Genealogy Chat

Hi all, could I start a discussion for me and probably countless others? There are loads of webistes for genealogy, all different, what do you all use and recommend? As a newcomer, I have used findmypast.com becuase unused credits last for 3 months instead of 7 days, but I have found it inaccurate for census returns, and long-winded and expensive for tracing marriages. I have experimented with freebmd but so far haven't found anything on it which is actually free! I also bought credits on genesreunited but managed to blow them in no time without achieving much at all. What do you all think about the differeny sites there are? Duncan

What country are you focusing on? Helena

lots of threads about this ancestry you can have free bmd and 1881 census

Hi Helena. England so far, but I have a scottish grandfather and my mother in law was Austrian, so I will be getting more adventurous eventually! Duncan

There are some good Scottish ones for when you need them. The main one is Scotlandspeople dot gov dot uk which is pay to view if your stuck there is another very helpful site where you can get expert help. Its http://scotfamtree(.)11(.)forumer(.)com/viewforum(.)php?f=2 Remove brackets and note no www The sites changing at present so if you've problems finding it IM me when you need it. Good luck Helena

Duncan I have nudged Deb's thread about best websites. I am not sure what you are doing on FreeBMD, but it is just that, entirely free. It is an index of births, marriages and deaths registered in England & Wales from 1837 until about 1915 so far. You obviously have to buy the certificate to get all the details. It is also fully searchable by name, Reg. District, County etc., unlike Ancestry. Ancestry however has the complete index, which is also free to search from 1837 until 2004. Susan

Duncan, freebmd is FREE its transcribed by volunteers for bmd - are you making the mistake of not scrolling down when you get to the page and entering info in the ancestry advert box at the top? There is a long thread on here about useful websites. Most of us agree we couldnt manage without ancestry*co*uk (change asterisks to full stops) it is much better value than buying credits, if you enter that addy you can get a free trial - census 1841-1901 plus the bmd index and lots and lots of other stuff for you to play with at will 24/7. (Including Welsh and Scottish) Rootsweb and chat are good sites, National Archives to search for wills that you can download and military records, A2A for all sorts of records, Oldbaileyonline, and read EVERY thread on here to collect more sites that are useful. Google for information on everything and anything including names you are searching for and areas etc. Get the ancestry sub and you will be busy for weeks - believe me. In fact, while you are at it, get a decent family tree program because you will regret having one just on here - go to twr computing or S and N Genealogy or just google Family Tree Maker 2006 - with a lot of them you get a month or more free sub on ancestry and some sites have the program for just a tenner at the moment (including a months free sub for ancestry) - bargain.

Hi all, thanks for your replies, ancestry here I come. And freebmd too, I must have been doing something wrong. Duncan

Don't forget LDS site http://www.familysearch.org/ Roy

Nudge for later

Try ukbmd too. you may find that the marriages give names of bride and groom together. Heather

Nudge