So you have your pedigree chart and your research plan, it’s time to start researching! If you’re completely knew to family history research, this step can be overwhelming. You might be confused as to where to start or if this is something you even want to follow through with! I’ve compiled 5 of my favorite (and beginner friendly!) free genealogy sites that even the pros use.
Free Genealogy Sites for Beginners
Site 1: FamilySearch.org
Family Search is the largest free genealogy sites that gives you access to actual records. They also have an AMAZING research wiki. You do need to sign up for an account, but it is free to do so. If you have a question about where to find something, chances are the research wiki will show you the way.
While Family Search also gives you the opportunity to build a tree, I don’t recommend it. All family trees are public and any user can add, delete, or edit the information on your tree. This often results in a lot of wrong information about ancestors. I’ve had it happen to my husband’s family tree; the wrong spouse and children were added without our knowledge by someone he’s not related to. Talk about a mess!
So, how do you save records then? You can download them to your computer or store them in your Family Search source box. When you find a record you want to save, Family Search gives you the option to save it to your source box.
To do this, click “source box.” Then, “Add to “My Source Box.”
You’ll be able to give it a title, add notes, and assign it to a folder (or create a folder) for easy organization.
To find your source box from any section of the Family Search website, just click the drop down menu under your name in the top right corner.
Inside the source box, you can add folders or create a source.
Site 2: Legacy.com
Legacy.com operates like a search engine for obituaries and online memorials. It pulls from funeral home websites and newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Obituaries can be ripe with information and clues about ancestors. Legacy.com can be a great, free alternative to Newspapers.com if you’re just looking for obituaries.
When you want to conduct a search on Legacy.com make sure you change the date filter. It is automatically set to search for obituaries published “this week.” You’ll want to adjust this if you’re looking for information published prior to the current week.
Site 3: Find A Grave
Findagrave.com is another great place for clues. The goal of Find A Grave is to ” help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present final disposition information as a virtual cemetery experience.”
Volunteers can photograph grave sites and upload them to Find A Grave, along with cemetery information, GPS coordinates, and any other information they may have access to.
For family history researchers, being able to search for the burial site of an ancestor can help find a missing date, alternate names, or even other relatives.
Sometimes, you’ll find family members listed right under the biography section for an ancestor. This is usually done by the person who created or manages the online memorial page.
If no other relations show up, you have the option to search for others that share the same surname within the cemetery.
Find a Grave allows you to attach a grave directly to your Ancestry family tree. You can also create a virtual cemetery in your find a grave account. This feature comes in handy if you want to group together the graves of a certain branch on your family tree.
Site 4: Library of Congress – Chronicling America (newspapers)
The Library of Congress in general, is an amazing resource for family history research, but it can be a little overwhelming to navigate online.
One part of the website you can jump right into is their digital newspaper archive, Chronicling America.
Think of Chronicling America as the free version of newspapers.com. It’s not as specific in its search engine as Newspapers.com nor does it have the option to clip articles directly to your Ancestry family tree, but it can be a great resource for finding ancestors in United States papers from 1690 to present day.
Another great thing about Chronicling America is the newspaper directory. This allows you to search papers by ethnicity, which is incredibly helpful in narrowing down your search, especially if you’re looking for African American ancestors or immigrant ancestors.
Site 5: Ancestry
I know, I know – Ancestry isn’t necessarily free on the surface level, but if you know the workaround, you can use it for free!
A free account allows you to build your family tree, search Ancestry’s free index collections. The thing about indexes is that they’re just indexes – you can’t actually access the record. Think about it like a summary. Someone looked at the original and made note of its contents. Sometimes, the individual makes mistakes which means the indexes are ripe with errors.
Don’t get me wrong, the indexes are EXTREMELY valuable and make it so much easier to search and find the information you are looking for, but sometimes, they get things wrong or leave valuable information out – having access to the image of the record is way more valuable.
So, how do you get access to those records for free? Use your local library! Most library websites have a “research” section that lists their library databases, special collections, and other resources. You’ll want to look for something called ” Ancestry Library Edition”. You should be able to put in your library card number and pin and have access!
While you can view the record images here, you cannot save them to your tree; however, you can download the images or email them to yourself. Then, when you log in to your normal ancestry account with your family tree, you can upload the record to your ancestor’s profile and create a citation.
In Conclusion
There you have it! Five beginner-friendly and FREE genealogy sites to help you get started with family history research — all from the comfort of your home. Don’t forget: before you start searching, put together a pedigree chart (free printable) and make a research plan (free template) so your searches have purpose!
Pin for Later!
Want to learn more about getting started with family history research?
Family History for Beginners: How to Make a Genealogy Research Plan
In the first post of my Family History for Beginners series, I talked about the EASIEST first step you can take in dipping your feet into the world of genealogy: filling out a pedigree chart….
Unlock Your Family History with a Four Generation Pedigree Chart
I wish I could say I started with a pedigree chart, but I didn’t. I fell into the instant gratification of Ancestry’s family tree hints and quickly found myself in a sea of misinformation. Once I started taking my research seriously, I knew I needed a research strategy to help me unlock the unknown branches of my family tree.
