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Top Genealogical
Sites on the Web
© 2003-2008 R. L. Steinacker
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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. |
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Message
Boards |
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 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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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United States
Regional Resources |
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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)
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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. |
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Worldwide
Resources |
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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. |
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More Great
Sites |
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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. |
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Internet Search
Tips |
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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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