Olive Tree Genealogy Blog: Genealogy Freebies

Showing posts with label Genealogy Freebies. Show all posts

September 2, 2015

FREE 170 Million Wills & Probate Records on Ancestry!

Wow! Ancestry.com just published over 100 million wills written in the United States in the last 300 years for genealogists to search. More than 170 million pages from the largest collection of wills and probate records in the United States is now available online exclusively on Ancestry.

With searchable records included from all 50 states spread over 337 years (1668-2005), this unprecedented collection launches a new category of records for family history research never before available online at this scale the United States.

Until now, these records have only been available offline. Ancestry spent more than two years bringing this collection online, working with hundreds of different archives from individual state and local courts across the country and making a $10M investment to license and digitize the records. The documents cover well over 100 million people, including the deceased as well as their family, friends and others involved in the probate process. Ancestry expects to continue to grow the collection, with additional records available over the next several years.

To celebrate the launch of the new U.S. Wills and Probates collection on Ancestry,, the collection along with all U.S. birth, marriage and death records, will be available to explore for FREE, September 2 (12pm MT) through September 7 (10pm MT).

Here are the records available as of today:

June 28, 2015

Celebrate Canada Day with FREE Access to Ancestry.ca!

To celebrate Canada Day ^[FN1], Ancestry.ca is providing free access to all 235 million Canadian records on their site. The offer is in effect until July 1, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

You will need to register (for free) with your name and email. A username and password will be emailed to you which you can use to log in to view the free records. After July 1, 2015, you will only be able to view these records using an Ancestry.ca paid membership.

^[FN1] On July 1, 1867 Canada became a new federation with its own constitution by signing the Constitution Act - formerly known as the British North America Act. Canada Day is a national statutory holiday celebrated in all provinces and territories.

June 21, 2015

Free e-book for Father's Day! Help Dad Preserve His Stories

Why not gift your dad this free e-book for Father's Day? Ask him to follow the prompts and jot down his own memories of his childhood.

Writing Your Memoirs For Descendants: Prompts for Recording & Preserving Your Family Stories and Memories is free today only

Choose either on Amazon.com at Writing Your Memoirs For Descendants: Prompts for Recording & Preserving Your Family Stories and Memories

or on Amazon.ca at Writing Your Memoirs For Descendants Prompts for Recording & Preserving Your Family Stories and Memories

Anybody can read Kindle books even without a Kindle device with the free Kindle app for smartphones, tablets, and computers.

March 20, 2015

ArkivDigital Free Weekend Access

Saturday March 21 is Genealogy Day in Sweden and many of the genealogy societies, libraries and archives throughout the country are hosting exhibits and lectures.

ArkivDigital, your online digital archive with nearly 53 million images, will be hosting an “open house” this week-end. We invite all who are interested in their Swedish history free access to our entire online historical archive on Saturday and Sunday (March 21-22, 2015). Take the opportunity to research your Swedish heritage and discover the wealth of records in our online archive.

All current subscriptions will be extended two days because of the two free days (March 21-22).

Each month approximately 600,000 new color images are added to ArkivDigital. During February, the following records were added:

More estate inventories (bouppteckningar) for the period 1901-1940.

Collection “Krigshandlingar Stora nordiska kriget: Krigsfångar” or “War Documents of the Great Northern War: War Prisoners” which includes information about the soldiers who were imprisoned in connection with Karl XII’s war or the Great Northern War.

Selected parts of the Poor Relief Board in Malmö (Fattigvårdsstyrelsen i Malmö) archive. In these volumes you will find not only information about paupers but information about foster children and much more.

Beginning to add material from The Public Orphanage of Stockholm (Allmänna barnhusets) archive.

May 19, 2014

WW2 Collection on Fold3 FREE until May 31, 2014

Find your family heroes in Fold3′s vast collection of WWII documents, records, and images, including draft registration cards, Army enlistment records, Navy muster rolls, “Old Man’s Draft” registration cards, missing air crew reports, casualty lists, and more.

You can also explore records that provide historical context, such as Navy war diaries, submarine patrol reports, naval press clippings, JAG case files, European Theater Army records, US Air Force photos, and beyond. Also included are the extensive Holocaust Collection and the interactive USS Arizona Memorial.

April 16, 2014

Free Access to Civil War Records on Fold3

To remember the commencement of the Civil War in April 1861, FOLD 3 invites you to explore all records in its Civil War Collection for free April 14–30.

Explore Civil War documents featuring everything from military records to personal accounts and historic writings. Soldier records include service records, pension index cards, “Widows’ Pension” files, Navy survivors certificates, Army registers, and much more. Other record types include photographs, original war maps, court investigations, slave records, and beyond. Items such as the Lincoln Assassination Papers, Sultana Disaster documents, letters to the Adjutant General and Commission Branch, and the 1860 census are also contained in the Civil War Collection.

Confederate-specific records include Confederate service records, amnesty papers, casualty reports, and citizens files, as well as Confederate Navy subject files and Southern Claims Commission documents.

Join Fold3 in its commemoration of the Civil War. Discover information on famous participants as well as your own Civil War ancestors through documents, photos, and images that capture the experiences and vital information of those involved in America’s deadliest conflict. Then commemorate your ancestors by creating or expanding memorial pages for them on Fold3’s Honor Wall