(There’s a FREE gift towards the end of this post, so please read on!)
One of the most common genealogy searches made on Google is something along the lines of “trace your family tree for free online”. It seems that there are many people eager to find their ancestors, but feel unable to pay the subscription fees for the major search websites.
So, is it possible to trace your family tree for free? Is free genealogy a thing?
Well, there are some search websites that are free to use, that is true (you can see links to these at the end of this post). You can also use the county record offices for free – though of course getting there can be costly.
But (you knew there was a ‘but’ coming didn’t you?), I have to say, that if you want to trace your ancestors with any degree of accuracy and detail, I would say, ‘No, free genealogy is not really possible’. And if you don’t want to trace ancestors with accuracy and detail, I would want to ask, ‘Why do it at all?’
The trouble is, many of the so-called free websites are just free to search, and you have to pay to view the original document – or you can only view a transcript. If you are going to take your ancestry tracing seriously, you really need to be viewing original documents, and that does, I’m afraid, cost money.
So, that was the bad news. And the good news? (I heard you ask) Well, it is possible to trace your ancestors on a budget. It will probably be a very slow process, but it is certainly possible to spend no more than £20 to £30 per month, which would include one subscription, plus a little extra for the occasional certificate or other ordered documents.
If you are very clever, you could book two weeks off, then take out one of the free 14 day trial subscriptions, and use those two weeks to use as much as you can of the free online records, and get as much as you can out of the website before the subscription starts.
However, if you have a gap between the earliest date you know of your family, and the 1911 census, then you will probably need to order at least one birth or marriage certificate (£11 for a postal copy at the time of writing) to establish the links back to that census so that you can view it on the free trial website. Or, you may find that the information in the 1939 Register (if it’s included in the free trial) may help you there anyway.
If you want to trace your ancestry in the cheapest way possible, you’ll also need to know what you’re doing, because you don’t want to use up your free trial wasting hours and hours of search time.
FREE GIFT
If you are completely new to genealogy, I would therefore strongly recommend that you learn how to do it first. And to this end, I have a free gift for you.
I run a beginner’s course in tracing UK ancestors at Udemy.com. This usually sells for £24.99, but for 5 lucky readers of this blog, I am offering this course absolutely FREE. Follow this link:
TRACING ANCESTORS IN THE UK – FREE
If you are too late to get this for free, do check the course link anyway, as Udemy often run their own discounts, so you may be able to get it at a low price.
In return for this gift, I would ask that you leave a review once you’ve finished the course. Thank you.
As for the websites, here’s my list of free and subscription websites (where you can get a free trial):
FREE GENEALOGY WEBSITES
FREE UKGEN Projects:
FreeBMD: http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
This is a free SEARCH service for Civil Registration (Birth, Marriage and Death) indexes that have been held in England from July 1837. However, once you have found the entry you are looking for, you will only have an index reference number. You will need this to order the relevant certificate from the General Registry Office. Each certificate can be ordered online at a cost of £11.00 for UK residents (see below).
FreeCEN: http://www.freecen.org.uk/
A free census search engine. Currently, only 1841 to 1891 censuses are available, and it is not complete. The results will give you a transcript, which is very useful, but you will need to see an original document using subscription websites at a later date. And if you’re just starting, you will really need the 1911 and 1901 census records at one of the subscription websites.
FreeREG: http://www.freereg.org.uk/
A free parish register search engine. Again, it is not complete, and you will only see a transcript in the results. This is very useful for initial searches, and the transcript usually gives a lot of information, but you must look for the original document at a later date.
FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/
Probably the best known and most useful of the free-to-search websites holding the largest collection of free genealogical data on the web. This is the service initially set up by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose mission is to connect families and ancestors all over the world. The service is totally free and you can make searches all over the world (though of course not all countries have complete records). Results are in transcript form, so you will need to search for original records later.
FamilyHistoryUK http://www.familyhistory.uk.com/
A community portal where it is free to post details of ancestors you are searching for. It also has links to free search websites – but most of these are free trials for subscription sites, which I have listed below.
National Archives www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
This site has lots of useful, free information about tracing ancestry. You can carry out a free search using their Discovery catalogue. Some documents can then be viewed online for a small fee – but you will find that many larger documents are usually only available at the National Archives at Kew – or at various record offices around the country. However, sometimes the information given on the index results can be quite useful without actually ordering the document.
SUBCRIPTION WEBSITES
Most paid websites have a choice of a membership fee where you pay a certain amount either annually or monthly – or a ‘pay-as-you-go’ system whereby you just pay for credits as and when you need them. If you are planning on spending time on your family history very regularly, at least a few hours a month, then a subscription is your best choice. However, if you are only going to be able to spend a little time now and then, it may be better to consider using pay-as-you-go credits.
FREE TRIAL WEBSITES
Ancestry CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO FREE TRIAL
Probably the best known genealogy website due to its strong TV advertising and large collection of indexed material and original sources. They have a 14 day free trial, after which you can pay for a year’s subscription, or in monthly payments.
Ancestry also has a service which allows people to upload their family trees which can then be searched and viewed by other members. Be very careful with this. Finding your family on someone else’s tree is NOT research. You have no idea whether their tree is properly researched or accurate. If you find an ancestor on someone else’s tree be sure to back up your finding by doing the necessary research.
FindMyPast CLICK HERE AND SEARCH FOR THE FREE TRIAL LINK
A good site with many indexes and original sources, and also has a 14 day free trial. Much of their data is also available on Ancestry, and Ancestry probably has the larger collection. However, FindMyPast has a better newspaper archive and very good military records. The subscription rates are slightly cheaper than Ancestry – but if you’re serious about family history it’s well worth using both – or subscribing to one and using pay-as-you-go on another.
SUBSCRIPTION WEBSITES with Free Search – No Free Trial
http://www.ukcensusonline.com/
In summary, you can trace your family tree for free online for a short while, which will help you understand the process and find out what’s out there, but if you intend to do this seriously and make sure you are tracing the right family, it will be essential to spend money. So, make sure you give yourself a monthly budget, learn how to do it, take it slowly, and you will have a hobby that will give you pleasure for many years to come.
