There is a lot of competition for your attention and membership in the online #genealogy world. If you are just getting started building a #FamilyTree and you're not sure you want to make a big investment in your new hobby, I highly recommend FamilySearch because it requires NO SUBSCRIPTION! The National Genealogical Society has recommended this as their #1 site for free information.
You just create a free account and you will have access to thousands of records and other family trees that have already been created to compare your information to. From their website, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides FamilySearch free of charge to everyone, regardless of tradition, culture, or religious affiliation. FamilySearch resources help millions of people around the world discover their heritage and connect with family members."
Building your tree here is pretty straight forward and basic. This could be a good place to start, unless you want to tie a #DNA #test to the data you input, because they don't do DNA. Whether you build a tree here or not, this is a GREAT SOURCE of FREE RECORDS that you can download or print, and add to your paid subscription family tree site.
The generally acknowledged giant among the #genealogy sites is Ancestry.com.
According to TopTenReviews.com, it has the biggest set of records available online from all over the world. It has been around forever, so most of the kinks as far as being user-friendly have been worked out. They also have the biggest database of DNAtests, so you have a better shot of matching up with another tester.
However, it can get expensive fast.
Family Tree Magazine posted the latest subscription costs for the different sites as of April 2022, and Ancestry's annual subscription for US records only is $198.00 for six months. Checking the site today, you can get a World Access six month subscription for $239.94, and the top of the line All Access is $299.94 for six months. The All Access level includes free access to Newspapers.com (which they now own), and fold3.org, a site specializing in #military records, (which they now also own). There are #discounts for subscribing for the whole year at once, but don't forget there is a two week FREE TRIAL period which you can access to see if you like it before opening your wallet.
The latest site I have subscribed to is MyHeritage.com which is an annual subscription only site, but you can get a discount for the first year. Family Tree Magazine reported that as of April 2022, the basic subscription was $139, and the top of the line all the bells and whistles subscription is $299.00. They also have a large database (reportedly about 1/2 the size of Ancestry's), and offer DNA testing with a database of over 102 million. They also have a FREE TRIAL period. There is apparently a fun with photos type app that I have not taken advantage of yet. I'm just getting started with this on a friend's recommendation, but entering your family info seems pretty easy and I got some hints popping up right away.
A highly recommended site for EXPERIENCED familytree builders is Archives.com, which can be described as Ancestry Lite (although I'm sure they would not appreciate it. Shhh!). Ancestry bought the site in 2012. It has a great database where you can, "search more than 11.6 billion photos, newspapers, and vital records" but it does not have automatic pointing/matching hints that the other companies offer. You can upload an existing family tree GEDCOM to it to dig deep for other records, and then order (and pay for)copies of documents if available.
It also has a FREE TRIAL period, and it has the least expensive and shortest of the subscription packages, at $9.99 per month.
So, there you have the most often recommended familytreebuilding websites.
There are thousands of sites to be found with free information for you to use, but using these sites puts a lot of this info right at your fingertips. You can check out this National Genealogical Society website for links to a lot of great #FREE #INFO and #TOOLS.
Of course, if this all seems overwhelming or you get stuck, you can always consult a professional genealogist by emailing WhereIComeFromInfo@gmail.com (insert smiley face emoji here!). Your #initial analysis is FREE!
Thanks again for stopping by! Please like and share my blog or Facebook site, and drop me a line to share a story or question.
Leslie Ryan
WhoIComeFrom.com