Where can I find FREE family ancestry online?

[Buddha]

I want to find the Paradis family ancestry, where we originated, what we did long ago, etc. but every site I visit insists on me paying some outragous amount for information and a certified "family crest on tooled leather" or other such nonsense. If anybody knows, I would be very thankful.

[J J]

Familysearch.org 100% FREE search. Great site. Good luck.

[Evil Mouse]

What!!

[Tony]

I've tried but it seems as soon as you get somewhere there's a catch, you have to subscribe to get any further. Sorry, I cannot help you any father, I mean further!

[Ted Pack]

If you want to type in your name somewhere and get a 12-generation tree, skip the rest of this. I can show you where to dig, but you'll have to buy your own shovel and do the work yourself.

As a side note, before I start, since you are in favor of free sites, contact the US Gen Web administrator for your county (Link below) and offer to help transcribe records. They are in favor of free data too. The more people they have to help, the more data they can put on-line for free.

Buying a shovel: If you get serious you'll need a genealogy program. Trying to do family research without a genealogy program is like trying to write a novel with a pencil and yellow pad, instead of a word processor. I like Roots Magic. Family Tree Maker is the market leader. Both cost around $29. The Mormons will let you download PAF for free. It is clunky, but it is free. You can sometimes find old versions of FTM or Family Origins (FO is the predecessor of RM) in bargin bins at CostCo.

These may help get you started.

http://www.cyndislist.com/
(240,000+ links, all cross-indexed.)

http://www.familysearch.com
(Mormon's mega-site)

http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.c...in/igm.cgi
(450,000,000+ entries, of varying quality)

http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/default.aspx?ln=
Surname meanings and origins

United States only:

http://www.usgenweb.net/
(Subdivided into state sites, which all have county sites.)
(The Canadians have Canadian Gen Web, by province)

http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi
(Social Security Death index - click on "Advanced".)

http://find.person.superpages.com/
(US Phone book, for looking up distant cousins)

Note:

You won't find living people on any of the sites except the phone book one. You will have to find your grandparents' or great grandparents' birth dates and maiden names somewhere besides the Internet.

The free sites are supported by advertising, just like TV. You can't watch the Super Bowl without seeing a beer commercial, and you can't surf for dead relatives without seeing an Ancestry advertisement. Don't complain about advertisements. They bring you the "free" sites. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

[spludder]

Paradis
This interesting and unusual surname, recorded in London church registers from the mid 16th Century under the
variant spellings Parradice, Parradyce, Paradis, Parades etc., derives from the Old English "pardis", from the
church Latin "paradisus", ultimately from the Greek "paradeisos" meaning garden, and was originally given as a
locational name to someone from any of the various places thus called. These places include Paradis near
Burnham, (Somerset); in Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire); in Newcastle - upon Tyne, (Northumberland) and south
east of Gloucester, (Gloucestershire). On November 16th 1564 Rychard Paradyse and Elizabeth Savage were
married in St. Dionis Backchurch, London. Early 18th Century records show the introduction of Paradis and
Parades as a French Huguenot surname - probably also of locational origin from some enchanting spot in France
familiarly known as Paradis from the Old French "paradis". On June 10th 1725 Marie Magdelaine, daughter of
Nicholas parades and Marie Joyeux, was christened in the French Huguenot Church, Threadneedle Street, London.
A coat of arms granted to the De Paradis family from Lyons, Huguenot settlers in Ireland, depicts a gold cross
between four birds of Paradise, having brillantly coloured ornate plumage, on a blue shield. The first
recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of
Margaret paradise, (marriage to Richard Heyborne), which was dated
May 24th 1552, All Hallows Honey Lane, London, during the reign of
King Edward V1, known as "The Boy King", 1547 - 1553.

[ruth s]

Try looking at the web site http://www.familysearch.com
This is a Mormon genealogy site but it is very good and it is free.
I am big on googling. Type in the family name with genealogy at the end. You might find a family member.
You could try Roots web and Cindy's list.
Do you know what state or county your family came from? Go to the genealogy sites for these areas, they are free.

[John L]

http://www.familysearch.com is a terrific free site.