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What are good FREE geneological websites?

propita

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Rear Admiral
I wanted to look stuff up and realized that I have no idea where to start, aside from some names.

The persons I am most interested lived in 19th and early 20th century Rhode Island. Tiny State.
 
Cue T'Bonz in three ... two ... one ...

(Seriously, anything you wanna know about genealogy, she can answer. She's an expert in these things, and loves to help people learn about the subject.)
 
I'm not T'Bonz, but got really into genealogical research a couple years back, so I can probably help a little bit. :)

A site I used a great deal was Cyndi's List: http://www.cyndislist.com/ A huge list of links to resources for just about every era and locale you could want.

The Rhode Island specific link is: http://www.cyndislist.com/ri.htm

Another very helpful, free site is the LDS family history site: http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp It's a great place to start, with an easy to use search. It's not limited to just Mormons either.

It would probably be worthwhile to contact the Rhode Island historical society, and if you know the city/town your ancestors were from, contact historical societies or libraries in that specifica are also.

Good luck! I had so much fun researching my family history--it really became engrossing and so many fascinating stories turned up. :)
 
This was something I was going to ask T'Bonz about myself, as I'm even more interested after my trip to the UK and Ireland. With previous searches, I've appreciated FamilySearch - I'm very thankful that the LDS church has such a thing for family, and provides the service... makes a good starting point.
 
Okay, already I now have more than I ever did... a set of great-great-grandparents that I'd never been able to name.

Thank you T'Bonz.
 
Thanks!

I wanted to look up my Mom's father, and she got me a copy of his death certificate, naming his parents. Her parents divorced when she was a baby, so she never met him or even saw a picture of him. She was curious enough to want to know if her parents were married when she was conceived and born (they were), and if he's still alive (he's not).
 
Not sure if this counts, but my sister and I have used geni.com, though it's more for family trees. My parents and siblings are first-generation Asian-American immigrants, so I figured it would be good to list the generations beginning with the oldest to the youngest (my nieces and nephews).
 
I've managed to go back another generation recently on my dad's side, so am now six generations back from me, sitting at 1815. My mother's side I'm stuck in the 1840s.

It's damn hard to find someone called 'Slater' in England during that time.

My wife however struck paydirt and is somewhere in 12th century France, having descended from the King's Daughters in France/Canada.
 
I'm impressed at how many people can go back several generations and find blood ties to Napoleon Bonaparte or King Tut. Hell, I don't even know where my last name originated. It's not like it's pretty common, and when I check on-line, there are very few matches or links, especially having migrated from an Asian country. All I know is tha I'm (probably) of 100% Malayo-Polynesian blood, having no Spanish mix despite the 300-year occupation.
 
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No, I did, too.

I have a Great+ Grandfather who served in the Civil War. I have his discharge papers and some other documentation. He fought for the North, of course, and was wounded in a battle outside of Richmond; luckily, he returned home safely, though somewhat disabled, and lived to a pretty good age. :bolian:

I'd love to find out if I had relatives who fought in the Revolution.
 
i'm not the only one who read that as gyno then?

Nope. I definitely had to do a double-take there.

I've always been mildly curious about my genealogy, but I've never really investigated it in-depth. Perhaps I'll check out some of those sites and do so.
 
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