Genealogy Made Free: Start Yours Now! Genealogy, to most people, is just the simple term family tree . One would be foolish to not have any interest on his origin. To start with one s genealogy is like starting a long hike. There are things one needs to know and prepare for. In addition to that, it would consume some of your time. Do you ever experience meeting someone with the same surname just like yours? Do you ever think, even for just a while, the possibility that maybe, just maybe, both of you are related in some ways? If your answers to these questions are yes then you are not alone. This is where genealogy comes into action. The basic function of rootsweb is to help people connect so that all of them could help one another in the sharing of genealogical research. Majority of the resources available on rootsweb are primarily designed to facilitate the said connections. How does one start using rootsweb? This is the first questions most beginning users of rootsweb ask. For example, John the white (so named because of his paleness), John with the long beard and John the young. Later on, these names changed to John White, John Long and John Young. Other names derived from an ancestor's distinguishing traits are Baines, which means 'bones' and describes a thin man, Armstrong, Black and Longfellow. It is the youngest among the types of genealogical searches. One can find his ancestors through genetic research and knowing their backgrounds (ethnic). RootsWeb.com (by Ancestry.com)- it claims to be the oldest free site on genealogy. It offers resource tools, databases for census records, research on civil war, narratives of slaves, substitute for 1890 census, periodical source (index), history of the great migration and the biographical index for American genealogy. Pedigree charts, family group records, and similar forms are available on the family history centers or online. Other centers now have compact discs that could further ease up the tedious work on genealogy. Friendly LDS people, who volunteer to help, are always on the standby. So, whether you are internet savvy and would prefer to do your genealogy online, or just someone who would like to be with other people to do research, finding your ancestors is a noble task.