Top Genealogical Sites on the Web


   
      


Top Genealogical
Sites on the Web
         

                                                             © 2003-2008 R. L. Steinacker 
                                                                                                                         

What a tremendous resource for genealogists!  
The internet is becoming more valuable by the week, as more source materials (i.e. indexes for land records, cemetery records, and marriage records) are put into searchable databases. You can also access the web pages that people are creating to spotlight their own family history and pedigrees.  

All-in-all, once you break the ice and get online to do family history research (and find out how much time you save, how much information you can acquire, and how much FUN you have), you'll understand why many professional genealogists love the internet. You'll love it, too!  

But be wise!
Most information you find on internet databases and websites should be considered as clues, not facts.  That is especially true of information put into lineaged-linked databases such as WorldConnect, the Ancestral File, and My Trees.com.  It is also true of pedigree information people put on their own family webpages.  Therefore, if you find information posted on your family, always, but always "prove" that information by checking the original records or using the microfilms of those records available through your local LDS Family History Center.

FYI Note:
These days, a lot of genealogy websites have links to Ancestry.com. Those are usually paid advertising links and not really a part of the site you want. If you want to go to Ancestry.com, then click on the link. If not, then don't click.

In addition, if you do a Google.com search for vital records or genealogy or whatever, you will often be taken to what appear to be independent genealogy database sites, but every link turns out to take you, in the end to Ancestry.com. Those appear to be advertising, as well, just using a different method to get you there.

 
Message Boards
GenForum...   My favorite boards! Query pages for most surnames & localities. Invaluable resource to connect you with other researchers working on the same lines.  Search the archives!  (Note:  There is no fee to use this site, but they are now requiring that you register if you want to post to the boards. Your email address will be encrypted and you can change it if your address changes.)

Ancestry.com...  Very similar in setup to the GenForum Message Boards. With so many people using these boards, you will want to search them, but the search engine is not nearly as friendly as Genforum. So, getting great results takes time.


Searchable Lineage-linked Family Trees
       This information is contributed by individuals who want to share and collaborate.  Remember:  consider information from other researchers as leads and not as facts.  Check out the original records and document your sources.
WorldConnect... Rootsweb's datbase with over 374 million names. This a must see! (Note: If you choose to put your own data on this website, be aware that Ancestry.com -- which sponsors Rootsweb these days -- can then use it as a hit for their pay website. I discovered my own data has been used that way.)

FamilySearch... Extensive databases sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Several separate databases with millions of names -- includes the Pedigree Resource File, Ancestral File, and the IGI.  The Vital Records Index for Mexico and Scandinavia can also be searched online!   [Note:  many other wonderful databases are available only at Family History Centers.  At the centers, you can search other wonderful CDs: The Freedman's Bank Records, The North American Vital Records Index, the Australian Vital Records Index, the British 1851 Census (3 counties), the 1881 British Census index, the Western Europe Vital Records Index, and the Mormon Immigration Index.  Phew!  Many thanks go to those great church volunteers who are extracting records from all over the world.]  

My Trees.com ... A Kindred Konnections website, they advertise having over 1 billion names.  [Hint:  to use the whole site, you can either subscribe, or you can do some extraction work, as I do.  In return for extracting two soundex cards, you  will receive an hour of free searching. Either way, you will have to regisiter. Just keep your code and password somewhere handy, as you will need it each time you extract records and use the site.]

GenCircles... 32 million ancestors submitted by users of the site.


United States Regional Resources
Rootsweb... This is the "oldest and largest free genealogy site."  There are too many resources here to even mention!  You'll find all sorts of international and US websites as well as searchable databases and the searchable archives of all of the Rootsweb Mailing Lists.  Don't forget to search those list archives! A sampling of some of the links I've found useful: California Death Index (1940-1997); and the Social Security Death Index

USGenWeb Project State Links... if you are doing U.S. Research, bookmark this site!  Check out the state level and then click on the county links to check out the counties where your family lived.  You can expect each county site to vary in value.  More and more counties have searchable records you won't find anywhere else.  Another great feature is Lookups, where you can ask people with county indexes to look up your ancestor in their books.

US Historical Society & State Archives Directory... More and more state archives are putting searchable databases and their catalogues online. Some state sites I've found particularly helpful in my research (these are linked) : Illinois State Archives IRAD databases (i.e. marriage index from 1763-1900); Tennessee State Library and Archives (i.e Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications); Library of Virginia (i.e. searchable images of Virginia Land Grants); Kentucky Secretary of State Land Office (searchable images of Kentucky Land Grants)

USGS Geographic Names Information... This site will give you the location (county and/or state) of any place in the U.S. By clicking on Mapping Information, you'll find links to several online maps, including raster, quadrangle, and topographical maps  OR an easier option is to go to the next item. . . .

