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Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
DNA tests
- Thread starter NutmegCT
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dklawson
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I started and deleted responses several times. I'll try to keep this one brief.
Free? Yes and no. Remember free does not mean easily accessible.
Many records are public and available for "free" to anyone who wants to see them but they may not be available for free "online".
For example, census records thru 1940 are public. An index to a particular census may be available for free online but the actual record (particularly a scanned original) may only be available through Ancestry (pay) or the LDS Church (free with free registration/account). By setting up a free account with Family Search (the LDS) you can see indexes of the census and often transcriptions of the census records. If you want to see the actual scanned document you will need to go to an LDS Family History Center and use their terminals to see the original record.
Other documents like Wills, marriage records, birth/death records, and deeds may appear on indexes created by genealogists and those indexes are typically free to use. However, to see the original Will or deed it is often necessary to either visit the county clerk's office or send someone to make you photocopies of the document. It's a public record but they aren't all digitized so you have to pay one way or another to get that public information.
If you have specific questions about this you can PM me. My wife is the family genealogist and she works with this sort of thing daily.
Free? Yes and no. Remember free does not mean easily accessible.
Many records are public and available for "free" to anyone who wants to see them but they may not be available for free "online".
For example, census records thru 1940 are public. An index to a particular census may be available for free online but the actual record (particularly a scanned original) may only be available through Ancestry (pay) or the LDS Church (free with free registration/account). By setting up a free account with Family Search (the LDS) you can see indexes of the census and often transcriptions of the census records. If you want to see the actual scanned document you will need to go to an LDS Family History Center and use their terminals to see the original record.
Other documents like Wills, marriage records, birth/death records, and deeds may appear on indexes created by genealogists and those indexes are typically free to use. However, to see the original Will or deed it is often necessary to either visit the county clerk's office or send someone to make you photocopies of the document. It's a public record but they aren't all digitized so you have to pay one way or another to get that public information.
If you have specific questions about this you can PM me. My wife is the family genealogist and she works with this sort of thing daily.
dklawson
Yoda
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Hey! Then you and I must be cousins!
mikephillips
Yoda
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If you guys need help getting the release money to him, just send it to me and I'llmake sure he gets it. I'm good at that...
layful:
layful:
dklawson
Yoda
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I'm sorry, I cannot send any money to the prince. I had to send all my money to a guy who accidentally sent me a cashier's check for more money than I was selling my car for. Once his check clears I'll be back in black. Thank goodness that the nice guy from Microsoft said he would call back to help me with my computer problems. I may have to put off fixing the computer problems until I get back from the free cruise I won. I need to give them my charge card number so I can reserve my spot.
dklawson
Yoda
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My son got the IRS call when he was a teenager and it scared him to death. Thankfully he was smart enough to hang up and call his mom to ask if the IRS really would call and threaten people.
A brother-in-law was having problems configuring a new printer and called tech support. After waiting on hold he elected to be placed in a "call back" queue. The next call was from "Microsoft" so my brother-in-law thought the issue had been transferred from Epson to MS. Several hundred dollars later he realized his mistake.
My wife and I have discussed several times that our parents were fortunate to have NOT lived long enough to fall for one of these phone or online scams. I guess there have always been scammers and there always will be.
A brother-in-law was having problems configuring a new printer and called tech support. After waiting on hold he elected to be placed in a "call back" queue. The next call was from "Microsoft" so my brother-in-law thought the issue had been transferred from Epson to MS. Several hundred dollars later he realized his mistake.
My wife and I have discussed several times that our parents were fortunate to have NOT lived long enough to fall for one of these phone or online scams. I guess there have always been scammers and there always will be.
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