family ancestry

This is the year I've decided to trace and record as much information as I can find on my family ancestry. I've googled and found many resources such as ancestry.com, worldvita records, family search etc. Of course none of these are really free. I don't mind paying for information, but don't know which one is really best for the money. Many of my ancestors were born in Germany, Prussia, etc. I know you tuggers are full of information, so tell me what you've used and what really was worth the bucks. thanks and Happy New Year
Pat:

Genealogy suggestions for beginners

Have you looked at www.cyndislist.com?

Actually, most of the information on www.familysearch.com is free. However, currently, to get copies of the original records that document the information in databases such as the International Genealogical Index, you have to either visit the Family History Library in Salt Lake City or rent (for $5.50? for three weeks) the microfilm at a Family History Center at an LDS church near where you live. Or you could try ordering the records from the original repository.

George Schweitzer has some very good books on genealogical research in PA, Germany, etc. His videos convey a lot of useful information in an very entertaining style. http://www.yogs.com/OtherPubs/GeorgeSchweitzer.htm

If you are just starting out, my recommendations would be to

1. Interview your oldest ancestors and ask them to identify people in family photos, show you family Bibles, etc.

2. Keep careful records of your research. Bygones is a freeware software program for keeping track of your research. It is not easy to use at first but if you use it consistently, you will have an excellent record of how, when and where you obtained every piece of information in your family history. http://www.bygonessoftware.com/ Clooz is an inexpensive program for keeping track of one's research. www.clooz.com Some good books on organizing your research are Dollarhide's Managing a Genealogical Research Project and Carmack's Organizing Your Family History Research. Choose an approach that makes sense to you and use it consistently. Bygones and Clooz are meant to be used in conjunction with a lineage-linked genealogy program such as Family Tree Maker, Personal Ancestral File (free at http://www.familysearch.org/), Legacy, The Master Genealogist, etc.

3. Be sure to document every piece of information with a copy or transcript of the original document whenever possible. Do not assume that someone else's research is correct until you have verified it yourself. Start with your own birth certificate. Get your parents' marriage records, birth records and death records (if deceased). Elizabeth Shown Mills has written a book, Evidence that has numerous examples of how to cite one's sources.

4. IMHO, the price of Ancestry is worth it for the census images. If you can't afford Ancestry, check to see if your local library has a free subscription to Heritage Quest. You may have to go to the library to use this resource, though.

5. Check out the Godfrey Library at www.godfrey.org. The Godfrey Library has many resources available for a relatively low annual membership fee. Many of these are online and free elsewhere, though.

Hope these suggestions are helpful.

try these

ancestry.com
geneology.com
rootsweb.com

You can access Ancestry and nearly all the images at your local Family History Center. I believe they are still negotiating Canadian censuses, but everything else is there. And it's free.
I have spent the last 15 years working on my German ancestors, and have made some trips to Germany and been to Salt Lake City 4 times.

You people amaze me. Family research is something I've not been able to "get into." My sister does it. She even volunteers at the Family History Library (the big one) in SLC. She has tried to get me to help a couple of times but each time I try, I find myself getting amazingly frustrated and even angry. Wow! Where does that come from? I like to hear the stories she tells of ancestors, but I just can't seem to do the research.

More power to you and best of luck in your search. FWIW, we also have family from Prussia. If you want my sister to contact you, let me know. I can't promise anything as she is very busy but I could try.

EAM, thanks for those links. Very sppppoooky, I found my family (both my parents' family and my own family) on one of them, all loaded in via Family TreeMaker. I have a cousin who was very involved in family research for a long time and I guess he filled it all in. And then posted it on the Internet. It's a strange feeling seeing it all laid out there.

I've had my DNA done. YES! And found a lost relative. See if there is a surname project for your last name www.familytreedna.com/

While they are not free, they are the best value when you have a blocked tree. There is tons of information on genetic DNA, but this one is easy to understand!
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_4144963

As for free, what the others said... and google, google and google!

Whoa! You had your DNA done? That is true dedication to the cause of genealogical research!

:whoopie: Wow,
what a wealth of information. You tuggers always come through. Now to get busy. Rosepink, all I know is that my paternal great-grandmother was born in Prussia. I'd like to find out when she immigrated. Thank you all so much. This is really exciting and I'm finding a chance to renew memories and heal losses.
Pat

One day, totally on a WHIM I googled my name, then my mother's name, then my grandfather's name. Let me tell you, there are people out there who are related to you or someone you know doing this research. I think you will find Immigration Records very valuable. Every immigrant who came to America seemed to be recorded along with some personal history.

Specific suggestions

stugy said:

..all I know is that my paternal great-grandmother was born in Prussia. I'd like to find out when she immigrated.
Pat

Click to expand...

If you know where and when she died, request a copy of her death certificate and obtain a copy of her obituary. They may tell you where and when she was born and the names of her parents. Her obituary may give the names of her siblings. If possible, get their death records and obituaries as well. The birth and death certificates of her children may (or may not) give her place of birth.

You may be able to find a volunteer who can look up her obituary for you if you don't live in the area where she died. Here are some sites to check for such a volunteer:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~obitl/
http://www.raogk.org/

Please read the guidelines at these sites before submitting a request.

Was she alive and in the US in between 1900 and 1930? See if you can find her in the 1900, 1910,1920, and 1930 census schedules (online via Ancestry and Heritage Quest and Genealogy.com). If you do not want to pay for a subscription to these sites, see if one or more is available via your local library or at a Family History Center near you. The population schedules for the 1900-1930 census records all contain columns for year of immigration and naturalization status.


If she is came to the US at the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century (abt. 1892-1924) check the (free) Ellis Island database. http://www.ellisisland.org/

Check in the immigration and passenger list databases on Ancestry. You might be able to find her name on a passenger list from Europe to the US.

Look for her in www.familysearch.org You might find a entry from a church record for her birth or her baptism in a church in Prussia.

Hope you have success finding her!