FamilySearch is a free online genealogy resource that contains over 1 billion family profiles contributed by employees and volunteers. It allows users to search records to build their family tree and see if other family members have added information about ancestors. FreeBMD is a charity providing free access to over 400 million transcriptions of birth, marriage and death records from the UK. The USGenWeb Project is a volunteer-led database containing genealogical information for every US state and county. WorldGenWeb is a non-profit with volunteers worldwide that provide access to genealogical and historical records from countries around the world.

1. DR. LINDA ELLIS
TOP 5 FREE
RESOURCES FOR
RESEARCHING
FAMILY HISTORY

2. INTRODUCTION
With all the genealogy kits out there today,
researching family history has never been easier.
Researching your family history has many
benefits, such as knowing your family’s place of
origin, health concerns and family connections.
It’s also a fun project you can do with your family.

3. Many of these kits are expensive.
However, there are online resources that
are free and easy to access. Let’s take a
look at the top five free genealogy
resources.

4. FAMILYSEARCH
This is a non-profit family history organization
consisting of employees and volunteers who work
to preserve and share the largest genealogical
records in the world. FamilySearch searches
through their collection of records to piece
together your family tree. It has over one billion
profiles and you can see if other family members
have contributed about your ancestors. This
organization is associated with The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

5. FREEBMD
For those researching their family history in the UK,
this is a great resource. FreeBMD is a charity that
consists of volunteers who have created
400,000,000 transcriptions of public records starting
in the 19th century. The public records are from
government sources, churches and other institutions
(e.g. births and deaths). In 2014, FreeBMD changed
their name to Free UK Genealogy and 2016 became
a charitable incorporated organization.

6. THE USGENWEB PROJECT
A group of volunteers supports this extensive
database that provides genealogy information for
every U.S. state and county. The project began in
1996 with a few genealogists led by Jeff Murphy
and was only for the state of Kentucky. Since then,
the project has grown to cover all of the states. The
volunteers have created and maintained thousands
of websites, which include query boards, county
and state histories, research tips and helpful links.

7. WORLDGENWEB
This project is a non-profit organization consisting of
volunteers that provide worldwide access to genealogical and
historical records. WorldGenWeb was created by Dale
Schneider in 1996 to help fellow genealogists research their
family histories online. As the project grew, so did the number
of volunteers. Each country in the world has a website that is
hosted by researchers.

8. CASTLE GARDEN
It was the first immigration processing center
located on The Battery, the “birthplace park”
in New York City in 1693. The Battery and
Castle Garden provide a rich history of New
York City before Ellis Island. In 2005, The
Battery Conservancy digitized the
immigration records and created
castlegarden.org to help those searching for
ancestors who were processed at Castle
Garden.

9. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
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