Free Internet Sites
Family History Centers of the Mormon Church FamilySearch is an organization sponsored by the Church of the Latter Day Saints. It has two websites of interest: www.familysearch.org
is their newer website - this is the primary site today www.familysearch.org/eng/Search/frameset_search.asp is the original website The two are very different. The original site contains a great deal of information drawn from genealogies submitted by LDS church members. While some of this information is quite good and accurate, very little of it is substantiated and much of it is wrong. The site has to be used with care, but can be a good place to go when you have exhausted other options. The newer site has quite a number of original records, including a lot of US Census data for 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920. The main library for the LDS library can be found at http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp
RootsWeb and US GenWeb
www.RootsWeb.com has long been a workhorse of free information. The mailing lists and message boards are quite valuable for finding and sharing information by family surname and geographic location. They also have the largest and most referenced site for sharing family trees, worldconnect http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com. While you must be careful with the information on this site, many who have posted information on the site have submitted sources and citations for the information. RootsWeb was bought by Ancestry.com several years ago. At that time, USGenWeb and WorldGenWeb split off and formed their own groups. These sites contain information put together by volunteers by geographic location (for example, the USGenWeb site has information for California and further information on Sonoma County). There are also archives which can be searched. They can be accessed at www.usgenweb.org and RAOGK (Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness) This website provides contacts with people who perform small "acts of kindness" (help) around the country (such as taking a photograph of a tombstone).
Google remains the most powerful search engine available. There are many excellent information sites that can be found by a hearty search on
US Immigration – Ellis Island and Castle Garden These two databases contains not only passenger lists for those who came through www.ellisisland.org (1892-1924) and www.castlegarden.org (1850-1890) on their way to settling in the United States, but additional information on immigrant groups, and overviews of immigration patterns from specific countries. The family archive created here will also solicit contributions of personal documents and photos to the Archive. Stephen Morse’s website for accessing immigration information:
Cyndi’s List
If you have a need to search a specific type of information, Cyndi’s List www.cyndislist.com has long
been considered one of the best places to go.
Cyndi’s List is a compilation of internet sites that focus on specific
topics (for example, Civil War Unit Information). Another, somewhat similar website is liveroots.
Books on Genealogy
Old, out-of-print, books can be quite valuable. Many are now online. The best places to search are Google Books http://books.google.com and the BYU on-line library at http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/index.php You can also see which libraries have a book by using WorldCat.org. Many of these books can be ordered through the Sonoma County Library. Newspaper research
There are some newspapers on-line for free. The Library of Congress has a specialized website devoted to newspapers from 1880-1920, Chronicling America. This can be found at http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/pages. There’s also a compendium of free newspaper archives at http://freenewspaperarchives.us/default.aspx . http://theoldentimes.com/index_of_names.html has historic newspapers online for genealogical and historical research 18th- through early 20th-century newspapers from the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Grave Sites These websites have information on grave sites in the US. Findagrave will also go take a picture of a tombstone. Many cemeteries are listed in the USGenWeb site under each individual county. DAR
The DAR has a website of genealogy information which is searchable by “Patriot” or “Descendant”. DAR “patriots” include those who fought or contributed to the Revolution http://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search/ California
www.californiagenealogy.org site is designed to help you to find online genealogy data for California. www.cagenweb.com is a member of the USGenWeb Project, CAGenWeb's mission is to provide a single entry point for all counties and towns within the state of California, where collected data is stored. www.vitalsearch-ca.com are available for California birth, death and marriage. www.interment.net/us/ca/index.htm can be browsed by county. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~npmelton/sacb.html has many of the California Counties have submitted biographies.
German Genealogy and a Great Website
There’s also a very good website which has many useful features, including online vital records, searchable military records, and – by the way – some good German immigrant genealogy at
Living People
Living people can be researched at www.411.com is the best place to do a national “white pages” search
Geography
Two websites that help in mapping geography. The first is a website which shows the changes in county boundaries in all the US states. http://www.familyhistory101.com/maps.html and the other helps in identifying the location of populated places and natural features http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/
Jewish Genealogy www.jewishgen.org site has numerous links to websites to trace Jewish ancestry. National Archives of the United Kingdom
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