Free use of Ancestry.com Databases for Ancestor Search visitors
Search for your ancestors using this interactive directory of the best free genealogy search engines. Search top world-wide & specialized genealogy databases from one genealogy search site! The Ancestor Search site also has unique custom genealogy search engines found no where else.
In honor of Black History Month, Ancestry.com is offering Free access to many databases for February 2006 ONLY. Start searching today to make the most of this extremely limited time free access. While many of the databases will be of particular interest to those with African-American background, the first 3 databases will be of interest to everyone since the entire database is open and free.
Sorry, this special FREE access has ended. You can still search these databases and receive results. To view the images (and more!), use the 2-week FREE Trial.
Some helpful databases are:
1870 US Federal Census (Complete Census with Every Name Index)
Civil War Service Records (Complete Database)
WWI Draft Registration Cards (Complete Database)
1850 Slave Schedule Slaves & Slave Owners)
1860 Slave Schedule (Slaves & Slave Owners)
Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
Slave Narratives
Charleston County, South Carolina Black Deaths 1871-89
The First African Baptist Church of North America
Blacks in the State of Oregon, 1788-1971
Slave life in Georgia
Slavery petitions and papers
The Black presence in the era of the American Revolution, 1770-1800
For this limited time you can search through them as often as you like - with no obligation to purchase anything. This free access is NOT a free trial nor will credit card information will be requested. You may be asked to register for free to this free access. Ancestry.com would like as many people as possible to take advantage of this free access, so please pass the word.
Be sure to click here to
as you cannot access the free databases directly from the Ancestry site.
Some names may be misspelled in the index. The most likely reason is that the name is incorrect on the original census, but it could also be the handwriting may have been difficult to decipher, or the microfilm may have been too faded to read correctly. Use these hints if you are having difficulty finding your ancestors.
Try a wild card search using an asterisk; i.e. John* in the surname field will bring up Johns, Johnston and Johnson
Try a wild card search using a question mark; i.e. Johns?n in the surname field will bring up Johnson and Johnsen
There are 2 types of advanced searches at Ancestry. Begin with "exact match" using tips below. If you cannot find your ancestor, change the tab at the top of the search box to "ranked search".
Exact Matches
Each record must match all of the search terms you enter into the search box. If you don't get any results, try leaving some of the fields empty. If the census has a misspelling or a blank field, too much info into the search box may keep you from getting a match.
Search using name only without town or state. The people may not be where living where you expect, or the field may be blank or misspelled on the original record
Search only a particular county or town leaving the name field blank, then browse the results looking for a sound-alike or misspelled name.
Search only using first name (no last name) - even wild carded first names - along with county, town, and/or state.
Ranked Matches
Ranked search brings up the best possible matches first in your list of search results
Type in as much information as possible. The more search criteria the search engine has to match against, the more likely it is to pull the most appropriate records up to the top of your results list.
Add best guesses for a middle name, date and states.
Ranked searches do not support wildcards.
Problems?
If you don't see the links above, or if you get an error message or a blank screen when you try to access the free records, Norton (or another adblocker) may be mistakenly blocking the links. To view, you may have to turn your Ad-Blocker OFF for this site.
Click the down arrow next to the green globe on your Internet Explorer Task Bar
It may also be a Spyware Blocker problem. For help, download Microsoft's Free Anti-Spyware program. Run a scan plus go to "Windows Hosts File", and unblock hosts.
These databases reside at Ancestry.com and a brief registration is required for access during this special offer time period (February 2006). The information you provide will be protected by the Ancestry.com Privacy Statement and use of the databases is limited by their Terms and Conditions. Ancestor Search will not have access to any personal data you provide to Ancestry.com during this offer.
