Genealogy and Family History is a current hobby (and obsession) of mine. I put together a giant list of genealogy sites, I am sharing it at gather to help others get started on their genealogy.
For me, my interest peaked in family history when my grandmother passed away in 2004. I remembered stories she had told me about her family growing up, then compiled all I knew into a .ged file. This file started out with my parents and great grandparents and is now at over 5,000+
Here are a bunch of family history and genealogy links to keep you busy for months! Go for it and have fun.
My current favorites are http://www.rootsweb.com and http://www.Familysearch.org.
http:///www.Gencircles.com is a close runner up.
I access one of my local library's online, with my library card number.
(Http://www.carlsbadlibrary.org.) Check your local library to see if they offer information through their website.
Many libraries have databases you can view online, for genealogy my favorite is
http://www.heritagequest.com. (This is free with your library card at many libraries across the U.S.)
Check out: http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Genealogy/Software/ the site listed many freeware programs that can help you document your genealogy.
At the Gen Home Page you can learn how maps help you trace your family tree. Check out information on upcoming genealogy events, and tips on helping you get started. If you have Irish roots, Italian roots, Polish, Scottish, or even Cuban genealogy you'll find resources to help you here.
At http://www.eskimo.com/~lisanne/genres.htm you can discover additional online resources that will help you in your genealogy search at Genealogy Listservers, Newsgroups, and Special Home Pages.
Another great site is http://genealogytrails.com
A great web tool for genealogy is http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites contains over 70,000 links in over 120 categories.
At Genealogy Helpers, you can find relationship information about cousins several times removed, and a perpetual calendar that shows every day of the week from 1753 to 2000. http://www.ionet.net/~cousin/
http://www.gentree.com/ has many links I have not mentioned here.
At Genealogy Top Sites there are many sites listed I had not heard of
If you have Illinois ancestors a great website is http://genealogytrails.com/ill or
http://www.iltrails.org. They have just about everything a researcher could ask for. All the work has been transcribed by volunteers!
http://www.iltrails.org. They have just about everything a researcher could ask for. All the work has been transcribed by volunteers!
The Lost Cousins: http://www.lostcousins.com site is another cool site I like to visit.
How-to Genealogy Site, you'll find five steps to getting started on your family tree, a tutorial on deciphering old handwriting, and a tutorial on U.S. Federal Census. http://www.firstct.com/fv/tmapmenu.html.
At http://www.genlink.org/en/index_en.shtml. you'll find a great genealogy search engine to try out.
I have a serious love/hate relationship with this site, in my opinion its just too expensive. But if you can get in on a promotional rate http://www.ancestry.com does have tons of information.
Family History 101 has downloadable forms & tools.
http://www.familyhistory101.com/map_county.html
http://www.familyhistory101.com/map_county.html
Census Online.com http://www.census-online.com compiles & links to free indexed censuses on US genweb sites & other sites on the Internet
The International Society of Genetic Genealogy http://www.isogg.org is a community of genealogy DNA researchers & has great info on their site
Misbach.org http://www.misbach.org - They have a great customizable 9 generation fan chart.
The U.S. Surgeon General's Family Health Portrait https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/ can also be a helpful website.
I also enjoy http://www.findagrave.com. It's a great website where you can view cemetery headstone photos and data. (You can also post your family headstone photos) I found my great grandfather's tombstone already online here. I have never travelled to Pa, so this was a lucky break!
The International Society of Genetic Genealogy http://www.isogg.org is a community of genealogy DNA researchers & has great info on their site
Misbach.org http://www.misbach.org - They have a great customizable 9 generation fan chart.
The U.S. Surgeon General's Family Health Portrait https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/ can also be a helpful website.
I also enjoy http://www.findagrave.com. It's a great website where you can view cemetery headstone photos and data. (You can also post your family headstone photos) I found my great grandfather's tombstone already online here. I have never travelled to Pa, so this was a lucky break!
The Godfrey Library, http://www.godfrey.org
has many databases for every state in the country, and many other countries as well. They also provide access to a few valuable newspaper archives.They charge a fee but they are a great value for genealogists. They add many new databases every month often providing unique information hard to find anywhere else.
Sites to check out in the future: (Not fully developed) Familysearch.org will have an additional site and many databases of information in the coming months. I have heard footnote is another site that is adding information.
Sites to check out in the future: (Not fully developed) Familysearch.org will have an additional site and many databases of information in the coming months. I have heard footnote is another site that is adding information.
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Where did your family live? (Counties and States) If I know a general area, I can provide you with more specific links to help you.
I have family who lived in different states, I may have some direct links that are area specific.
I haven't done it for a while. I lost all of the info that I had on my hard drive. the thought of re-typing all of it in again just makes me cringe. I Still have most of it on paper, but all of my email contacts and the locations of where I found stuff is gone. I haven't had the heart to start again, but once in a while I check the Ancestry boards and a few other places to see if anyone new has my surnames.
It was so thrilling, because he had never talked about his dad at all. (his parents had divorced when he was young, so I don't think that he knew that much about him) Suddenly, we had all of these cousins and aunts and uncles that no one knew existed. One was even the Mayor of a town in Indiana, which was funny to us Californians:)
Last time I tried I only found things that you had to pay for!
I live in San Diego, but its not that far. :-)I have lived all over North County.
Including Carlsbad. My grandmother lived in Oceanside in the Fire Mountain area, my aunt lives just down the street. (near Carlsbad)
My aunt took me to the Carlsbad Library because we are both interested in genealogy.
So, I got a library card while I was there. I am very glad I did. The library has Heritage Quest accessible from home. I do not go to that library often.
I do visit the Family History Center (LDS) here in San Diego.
I would love to join up with you when you come this way again. :-)
Full of information and never ending !!
Lora, thank you for those sites!
Vickie, I know it is hard sometimes when searching for Native American information.
For example, my great grandmother on one side of the family was born on a reservation.
She never had a birth certificate and was called Texas Mary Ann. The only records she can be found in are census just before marriage, and after. Her mother married "white" to stay in Georgia. The rest of her family was not as lucky, some were said to be caught up in the trail of tears.
Larry, even messed up family can be found....lol
I am glad many of us are interested in genealogy!!!
As a Scot, genealogy is relatively simple for me - my families are buried no more than 250 miles away - and many are in local cemetries! I know what a hard job it can be outwith the UK.
http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/contacts/index.html
There is also a GRO in Northern Ireland - but I can't remember the website addy.
These links are great, and we've done some searching here in our area (Connecticut), as my great-grandmother was Native American and I'm curious about her - there are actual hand-written records at our little local Town Hall, but they're only for her marriage to my grandfather - after that, nothing. We also tried the state library and got totally lost. We know that she was of the Pequot tribe, but her last name (or what she was called, maybe? Fish), wasn't on record at the Pequot reservation which is at the other end of the state, but there apparently were more than one tribe back when and she was probably from this ends. Totally confused, but I'm saving/bookmarking this page, so I can try again.
Thanks again,
Marilyn
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If you are just starting just remember, it's an addicting hobby and you won't want to stop digging once you start.