Genealogy Help

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions regarding This Site

Which sites do you recommend for absolute newbie, only wishing to browse.

Google Photo Albums, no login.  Use the Family homepage (ie lepley.consultchris.us) for the list of names. Set a favorite on the family homepage or save the link in a tab somewhere to keep going back to it for the list of available albums.  Click the name of interest, then click on the first photo that comes up. I would start there.

Next level browsing would be the MacFamily tree.  Again, go to the family homepage for the list of names.Click the name of interest.  But then, don't click on the picture/album.  Scroll down a bit and click the link labeled Mactree or MacFamily tree.  Click continue if your browser pops a notice of a redirect to a website www.macfamilytree.com/regalranch/...  Everything from there is clickable, and lot of images and documents directly viewable if you scroll down past the dates and facts.  

Which links work without any login?

Many of the Genealogy Sites do require an account registered with them, even though they are free.  However, a few allow browse-only access without requiring a login:  

• Findagrave 

• Google Photo Album

• MacFamily Tree

• newspapers.com - though they are putting a limit to how many free page views. So maybe choose wisely before clicking.  And switch devices when you run out of free views.

• Newspaperarchive.com - No limit on article views (yet).

Which sites are free? 

Some of these websites have different tiers of functionality depending on whether a subscription has been purchased.

• Findagrave.  While to view graves and cemeteries is open to the public, even without an account, other functionality requires a free account.  All this functionality is still FREE.

  • Memorial management. Create a memorial in the case where one hasn't already been created.  Suggest edits to memorial data which is missing or incorrect. ie. birthplace

  • Photo management. Request a photo of a gravestone or  add your own photos relevant to the memorial. 

• FamilySearch.  Think of it as a wikipedia but instead of famous places or people, it's for all deceased people.  One page per deceased person and everyone contributes what they have to that page for that person.  Unlike other sites, it features a single "World Tree" where over a billion users collaborate on shared ancestral profiles rather than maintaining private, individual trees. Beyond records, it offers free tools for preserving family memories, including photo sharing, audio recordings, and private "Family Groups" for living relatives. 

• Google.  Google Photos App with your google account opens up interaction and organization options with these Google Albums.  You can comment on the pictures to add what you remember or provide corrections, which will be saved with the photo for reference later.  These collaborative albums allow multiple family members to contribute their own scanned images, making it easy to pool resources for specific surnames or research trips.

• MacFamily Tree.  If you have a macFamily tree account, I can grant your account access to update any of my MacFamily Tree files.

• Ancestry.com.  Ancestry technically has some functionality available for free accounts.  However, the frequent prompts to purchase subscription and other paywall blocks make it quite frustrating outside of viewing someone else's public already completed tree.  This is why I've been gradually moving away from storing my research primarily on Ancestry.  I use it for research, but then I move what i find over to FamilySearch.  

Contact Me for any updates, questions, or comments.