Money Cook

Why do geneology forums and websites charge money to search for you family history?

I just don't think it's very fair! It's information regarding your families history and some company has their hands on it and wants to charge you money just to see some names and dates. It's ridiculous in my opinion. How can you get around all that?

Public Comments

1. I am not sure how to get around it, but the company provides a service and if you want them to provide that service for you, you will have to pay for it.
2. MY mom has been doing that stuff for a couple of decades now on a few of our family trees. Retirees need things, and it keeps her mind active. The Mormons yeah, the religious folks give it up for free and no they do not try to convert you. I do not know if it is on there web databases or if you need to visit a hall of records, but they track it all. Tribalpages.com has stuff also. Mom found that and she has gotten data from there.
3. They are charging you for the convenience of using their websites. For instance, Ancestry.Com has had people to go into libraries, state vital records offices, county offices and obtaiin vital records and put them on line. They have also obtain military records and immigrations records. That cost money and they have to pay people to do that. They also have to pay people to program the computer system and maintain it. You can still get the information for free if you want to travel all over the country go to county offices, state offices and libraries. It will cost you GASOLINE, motel or hotel rooms, eating out expenses. You can write and you will be expected to pay those offices for looking up the records and making copies for you and then after sending a SASE you might not hear from them. Now, the family trees on the genealogy websites are subscriber submitted. That means someone else has done the work. Also you must not take as absolute fact everything you see in family trees on ANY website, free or not free. Usually, they are not documented or poorly documented. Even if you see the same information on the same people from many different subscribers that is no guarantee at all it is correct. A lot of people copy without verifying. There are errors in online family trees. However, what you are paying for is the convenience of going into the records sites like Ancestry.Com has obtained in the convenience of your own home. You can still get them without subscribing to their website but you have to go and get them. Now, your public library might have a subscription to Ancestry.Com that you can use during their hours.
4. > How can you get around all that? Fly or drive to the nearest city that has a national Archives, check into a hotel, have a good breakfast, take a taxi to the building. Find the microfilm reel that you are interested in, put it in the reader and start transcribing. Go back to the hotel when the archives close at 5, repeat the next day. Repeat the whole process in City #2 if the archives at City #1 don't have, for instance, US Passport Applications 1827 - 1955. Ancestry is selling convenience, not data. On the same note, if you tell me what county you live in, I can send you a link, so you can transcribe obituaries for people, so they can see them for free. I do it 1 - 5 times month in my county, and I'm a piker. There are people on find-a-grave who do 10 - 20 a day. If you aren't willing to do that - or some other act of genealogical kindness - stop complaining.
5. Most of them are professional researchers and they are in it as a business. You have to pay for their services. It is as simple as that. However, if you will go to the phone book and look up The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Family History Center, you will find volunteers willing to help you with your family research. I am such a volunteer. I go to my local FHC every Thursay evening to help others or to do my own research if no patrons are there.
6. In simplest terms.. they (or someone else) has done the work already... and has paid for the server space, etc to store it. Not all websites charge.. those that do, have valid cause. What you can do is go and find the records yourself, by time spent at the library, travel to the court house (across country), etc. Trust me on this.. finding it on your own is NOT free. It takes work and money. I have personally done it. Sorry. I realize it is not what anyone likes to hear, but it is truth.
7. Unfortunately people who gather, research and distribute information share the same horrible trait as your pets: they need to be fed.