In the Woman's World magazine, August 6, 2012, page 19, there is an article about how to find out about your roots. I am going to post a couple of links to websites that I thought were interesting.
FamilySearch.org (http://familysearch.org)
Fold3.com (http://fold3.com)
I don't know anything about subscription prices or anything. I thought it was an interesting article with some good info.
Janet,
Speaking as one who has been tracing his roots for many years, I can tell you there are many good sites on the internet. Some free, i.e. FamilySearch, and some pay, i.e. Fold3. Ancestry.com is one of the most popular sites but can be quite expensive.
Just remember, there is a lot of information on the internet but only a fraction of the total records worldwide. Don't get lulled into thinking the internet is the all to end all when it comes to genealogy.
jpbill, with Elk Co. roots back to 1874.