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How do I find free public records?

Where can I find access to public records or people searches that are free! Really free not just free to ask ?

  • real free searches not some service making you pay for what is free remember this info is public records and we do not have to pay for it

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    Public records are relatively new; even now not every one is a part of public records. You can say that public records are free, but someone has to pay for them. So, if you want a copy of a birth certificate, whether yours or someone else's, some one must pay for it. If you merely wish to do your ahnentafel, here are some sites and tips: You should start by asking all your living relatives about family history. Then, armed with that information, you can go to your public library and check to see if it has a genealogy department. Most do nowadays; also, don't forget to check at community colleges, universities, etc. Our public library has both www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com free for anyone to use (no library card required). Another place to check out is any of the Mormon's Family History Centers. They allow people to search for their family history (and, NO, they don't try to convert you). A third option is one of the following websites: http://www.searchforancestors.com/... http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739... www dot usgenweb dot com/ www dot census dot gov/ http://www.rootsweb.com/ www dot ukgenweb dot com/ www dot archives dot gov/ http://www.familysearch.org/ http://www.accessgenealogy.com/... http://www.cyndislist.com/ www dot geni dot com/ Cyndi's has the most links to genealogy websites, whether ship's passenger lists, ancestors from Africa, ancestors from the Philippines, where ever and whatever. Of course, you may be successful by googling: "john doe, born 1620, plimouth, massachusetts" as an example. Good luck and have fun! Check out this article on five great free genealogy websites: www dot associatedcontent dot com/article... Then there is the DNA test; if you decide you want to REALLY know where your ancestors came from opt for the DNA test. Besides all the mistakes that officials commonly make, from 10% to 20% of birth certificates list the father wrong; that is, mama was doing the hanky-panky and someone else was the REAL father. That won't show up on the internet or in books; it WILL show up in DNA. I used www.familytreedna.com which works with the National Geographics Genotype Program.

chubbyko... at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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Your local library, or the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Heart of Fire

I have a website that focuses on free genealogy resources. You might find it helpful to visit at http://www.genealogybeginner.com There are also a lot of great online resources that you don't have to pay for such as... http://www.familysearch.org/ http://www.geneanet.org/ and event http://www.gwest.org/gen_libs.htm Hope this helps. Good luck.

cclegg06

Search on free genealogy sites. There are some where you can ask questions pertaining to your family and some may already have been answered and are just there for you to search on. It depends on what public records you are looking for. You may have to visit courthouses, etc to get some of it. You library has a free subscription to two major genealogy sites. The only drawback is that you have to go to the library. It's not always easy and very time consuming work. Good luck.

Sprite

Hi, You asked, "where can I find access to public records or people searches that are free! Really free not just free to ask ? real free searches not some service making you pay for what is free remember this info is public records and we do not have to pay for it." Based on that, I'm guessing you're talking about the usual meaning of public records searches, i.e. not genealogical research but obtaining current information on living people. There are fewer free resources out there, of course, since there's less money in it for someone to operate such a business. But the biggest free resource I'm aware of is www.zabasearch.com. They try to steer you into a paid search, naturally, but there's loads of free information there. It's actually pretty useful as a free people locate. Most of what's left, in my opinion, is crap. Until you get to the one last, big option, that is, and that's the websites of mostly local governments. The difference between searching through government websites and a paid service is that you go to several government websites yourself and make the queries yourself. The downside is you have to Google around and get to know the actual names of the entities in the area you'd like to search. And then the records have to be online (you might be surprised how many are). But especially if you're looking for court records, in many cases those are online and free. And if you're not in a rural area (although in many cases even if you are) land ownership records are free. So it depends on if you'd like to put a little time and effort into it. The really good part is it is free. I hope that helps.

BillH

For the most comprehensive public records database containing all states and counties, try http://www.crimcheck.com has an extensive public records database that you can search for free. Good luck!

Kelsey

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