Family Trees........

[ELVIS68]

Have you ever bothered searching your family history?

I dabbled into it and was put off by subscription fees but bit the bullet and signed up and it`s amazing, I traced my family back to 1780, all the births, marriages and deaths are there on screen.

I didn`t even know they had computers back in those days ;o)

[jackthehat]

Sorry...

Birth, Marriage, Death.........

[joeluke]

Ok thanks, any advice on the best site?

[Ankou]

with joeluke, really tempted but put off by time and money required.

any recommendations on the best value start up ?

[jackthehat]

Before I started paying, I first used http://www.freebmd.org.uk.

This site is especially useful if you know 'areas' where your forebears were from.

And this one, too http://www.familysearch.org/eng/

The single most important thing, though, is to keep meticulous notes......it'll save you looking up the same things time after time......

Ancestry is possibly the best of the 'subscription sites' and will give you access to all of the censuses from 1841 to 1911.......they often run 14-day free trials where, if you are well-prepared, you can gather oodles of information before you cancel the trial. :o)

[joeluke]

Thanks, have bookmarked those sites

[tastymorsel]

I really have never seen any point to this.I couldn't care less where I came from only in where I am going to.You can't alter anything after all.But that is just me !!!

[jackthehat]

Also, until you have decided that you want it as your hobby, stay away from any expensive family tree 'software'.

The mark I paper and pen route will be sufficient.
I started off drawing simple charts, and now construct them using microsoft Word where I can manipulate them to my hearts content and print them out whenever necessary.

[Ankou]

jack, do those sites give international data access as well (outside of the uk). i always considered that i would enrol then come to a grinding halt when trying to find family members from abroad.

[Old_Geezer]

Took mine back a reasonable way. It helps when others contact you to ask to swop info. Not done much on it for some time now though. I'd bought the special folders and stuff for the certificates I bought and valued, and then the GRO started folding them to post. Beggars belief. I often wonder, if they were in the photographic business, whether they'd send people wedding photos the same way.

[jackthehat]

Ankou - International records can be a little more 'hit and miss', I'm afraid.
Some countries keep astonishing records but these are difficult to gain access to and others (especially some of the war-torn European countries) have thumping great holes, usually right where you need them too.

If you write down exactly what you know (or think you know) about each family member, it helps you identify the areas in which you can best direct your searches.....