMD - every new tool will take you time before you are familiar with it.

 

You will also need to store your tree somewhere. Look at comparisons of "family tree" software. There are some free ones or you can buy packages that give you the software and access to family records included. Some software offers a basic level for free with a paid extension.

 

There are also lots of groups to share and mutual help. Local websites can be great when you know where your ancestors originate.

 

Also think how you want to store certificates and information.

 

Above all - enjoy your new hobby!

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You could also try Sheffield Records Online for free, lots of people on their chatline like Hillsbro who are only too willing to help.

 

Genes Reuniteds basic (about £12) membership, has also chat sites with hundreds of people around the world willing to help.

 

Good luck with your journey.

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I started my family tree in the last couple of years and was bewildered to start - there are lots of free sites, plus lots of other free lists of births/marriages/burials etc available. I started out, as someone suggested, asking relatives, I also joined Ancestry on a free trial but really this and the other sites you pay for you need to have already a feel for what you are looking for before you start. Most of my family are from Sheffield and Sheffield Records Online is great, as is Sheffield Indexers, I also just googled more unusual names in the family and it is surprising what comes up - I have found free lists from Beeley in Derbyshire, Forest of Dean, India, plus other peoples trees etc which is also a good starting point - I would do all sorts of these things before I started paying, and each of the pay for sites is good in their own right so I dip in and out depending on what I am looking for - it is also probably personal preference which one you choose to spend most money on! Good luck I have found it fascinating !

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Whatever you do don't just rely on putting your tree on a commercial website eg Ancestry, Find my Past etc. Buy a software package to use on your pc so you always have control. Family Tree Maker (sold by ancestry) has been probably the best but they are to stop selling it or supporting it shortly so discount that. Family Historian & RootsMagic are possibilities along with other less known ones.

You can buy subscription services for data from ancestry, Find my Past etc but should always be able to get a free trial for at least a month or so to see if it is for you. I find ancestry easier to use, but FMP has some data that ancestry doesn't have & vice versa. As others have said use free sites such as FreeBMD, & Familysearch first

Good hunting !

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Hi Forumers,

 

I am going to start researching my family tree and am bewildered by the array of websites out there that offer subscriptions services for access to records. Is anyone able to recommend any one particular site, or those to avoid?

 

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading.

 

Do you know that you have free access to ancestry.com through any of the computers in Sheffield libraries?

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I've been researching our family tree for more than 20 years - starting when there were no online resources.

 

I second the suggestions above, familysearch, FreeBMD, freecen (census) and the various Sheffield sites. Of the paid offerings, I prefer Ancestry though my view is swayed by Find My Past going through a bad patch last year, from memory I think it was some change of ownership.

 

Do keep your own records on software on your own PC. If you use one of the paid sites for this, then you have to keep renewing your subscription. For some years I've been using Legacy from legacyfamilytree and wouldn't be without it. It's a free download unless you want the so-called luxury version which I suggest you don't need. The free version is very comprehensive.

 

Good luck. It's so easy to think you'll just spend another ten minutes and get so engrossed that hours can fly by.

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I've been researching our family tree for more than 20 years - starting when there were no online resources.

 

I second the suggestions above, familysearch, FreeBMD, freecen (census) and the various Sheffield sites. Of the paid offerings, I prefer Ancestry though my view is swayed by Find My Past going through a bad patch last year, from memory I think it was some change of ownership.

 

Do keep your own records on software on your own PC. If you use one of the paid sites for this, then you have to keep renewing your subscription. For some years I've been using Legacy from legacyfamilytree and wouldn't be without it. It's a free download unless you want the so-called luxury version which I suggest you don't need. The free version is very comprehensive.

 

Good luck. It's so easy to think you'll just spend another ten minutes and get so engrossed that hours can fly by.

 

I have also found the free Legacy software to be pretty good and does most of what I want. There is a paid extension that would do more and sometimes it would be a "nice to have" but not really held me back.

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