With genealogy as one of the fastest-growing hobbies in the United States, our computers and the Internet allow us to travel virtually to places near and far that contain information about our ancestors. 

If you’re just beginning your online research, you probably have lots of questions about where to go and what to do. And if you’ve been researching online for some time, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of using only one or two websites as guides to other information and leads to ancestors.

The trick is to surf only the best, most reliable sources and to explore some new ones. So click your mouse and let’s get started!

Tip! When using the Internet to do genealogy, remember that it is only a tool. To verify and prove descendancy you will need to start with yourself and carefully work backwards, obtaining copies of birth, death, marriage, and other records to show relationships. Family researchers still need to visit libraries, archives, and family history centers. Records typically found online are abstracts, summaries and databases rather than images of the original documents. Have fun combining new technology with traditional research methods.

Getting Started

The best place to begin is to talk to living family members. Your family history should include more than just names and dates. Interview the older members for clues and family stories. The Gene Pool and other selected sites have compiled sample oral history questions you can ask. To quote an African proverb: “When an old person dies, a whole library disappears.”

http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/oralhist.htm
http://www.genealogy.com/2_oralhs.html?Welcome=1084824498

To organize ancestor names and important dates, consider downloading charts and record logs at Ancestry.com and MyTrees.com.

http://www.ancestry.com/save/charts/ancchart.htm
http://www.mytrees.com/cgi-bin/freeforms?-1+0+000000+English+0-0

How-to Guides

Initial Online Research

Once you’ve gathered names, possible dates, and places from interviews, you’re ready to search the Social Security Death Index, a source of over 72 million names. This database, managed by the Social Security Administration, is one of the most important tools available for verifying deaths and death locations. The index may be perused at www.rootsweb.com, www.familysearch.org, or www.ancestry.com.

The census is an invaluable resource to genealogists by giving a good basic snapshot of the family history. There were several banner events regarding online census records during 2002!
www.familysearch.org Three important census records containing 81 million names are online on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ genealogy site for FREE. They include the 1880 U. S. Census, the 1881 Canadian Census, and most of the 1881 British Census, providing a cross-section of much of the English-speaking world in the latter 19th century.

The entire 1930 United States Federal Census, the Fifteenth Census of the United States, is available online through several databases ($). An every-name index is available for all states. The names of those listed on the population schedule are linked to the actual images of the 1930 Federal Census, copied from the National Archives and Records Administration microfilm. This genealogy gold mind is available for free as Ancestry Plus at some local public libraries and for no charge at the Mesa Family History Center (and the Arizona State Library in Phoenix!)

With the clues you’ve gathered so far, you can begin researching the places your ancestors lived. The USGenWebProject (http://www.usgenweb.org) maintains genealogy sites for every state and county in the United States. If your ancestors emigrated from another country, consult the WorldGenWeb (http://worldgenweb.org/), which maintains informative sites for almost every nation.

Tip! Many inexperienced researchers will accept what they find on the Web without considering the source or spot-checking the research using original records. One person’s transcription error may be accepted as fact by another [person] and another and another. 

Indexes

www.cyndislist.com Unquestionably, one of the most popular genealogy sites on the Web. This site is clearly a labor of love, for Cyndi has compiled these sites so that genealogists will know what is available on the Internet. It is impeccably organized and never stops growing.
www.genhomepage.com This is another grand directory of Web sites with 15 major categories, including Maps, Geography, Deeds, and Photography.
www.genealogytoolbox.com/ Helm’s Genealogy Toolbox. Within this site you will find links to genealogical and historical resources gathered by their TreEZy search engine.

Tip! Like the Internet as a whole, online genealogy information is a chaotic hodgepodge. Use an index to find your way.

Online Databases

There are many, many online databases becoming available, but you would be hard pressed to beat the combinations at the following three super stars:
www.familysearch.org FamilySearch is a useful genealogy site for anyone regardless of his or her religious affiliation. Search the database for hundreds of thousands of genealogical records from all over the world from the Ancestral File, the International Genealogical Index (IGI), and the Pedigree Resource File. The IGI contains millions of names and events as births, christenings, and marriages. The Ancestral File, with about 35.6 million names, will provide entire family group records and pedigree charts. The Pedigree Resource File contains about 36 million names linked into families.
www.rootsweb.com/ RootsWeb is one of the oldest and respected genealogical databases out there, and it’s free. It is clearly and concisely organized with many available tools and resources; the RootsWeb Surname list is just one.
www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com/ This massive set of databases indexed more than 70 million vital records from seven states. Access to most databases is free, but you need to sign on as guest.
olivetreegenealogy.com/ This site has free searchable databases but it can be a bit cumbersome to use. Link on “New to my site? Start here” – Be aware of the many links of $ databases, but it’s worth searching.
www.ancestry.com This is a premier resource for family history on line. The site offers thousands of fully searchable databases containing information on millions of individuals. Free as AncestryPlus at some local libraries and free as Ancestry.com at the Mesa Family History Center.
www.genealogy.com This great database is now transferring its prolific CD data to its web-site databases. Its subscriptions feature family and local history books, passenger records and census images. Access the census records free at the Mesa Family History Center.

Tip! Do not take as gospel some lengthy pedigree which might enable you to claim an impressively long descent perhaps from royalty (or a notorious criminal). Both online printed family histories commonly contain errors and should be considered leads rather than definitive information.

Search Engines

You can always use a great Web search engine or directory, and the following are good resources:
www.google.com 
www.altavista.com 
www.alltheweb.com
www.dogpile.com 
www.yahoo.com 
www.northernlight.com

In addition, you can find a wealth of information about scores of other search engines at: www.searchenginewatch.com

Tip! Explore the Internet, for it’s a great place for information and leads. Just don’t expect to find your entire family tree online!