Rootsweb's US Town/County Database... This site does part of what the site above does. Here, you can get the county a town lies in, but you cannot find the names of cemeteries, rivers, etc.

Interment.net... This site indexes records from 5,435 cemeteries around the world.  [Make sure to also check Rootsweb's Tombstone Transcription Project.) The search features could be better on this site.

BLM General Land Office Records... This website gives info on the transfer of land titles from the Federal government to individuals -- your ancestor perhaps?   If you think your ancestor might have filed and proven on  such things as a homestead or a land grant, check this site.  (Unfortunately, it does not index claims that were relinquished before the person received the title to the land.) Some claim files contain valuable genealogical information, while others don't have much more than what is already on the website, but you can always get details about the location of the property and get a copy of the original document granting title. If desired, you may order a copy of the claim file for about $17.


Worldwide Resources
Vital Records Index ... Search within vital records of Scandinavia (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) or Mexico. Part of the FamilySearch website (see above). If you will click the arrow next to the box  "None Selected", you will get a drop-down menu on which you can click the desired country. Note that these indices don't have every parish within these countries. Once you've clicked on the country, keep making choices in the boxes to the right until you've worked your way to the area of choice.

WorldGenWeb Project... "a non-profit, volunteer based organization dedicated to providing genealogical and historical records and resources for world-wide access."  You'll find links to regional genealogical websites from all over the world.  One I've tried is Genuki, the site for the United Kingdom (see below under United Kingdom).

Denmark
Genealogy Research Denmark... This website would be a good springboard for those beginning Danish genealogy. Start here and go exploring this site and the links offered. The site includes some records the site owner has extracted and others she will look at for you if you request

Finland
Hiski Project... (searchable database of births, marriages, & deaths for Finland. This site is operated by the Genealogical Society of Finland.

German-Speaking
Frequently Asked Questions... written to help genealogists who are interested in German and German-American genealogy. It is oriented to those who are getting started, either with genealogy or with the Internet. "German" here means the German language, so this list should be useful for researchers of German, German-American, Austrian, Swiss, Alsatian, Luxembourger, Liechtensteiner, and Eastern European German genealogy

United Kingdom
Free BMD ...(This is the Public Records Office's searchable index of births, marriages, & deaths for England and Wales 1837-1901)
Genuki... The United Kingdom's equivalent of USGenWeb. You can go down to the county level.
UK Placename Finder ... This database holds information on the names of more than 160,000 UK places. Just type in a place and try it. Then, click on one of the links to mapping websites that will show you the location of the place you typed.
Access to Archives  ... indexes archives across England, dating from the 900s to the present day -- part of the UK Archives Network.  
Archives Hub ... A bit like a library catalogue, this has descriptions of archive holdings of UK universities and colleges and can be searched on a surname basis to see if any university has a collection about a given family -- part of the UK Archives Network. 
Scottish Archive Network ...internet access to the written history of Scotland -- part of the UK Archives Network. 
Aim25 ...archives of over 50 higher education institutions and learned societies within the greater London area.-- part of the UK Archives Network. 


More Great Sites
Rootsweb Mailing Lists -- Interactive Search of Archives  A little more advanced way to find info "hidden" on the web. Beginners...Try this only if you have already searched, and become comfortable with, some of the major websites I've listed above. You can find the surname and locality mailing lists, by name, by clicking the "Mailing Lists" button on the top of the Rootsweb page. Then return to the Interactive Search and type in the name of the list you want to search. Make sure you include the --L  or --D suffix of the list name.

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet ... No list of links would be complete without Cyndi's list 120, 950 links, which cover every facet of genealogy.

Surname Web... Advertised as the "largest collection on the web of surname genealogy sites and surname origins."

Ellis Island Immigration Records... Is it possible your ancestor entered the U.S. between 1892 and 1924 as a passenger, a crew member, or a traveler? Search here and see images of the original records. 

Internet Search Tips
  Google.com...  This is my favorite search engine for everything from genealogy to school research. The "advanced" search really is  not advanced at all and is, in fact, the easiest way to search the web.  Try many ways to search: surname, complete name, place ancestors lived, two surnames you know were linked, anything else that identifies the person or family, AND any combination of the above. I actually found info on my grandfather's service in the Soil Conservation Service with Google, as some old newsletters were posted by Arizona State University. I put his name "Ray Blair" in the phrase box and "Idaho" in the top box. Make sure to read the "Search Tips" on the link at the top of the page.

Finding it Online-- Web Search Strategies  ... a tutorial for learning how to have success in searching the web using other search engines. These techniques can be used in using search engines such as Netscape, Yahoo, etc.  Why would you want to use these search engines when Google is so nice? Each search engine pulls up a few websites that others don't.  They might just be the websites that have the info you want.  

   
                                                          

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