Genealogical work used to be equated to two words- tedious task. Not anymore. These days, if one is interested in knowing his roots, then all he has to do is sit in front of a computer and type a few keys.
There are several sites that provide free genealogy. Here is a short list that you could peruse and consider in starting your own ‘family tree’:
Possibly the crowd that is most interested in looking for their kindred dead is the Latter-day Saints. They think that genealogical work is an element of man’s salvation. Their belief is three-fold- missionary work, perfecting the saints (improving themselves while following the gospel) and redeeming the dead (here is where the genealogical works come in).
This feeling led to the manufacture of FamilySearch.org They have all the legal right to claim that they have the largest compilation of ‘free’ family tree, records on genealogy and history in the family in the whole world.
This site offers resources for African-American genealogy, listing of the family history sites ( found in LDS meeting houses or chapels) that are nearest to the researcher’s home, basics of genealogy, guides and maps. And similar to other free online sites, they, too, have free downloadable software (PAF or the Personal Ancestral File software).
The following sites (in no particular order) are likewise free sources of genealogical researches:
Access Genealogy- this site segregates records from Bibles, cemeteries, biographies, census, and even African-American records.
MyTrees.com- they have the so-called Ancestry Archive Search, MyTrees Plus (Search and Results), vital records and genealogy from countries like the U.S., New Zealand and Canada. There is in addition a death index for Social Security.
AncestrybyDNA.com- this is different from other genealogical sites because this concentrates on genetic genealogy. It is the ‘youngest’ among the kinds of genealogical searches. One can find his ancestors through genetic research and knowing their backgrounds (ethnic).
RootsWeb.com (by Ancestry.com)- it claims to be the oldest free site on genealogy. It offers resource tools, databases for census records, research on civil war, narratives of slaves, replace for 1890 census, periodical source (index), history of the ‘great’ migration and the biographical index for American genealogy.
Ancestorquest.com- this site has pointers and tips on doing genealogical work, it also has links to several races like African- American citizens, Native Americans, even Hispanic links. A researcher could also publish his genealogical sites.
Genebase.com- concentrates on several areas of genealogy like analysis of DNA, family trees and finding ancestors through last name search. Under this, we can find the famous DNA Ancestry Project.
Ancestry.co.uk (for United Kingdom and Ireland)- has a 14-day free trial. It is the site for the biggest collection of records from UK. It is additionally contains the census records from 1841-1901. Genealogical experts are likewise on the standby to help people who are novices at genealogy.
Surnamesite.com- this site incorporates archives of wills, obituaries, biographies, bible and funeral records, all having surnames on them.
These are just some of the top sites for free genealogy. You see, knowing who you are ought not to be a matter of choice but a matter unavoidably. A person’s roots could define who he is or what he could be. Whether you agree or not isn’t the question. The question is, are you willing to let the past stay in the dust, or are you thinking about satisfying dig through and use it to motivate your future?