Contains many how-to-articles, many appropriate for a beginner
Ancestry Contains over 32,000 searchable databases and is continually growing. Beginner instruction can be found here.
Tips and Tricks
Global searches are the basic search from the homepage. When you are just getting started, this is a great way to find basic data and information.
If you have an overwhelming number of hits, the Card Catalog is a useful way to narrow your records search. Once you find a relevant database you it may be easier to narrow down your results.
Place pages can help you find more information on an ancestor with a common name.
Ancestry support articles can be found here.
Free old-photo sharing sites
Search by surname
Also contains unidentified photos
Now owned by Ancestry
Contains more than 2.6 billion digital records
Over 4.1 million Evangelical Lutheran Church in America birth, marriage and death records
Blacksheep Ancestors – for U.S. UK, and Canada
Cemeteries, Death Notices, and Obituaries:
Center for Family History and Genealogy:
Located in Provo, Utah
Offers extensive on-site research help
Script Tutorials (help on deciphering old handwriting)
Cyndi’s List (contains information on researching throughout the world)
Largest collection of links available on-line
Offers thousands of categories covering everything from locations to occupations
Collection offers 55,000 plus maps and map related images
Features European, Asian, African, North America, South America and worldwide maps dating from the 1700s to the 1950s
One of the largest photo reunion sites
Use detailed search to create parameters such as: date range, photographer, county/town, etc…
Ellis Island contains records of more than 25 million passengers and crew members
A free website created and ran by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You do not need to be a member of the church to use the site.
Contains millions of historical records, online genealogy courses and a research wiki.
Research wiki’s are a great way to learn about different record types, different areas of the world, and much more.
FamilySearch uses volunteers to index their records. While about half of their records are indexed, the materials that are indexed grow every day.
Use this link for help and information or call the help desk at 1-866-406-1830.
There are numerous materials that are not yet digitized and indexed. You can access most of the microfilm and microfiche for a small free through FamilySearch Centers around the world. Visit here to find a location near you.
Pay-per-use or subscription site
Originally launched to provide UK and Irish records, however it is continually expanding
Offers more than 1.7 billion international family history records dating back to 1200
Estimated to contain 3 to 6 million obituaries for Britain, Ireland, and Scotland
Is in the process of digitizing and indexing over 100 million plus Catholic baptismal, marriage and burial records from the U.S. England, and Ireland to their Catholic Heritage Archives
Has the entire PERSI index up-to-date. PERSI is the Periodical Source Index which indexes articles in genealogy and history magazines, newsletters and journals dating back to the 1700s
Genealogy Bargains contains information on free resources and discounted deals.
Genealogy Learning Center contains many useful articles and ideas for research. Great for beginners!
Genealogy Gophers searches through out-of-copyright works digitized by FamilySearch
Identifies the names, dates and places in the books
$ Geni
Allows you and your relatives to collaborate on a family tree
Note: You cannot upload a GEDCOM file
It looks for matches from the World Family Tree and MyHeritage Family Trees, which you can merge into your tree
Once you have connected to more than 50 million profiles on Geni, you become part of the World Family Tree
Contains a discussion and project forum
Google Earth Software will allow you to combine old maps with newer ones by overlaying digital images with current maps
Harvard Open Collections Program focuses on digitizing historical materials not available elsewhere
The collection is searchable and organized by themes (i.e. U.S. immigration)
Contains more than 2.3 million digitized pages
History at Home: A Guide to Genealogy
A useful article to help you get started in your research
Contains many useful links
Subscription or pay per use
1.6 million historical maps searchable by today’s address, latitude, longitude, keywords, town names, mapmakers names, and year
Interment.net contains cemetery and death records from fraternal groups, historical societies and government data.
Searches through 1526+ genealogy databases. Not all content is free of charge.
You can schedule your searches to recur automatically and notify you of new findings.
Basic services are free, advanced services are available via paid subscriptions/
Smart matching – connects you to connections with other peoples family trees.
Record matching – automatically finds historical records based on your family tree data.
To take advantage of the smart matching and record matching, you will want to upload your family tree to MyHeritage.
Visit Photos which holds nearly 80 million images contributed by members.
Has recently announced a collaboration with 23andme for DNA matching.
Allows you to overlay digitized historical maps onto modern maps
Olive Tree Genealogy contains a wealth of how-to sections and databases
Works with FamilySearch trees to give you an overview of your pedigree to help you spot holes
Romany Genes – one of the only websites that I’ve been able to find dedicated to Romany & Gypsy genealogy
Seventh Day Adventist Obituary Collection
Divides the world into 11 regions, then further breaks down regions by country, province, state or county
Each country project site is coordinated by volunteer researchers
Each country project site identifies available online resources, provides a listing of the country’s libraries and archives, and contains contact information for government registrars and clerks in record offices
Most project pages have message boards and mailing lists for users