Been using some of my "down time" to start working on the family tree. Have always wanted to verify certain family myths.

I am using Ancestry.com to compile info and create the tree. Only using the free portion now. I did find a very helpful look up site that essentially gives me the info I need (the info Ancestry.com would like payment for:-)). Downside is I have to scroll through all the info, whereas Ancestry does that work for you.

I have made it back to two sets of 3rd Great Grandparents on my Dad's side and one 3rd Great Grandparent on my Mom's. My Mom is the the last of her family and my Dad's 2 older brothers are still living.

Also discovered that my Dad's side of the family has a proclivity for multiple marriages (I've been down that road twice.:-)) so I come by it naturally.

Thought we could share sites and even names if we dicover any connections.

Surnames: Coffey Anders Hamilton LaPoint(e)

Sites I use:

Ancestry.com
http://www.ancestry.com/

FamilySearch.org
https://www.familysearch.org/

Online Death Indexes
http://www.deathindexes.com/

This last site has been great for finding family cemeteries, photos and filling in dates. YMMV

Anywho, thought it might give us another diversion here. Post up links and info if you choose.
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I did a lot on ancestry.com during the free trial a couple years ago. Now that you have to pay for it I slowed down a lot since they don't give the good stuff for free. I tried searching some of the federal sites that claim to have the info for you but they end up linking back to ancestry.com.
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Two of my go to sites:

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
Many many web sites of accumulated data

And
The US GenWeb Project
A free site maintained by volunteers, organized by state and county. Don't forget to search the message boards.

Good luck hunting.:-)
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FamilySearch gives you that info for free.:-)

Everyone of the source docs for my "hints" I have been able to research on the other site. Only thing I really miss out on by not paying is the ability to look at other members trees and the excess free time I would have by not searching thousands of entries.:-)

You do not, at least I didn't have to, sign up for the trial to use the basic tree compiliation.
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Have used the Tennessee GenWeb info as it seems my family dots alot of the hills in NE Tennessee.
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I should also add, a lot of the info compiled out there is done by volunteers. So if you use any sites that accept donations, a few bucks can always help out.:-)
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My family has two extensive family tree's set up. Pretty cool with old photos. We use Geni and Ancestry. Our family tree goes back to around 1860's I think. We came to the USA around 1900.
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Findagrave.com It's free there are over 56 million records and you can contribute by fulfilling tombstone picture requests
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I would also lime to add that I love using ancestry and keeping the tree online because the. You can invite other family members to add in data directly to the tree or even help you search
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I've been able to get my family back to Hugh who came from Scotland and fought in the Revolutionary War with a Massachusettes Regiment. Pretty much can't really search anymore as I can't trace him in Scotland. Have researched other branches waaay back to the Middle Ages.
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A distant Aunt spent the majority of her life researching her family's roots. She traced back our history over 2200 years to the second migration of Polynesian's from Tahiti to Hawaii.

For serious research beyond what is available on the web many head to Salt Lake City and the Family History Library. There are branch libraries in many states.
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That's really cool! My parents' families are huge, and many of my cousins, etc., have tried to track our tree but usually get stymied in Europe--Hungary & the old Czech Republic, or thereabouts.

My wife has been able to trace hers back to the Mayflower on one side (including a relationship to General Grant), and to one of the Iroquois nations on the other.
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I use Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org. I pay for Ancestry. 20 bucks a month is a little steep but the info is invaluable. I just contacted someone at our county historical society for help locating the death and burial info on my direct ancestor 5 generations back.

He vanished, leaving 2 plots in the cemetery where everyone else is buried. I just heard from her today and she thinks she is on his trail. She has death info on him and its a good start. My next stop though is most likely a few counties north, where she suspects he was actually buried.

I am addicted to the family tree now. I traced my direct ancestors as early as 1610 in Germany. We changed our name right off the boat in Philadelphia in the 1750s. Funny how many Germans actually did this.
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It gets frustrating at times then you find one little nugget of info and off you go down another branch.:-)
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My cousin did ours he is a retired police detective so it was right up his alley.
He made three trips to Italy,and the stuff he came up with fills three big lose leaf notebooks, he made it back to 1710, it took him about 10 years to get it done.:-)
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My personal challenge is my Great Great Grandfather who had a family with 2 or possibly 3 kids in Alpharetta or thereabouts before the civil war. Then after the war he never went all the way back home stopped in Alabama married my Great Great Grandmother and had 3 kids and died literally 2 months after my great grandfather was born. After the war it's like that other family disappeared from the planet. The only way I connected him was through his CW Enlistment Card and Pension App
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One of the best (if not the best) geneaology research facilities is right up the road from you here in Ft Wayne. I am not into researching my ancestry, and we've only been up here a few months now, so I can't personally testify to how good it is, but here's a link if it helps:

http://www.genealogycenter.org/Databases.aspx
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It's a lot easier now with so much info online. I made a lot of trips down to the National Archives 15-20 years ago digging up info the hard way. :-)

I'm still plugging away. I've hit a couple of walls but I'm trying to get through them. I've got over 2200 names in my database now.
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