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Genealogy
Original poster

Can anyone recommend a site please?

16 replies

SunshineCake · 28/04/2021 13:59

By chance I have found out the names of my paternal grandparents and his date and place of birth but only her year of birth.

I see there are quite a few sites for tracing relatives information but with them all needing a bank card for registration can someone recommend a good one that is worth paying for please ?

TIA.

OP posts:
LIZS · 28/04/2021 14:06

Depends where you are looking for but most sites have a free access period (including Bank Holidays) or can be used via libraries. You can also find associated addresses and sometimes nok by looking at will/probate records on .gov if you have a year of death. Copies of wills are £1.50.

Original poster
SunshineCake · 28/04/2021 14:21

Thank you. I'm looking for dates of a marriage and three deaths plus a couple of names. I'm finding it quite tricky tbh.

OP posts:
LIZS · 28/04/2021 14:24

Try freebmd to get an idea of date(it narrows by quarter) and location then the wills/probate for actual date of death/address. Post 1910 you can find births with mother's maiden name.

Original poster
SunshineCake · 28/04/2021 14:57

Thank you very much. I'll take a look.

OP posts:
Original poster
SunshineCake · 01/05/2021 17:21

@LIZS hello again. Do you know if there was a limit to how much you could see for free as it let me see some things and now it says no without payment?

OP posts:
LIZS · 01/05/2021 17:27

Not sure I'm afraid. I've been using a library version and it tends to limit fair access daily and monthly, until it resets. Some records are dependant on a subscription level. I think this free offer was for census information.

PresentingPercy · 01/05/2021 17:30

You can do a trial maybe? Try Ancestry. I’ve had good results with them.

Original poster
SunshineCake · 01/05/2021 19:39

I have found out some information so I appreciate you telling me about it @LIZS. I found out my children's names were used way back when so that was a nice surprise.

Went wrong somewhere as it looked like my uncle had married someone else but I can't work it out.

I worry about doing trials as don't like putting in my card details but I'll have a think. Thanks.

OP posts:
meg70 · 04/05/2021 16:14

Ancestry library edition is free at the moment whilst libraries are closed, if you have a library account. Go to your county/city library website and you should see a link if they are providing it for free. As far as I know it's usually free to access in the libraries on their computers when they are open.

ThePittts · 04/05/2021 16:19

Familysearch.org is a free site, and I have found a lot of info on there, worth a look anyway

Original poster
SunshineCake · 04/05/2021 18:10

Thank you @meg70 and @ThePittts. I will have a look now.

OP posts:
MissingInActon · 06/05/2021 17:06

The best one for you may depend on where you are geographically. I think Find My Past is fab, but almost all of my ancestors are dull stay-at-homes from England. If you need a more eclectic range of databases, you may find Ancestry better for you, plus Ancestry allows access to other people's (public) trees, which can be very useful if you start to go back further in time (though needs to be treated with caution as lots of people make mistakes, which then get replicated in the trees of other people who copied them!).

I pay for basic access to Ancestry and second tier access to FMP and think they're good value, although I will probably discontinue Ancestry once I've uploaded my own tree. I did a free trial for both originally and could see very quickly that (a) they were worth it and (b) the task at hand was going to take a lot longer than 14 days!

Original poster
SunshineCake · 06/05/2021 18:25

I am hundreds of miles away from my ancestors but both sides were pretty close though I'm only really looking at one side of my family. I didn't really get very far and have found it pretty confusing so it might have to stay a something I'd like to do but can't figure it out!

OP posts:
LoveFall · 06/05/2021 19:02

I use Ancestry and find it good. I have also used My Heritage, which has more European information.

I have done DNA on both sites and on Ancestry most of my matches are UK or American/Canadian. On My Heritage most of my matches are in the Baltics (Finland and Sweden mainly) as My Heritage is used more there. I am starting to think I am related to 1/2 of Finland (Mom's parents immigrated to Canada from Finland).

Saker · 10/05/2021 08:38

@SunshineCake - you can get quite a lot of information for free. The GRO index (you need to register) allows you to look up births and deaths. As LIZS says FreeBMD allows you to look up registered births, marriages and deaths. FamilySearch is also free, though you have to register. There is also a site called FREECEN which means you can look up the census, but the records may not be complete as it is a voluntary database. The census has been taken every 10 year from 1841 and is available up to 1911 at the moment. If you can find your grandparents in that it will give you information about their places of birth, you might see other members of the family etc.
I have access to Findmypast and Ancestry. If you would like me to look up anything for you I am happy to if you PM me names.

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