What is a good way to find ancestors? for free? without downloading anything?

Question:

What is a good way to find ancestors? for free? without downloading anything?

i want to see if my estranged grandparents are dead. I only know thier first and last names and what city they lived in. I want a website that is easy and where I don't have t pay or download anything. Someone please help.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: If all you are looking for is verification that your estranged grandparents are dead, then the Social security Death index might be your best bet assuming that you live in the United states. Here is the link;

http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-b...

With that said, if you want to learn more, I would question both of your parents if that is possible and your brothers and sisters (if Applicable) Compile information on them. At the bare minimum you should get names, date of birth, place of birth, marriages, marriage dates and places and divorces (if applicable) dates of death and places of death.

There are a lot of genealogy sites on the internet, but without knowing where you are researching or names you are researching I can only give you a few.

There are message boards at

http://genforum.genealogy.com/

The have surname, state, county, country, and special interest boards. Type in a surname and let your fingers do the walking. People who frequent these boards are mostly genealogists and have an interest in the boards in one way or another. I have had a lot of success. Try to be specific though when you are posting a message. Try to let the reader know all of the information you can to prevent duplication of efforts.

Genealogy is not an instant gratification hobby. There is a lot of hunting and progress can sometimes be slow. I have a brick wall that I have been stuck at for several years. This is not uncommon. Just remember to document everything. This is so you are able to take the little pieces you have learned over time and put them together into a bigger picture and know EXACTLY where every little piece came from.

Another resource is the US Genweb project. There are pages for every state and for most counties. Keep in mind that some localities have a lot more information than others. This is a free website and is very dependent on the kindness of volunteers to further genealogical research.

Go to
http://www.usgenweb.com/

and follow the links. I hope this helps but if you can do the initial footwork to put together as much of the information you already know together, starting with yourself and working backwards, things will go a lot smoother than picking an arbitrary person and working from there. Good luck.