Frugal Genealogy: Website Subscriptions

Let's face it: subscriptions to genealogy websites are probably the most expensive resource available. What's more, if you don't know what's available on each website, you may not know which is the best bargain for your research. There are a number of ways to determine which subscription is the best for your needs, but one free way I suggest to all my students in my genealogy class is to sign up for the website's free e-newsletter or blog. Not only will you get an idea of what kinds of databases and records are available, but you'll be notified as to when special offers are occurring.  Here are some of the major players with links to their free e-newsletters and/or blogs, listed in alphabetical order:

Ancestry (US & Global) - Blog - eNewsletter

FindMyPast (British) - Blog

Footnote (US) - Blog - for a eNewsletter, create a free account and then from your account page, choose Communication Settings to choose the type(s) of newsletter(s) you wish to have e-mailed to you

GenealogyBank (US) - Blog

New England Historic and Genealogical Society (New England and New York) - eNewsletter (the latest issue is always available to read at this same page)

NewspaperARCHIVE (Global) - Explore, Discover, Share Blog (subscribers share their finds) & Daily Perspective Blog (history behind the news)

WorldVitalRecords (US & Global) - Blog - eNewsletter


This post is part of a ten-part series on Frugal Genealogy, based on my most-requested presentation, "Frugal Genealogy, or How Not to Spend a Fortune on Your Family Tree." Each post in this series will focus on one of ten topics I discuss in my presentation, and I freely share one tip from each topic. If you would like me to speak to your group anywhere in the Pacific Northwest on this or any other subject, please contact me.