A family tree database is any collection of information for use in compiling one’s family tree. The word data implies some sort of empirical evidence. In the case of family trees, this evidence usually involves documentation of life events such as births or christenings, marriages, and deaths or burials. These events usually have been recorded by churches or governments at various levels, such as city, county, state or national. Other sources that serve as databases for family trees are personal recordings such as in Family Bibles, journals, diaries or letters. Military records could also be considered a family tree database, as could hospital records, land records, probates, and tax records.

Another family tree database is one we often start with – censuses. Censuses were originally taken for military purposes. In the Old Testament, we read of the numbers of males belonging to each tribe, so that they had a count of how many men they could put into battle if need be. It is interesting to note that they counted only the males, a detail which the early census takers in the United States followed. Between 1790 and 1850, censuses asked only the name of the head of household, numbers of males and females between certain ages, and whether they were bond or free. The further along we got, the more information they asked for until people felt that the government was getting quite intrusive. As this is 2010, we completed a census this year and, while the scare tactics were certainly plentiful about the privacy issues of the census forms, the form I received required only very basic information about who lived at our address. While, as an individual I appreciate my privacy, as a family historian I understand the value of certain questions on census forms. I think that family history researchers a hundred years from now are going to be quite disappointed in the 2010 census!

Censuses are appealing as a family tree database because they do include the whole family, or at least as much of it as was present at a particular address on a certain night. National online indexes make it easy to locate families and to find out a lot about people at a glance. Many web sites (usually subscription) offer censuses for various countries. Often subscription sites are available for free at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a few affiliated Family History Centers throughout the world. They are also available on microfilm at most locations.

Most government agencies make their family tree databases available to the public, usually for a fee. Indexes may be free but the actual certificates usually come with a price tag, whether it be in the form of buying the certificate from the relevant agency or subscribing to a family history web site such as Ancestry and its affiliates. Ancestry, Footnote and others have paid to use the censuses and birth, marriage and death certificates. They also pay staff to index the material so it is easier for you to locate what you are looking for. You can still order certificates from governments but it takes time and you might not get the right one. It is certainly worth-while, if you are a serious researcher, to pay the subscription cost but make sure the site you subscribe to carries the material you are likely to need. Try their free trial first.

If churches put cemetery or baptismal, marriage and burial records online, they do not usually charge. They might, however, request a donation if you write to them for particular information. Remember that they have a staff to employ, photocopy expenses and mailing expenses.

Other family tree databases can be found in homes. We mentioned Family Bibles, letters, journals etc but they could also include military records, wills, photos, newspaper clippings of weddings and funerals, and family histories compiled by someone else. And some web sites, like OneGreatFamily, encourage others to submit family trees, hopefully with documentation. Wherever you look, you will find databases that are useful in researching your family tree.