A Global Meeting Place

One of the most productive uses for the Internet is as a meeting place for genealogical researchers and long-lost cousins. People are using message boards, chat rooms, newsgroups and mailing lists to exchange information on common localities, genealogical topics and specific surnames. Try networking with others who can fill in the gaps in research.

www.genforum.com Thousand of forums or message boards on surnames, U.S. states, countries, and general topics, all searchable.
boards.ancestry.com A comprehensive site for accessing genealogical message boards.
lists.rootsweb.com Information about mailing lists.
www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail.html Each week, John Fuller and Chris Gaunt add hundreds of mailing lists, e-mail addresses, Web sites and newsgroups that could provide you with just the information you need.
www.dearmyrtle.com Dear MYRTLE’s Chats.

Need a Question Answered? Look it up or just Ask

Records on the Internet

www.glorecords.blm.gov This General Land Office (GLO) site contains two million land patents and provides live database access to federal land conveyance records for thirty-two states issued between 1820 and 1908.
www.rootsweb.com/~cemetery/ USGen Tombstone Project
www.rootsweb.com/~obituary/ This quickly growing web site contains an index to over 8 million obituaries in the United States and Canada.
www.deathindexes.com/ Online Searchable Death Indexes & Records
gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1 Nationwide Gravesite Locator for most of the 120 Department of Veterans Affairs’ national cemeteries.
www.itd.nps.gov/ The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System – check out the Names Index Project, a project to enter names and other basic information from 5.4 million soldier records in the National Archives.

Tip! Professional genealogists warn against performing all your family history online. Most of the documentation you’ll need is not on the Internet, but at libraries and archives.

Libraries, Archives, and Genealogical Societies

www.mesarfhc.org/ Mesa Family History Center – search their online catalog to see what records are available
www.lib.az.us/ Arizona State Archives, Archives and Public Records 
www.loc.gov Library of Congress
www.archives.gov National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Click on Research Room, Genealogy, and then Research Topics for guides to ethnic research, ship passenger lists and census, military, vital, immigration and naturalization records.
www.familysearch.org This site includes the catalog of the Family History Library, one of the largest databases of genealogical information.

There are two national genealogical societies that lead the pack. They are:

www.fgs.org Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS)
www.ngsgenealogy.org National Genealogical Society

FirstSearch – Available in libraries and also with some home access using library card PIN numbers. FirstSearch is a large database used by public, special, and academic libraries across the country. The database contains over 40 million titles including books, periodicals, newspapers, and manuscript collections. Requests for these materials are made through Interlibrary Loan.

Tip! Just because you find it in a book, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily true.

Immigrant Resources

www.ellisislandrecords.org This fairly new Ellis Island immigration database lets users search and access the records of everyone who entered the U.S. through the Port of New York from 1892 to 1924. 22 million + records.
www.jewishgen.org/databases/EIDB/ellis.html Search the Ellis Island Database in one step.
www.nara.gov/genealogy/immigration The National Archives and Records Administration have indexes to ship passengers’ lists from the early 1800s through 1959.
www.immigrantships.net/ Immigrant Ships Transcriber Guild – Search 5,000+ ship arrival lists for your ancestors.
www.worldgenweb.org Genealogical records compiled for regions throughout the world.

Tip! Don’t place too much significance of the spelling of a name. Not only were our ancestors indifferent about how they spelled names, but also names were changed in many cases to Americanize them, shorten long, difficult names, written how they sounded, and errors were made by clerks.

Ethnic Sites

www.archives.ca National Archives of Canada
www.ancestorsupersearch.com This “precision search engine indexes English genealogical data from before 1930
freebmd.rootsweb.com The FreeBMD project is transcribing the indexes of birth, marriage and death records from England and Wales, 1837-1901, and putting them online. 42 million so far.
www.familyrecords.gov.uk/ UK family history online
www.genuki.org.uk UK and Ireland Genealogy – features transcribed records from the UK and Ireland. Everything is arranged by country, county or town
www.nationalarchives.ie/ Genealogy at the National Archives of Ireland
www.nas.gov.uk National Archives of Scotland
www.scotsorigins.com/ The Scot Origins, which includes the 1901 Scottish census
www.ccharity.com African-American
www.afrigeneas.com African genealogy
www.cyndislist.com/asia.htm Asia and the Pacific
www.feefhs.org Federation of East European Family History Societies – filled with resources for ancestries from Albanian to Ukrainian
www.jewishgen.org The all-encompassing site for Jewish genealogy; can tap into dozens of valuable databases on this site whether your ancestors were Jewish or not!
www.polishroots.com See “Genealogy and Poland: A Guide” in the history section
www.genealogy.net German genealogy
www.accessgenealogy.com/native/ Native American links
www.cyndislist.com/hispanic.htm Hispanic genealogy
digitalarkivet.uib.no The National Archives of Norway maintains this tremendous collection of databases – click on English if you need it!

Just collecting names and dates is a very futile pastime. Aim to gain information and understanding about your ancestors and the lives they led, and the locations and periods in which they lived. Family research is historical research. Our ancestors lived through war, famine, and great migrations that changed the face of a nation. Thanks to the Internet, we can explore the history that our great-grandparents live.

Use the Internet as a guide to the truth, rather than representative of fact. “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has date.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author of Sherlock Holmes)

*Compiled by Tricia Williams, Librarian
*All links operational as of May 17, 2004
*All these links can be accessed through the City of Chandler’s Library Website
http://chandlerlibrary.org > Internet Resources > Genealogy > Genealogy Handout