StarDestroyer.Net BBS

I'm starting to research my family tree, and I was looking at some genealogy websites and software. Does anyone have experience with this sort of thing? I don't mind paying for software or website memberships, but I don't want to get ripped off, either.

Thanks in advance!

I've been using the free version of Legacy for about a year now for just general fooling around. It works very well and has a lot of features. If you do decide to buy it, IIRC, it's not very expensive at all.

http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/

A lot of states do not have the resources to put their records online. Many more have restrictions on what records are open for Genealogy or other research. Most states consider records less than 75-90 years old to be confidential to the family, and only release them to 'direct-line decendants', ie children, grand-children, great-grands.

Hell, where I work, the Death Records before 1948 are *still* not computerized. Even the office workers have to search for them by hand You won't believe how many Genealogists I talk to in a week who are absolutely shocked at that idea, or at the fact that it takes up to 8 weeks for us to search the records for them. Then they throw hissy fits when we tell them there is no record for whom they're looking for, and demand to know why. Honestly, do you know how many people NEVER got a birth certificate back then? And if all you can give me is an approxiamate year of death, don't get pissy when I send you the certificate that most closely matches what you gave us isn't your great uncle Sam.

......sorry. /rant
When you work in a Vital Records Office like I do, you begin to really get annoyed with Genealogists.

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:I've been using the free version of Legacy for about a year now for just general fooling around. It works very well and has a lot of features. If you do decide to buy it, IIRC, it's not very expensive at all.

http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/

Thank you, Spanky. I'm downloading it right now...