Myths, Hoaxes & Scams » Common Genealogical Myths » Myth: You can find your completed family history on the Internet

I can't tell you how often I've been asked "where is THE database?" You know, the database with everyone's genealogy in it. There is a general misconception that all records are online and that you can do a quick search to find your family. The only way you are going to find your own family tree on the Internet is if a close cousin has already done the research and published the data online. Otherwise, you will have to learn to do genealogical research in order to locate the records of your ancestors that are both online and offline.