Ancestry I want help with a new site please help?

Question:

Ancestry I want help with a new site please help?

HELP!! I am tracing my family history and ancestry.com is the best site and wants like 200.00 a yr something like that I need a free site as good as ancestry.com (can't affords 200.00$) please help !!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: You can do your genealogy without ever using Ancestry.com, and in fact you could do it without ever using the internet. You can't, however, do it without spending money. Genealogy is a hobby just like anything else. You're eventually going to have to spend money. You don't hear people on the Golf board saying "I want to work on my swing, where can I find a golf course without greens fees, and free clubs?" =P

That said, the cheapER way to do this than using Ancestry.com is to use a combination of things. Vital documents will be key (such as virth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates). Your family will have some in their possession, and those that are not, you can request from the government (this will cost you money, note). Then use FamilySearch.com to see what you can find that matches up. You can take them on their word, or you can go to a Family History Center (they have them all over the world) and request the microfilm to see it for yourself. This, too, will cost you money, and you'll have to actually drive there and do some work.

It'll be cheaper than an Ancestry mebership though.

The only other suggestion I have is to call the local libraries and ask them if they have an Ancestry.com membership that you can use. You used to get Ancestry.com free at Family History Centers, but I hear that's changing because the rate they pay has gone up. (For you, it costs $200, libraries pay something like $2,000 to get use for anyone on their computers.) So this may make it harder to find a place with an institutional membership. Look up genealogical societies in your area, they are pretty likely to have a membership if they have a library of some sort. (In Burbank, CA, very near to where I live, there's an "Immigrant Genealogical Society" that has a library open like 3 days a week. That's the kind of place I'd call if I didn't have my own membership.)

Good luck.