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Online Genealogy Resources
More people today are interested in tracing their family history. With the availability of online access, this is a much easier task today than it was before the Internet. The Internet makes it easy to view many historical records and data online. Before you begin your Internet research though, compile some family research first. Create a list of questions you need to ask older relatives. Gain as much history as you can from living relatives to help make your searches easier. Get marriage relationship information, family names, family historical events and information about where family members worked. Each state has a plethora of historical societies that are often willing to share their information with you. Newspaper records often provide access to vital birth, death and marriage information and many libraries provide free access online to such information stored in their archives. Gather all your known information together first and begin compiling your family tree.
Places to Search
Check with your local county's records if your family has lived in the area for several generations. Birth, death and marriage records are kept – some dating back several years. Some of the 13 original states also have extensive historical records available for research.
You can build your family tree from many sites online. Sometimes a lot of the work is already done for you by distant members of your family, whom you may not even know. Many people interested in family trees often share the family history at one of the many genealogy websites available for you to print out to help in your family research.
Search the Internet with the full names of family ancestors placed in quotes. When you search the Internet by putting the name in quotes, this will only bring up the sites with that specific name on the website. This helps when narrowing down the pages you have to wade through to get family search information.
Check census records, immigration records, ship logs, military records and more to find the information you need about family members. Many states require you to pay a fee to purchase a birth, marriage or death certificate, but you don't need the physical record to conduct your research.
A Photo Family Tree
Engage your children in the family history – a fun project for the kids is to draw a big tree and have them cut out photos of family members to place on the tree. This helps children understand the family history and provides a visual map of family members.
Mapping the Family Tree
You can obtain family tree diagrams from many sites that will show you how to map out the family tree. The information usually includes the person's name, date of birth and date of death for older family members. Branches occur when people are married and have more children.
Visit these sites for information on how to conduct genealogy research and its importance to family history and health:
- National Archives: Resources for genealogists -- searching the National Archives.
- U.S. Census Bureau: Tips on how to conduct genealogy research.
- Cyndi's List: One of the largest and most comprehensive list of genealogy links on the web.
- Cornell Library Research: Learn how to conduct genealogy research at Cornell Library.
- U.S. Genealogy: Background on the U.S. Genealogy Internet project.
- Library of Congress: Tips for conducting research using the Library of Congress.
- National Genealogical Society: References for researching family history.
- Association of Professional Genealogists: What to know when hiring a professional genealogist.
- Canadian Museum of Immigration: Research materials available to genealogists or family history researchers.
- University of Minnesota: University of Minnesota article on how to research your family history
- Missouri Historical Society: Researching family history at the Missouri State Historical Society
- University of California at Los Angeles: Family history sample questions and outline.
- Ellis Island: A free and helpful site to search passengers that came to the United States through Ellis Island.
- Family Search: Family history lessons series for downloading.
- Military Records: Look through the many wars throughout history to locate ancestors that were enlisted in the miliary.
- Centers for Disease Control: Information on how to get access to state vital records.
- The Gen Forum: General Information and resources about genealogy research.
- Eastern Kentucky University: Eastern Kentucky University introduction to researching Kentucky family history.
- Seton Hall: Archives and special collections center for conducting genealogy research.
- Native American Ancestry: Information on how to trace your Native American roots
- New Brunswick Provincial Archives: Finding, researching and tracing your family history.
- Ohio State University (PDF): Uncovering family history and sharpening research skills.
- Genealogy: Learn the steps to tracing your genealogy and family history
- Last Name Meanings: Search through a database to find the country origin of various surnames.
- Rutgers: How to draw a family tree.
- Utah University (PDF): Making a family tree of genetic traits.
- University of Hawaii: Kinship exercise, how to trace your family tree.
- New Jersey Digital Highway: Guide to researching your family history in New Jersey
- Alaska Native Knowledge Network: Creating a family tree project.
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration: Historical record series from the USCIS
- New York State Library: Steps to starting your family tree research.
- State of Hawaii: Genealogy research guide for the state of Hawaii.
- New Hampshire: The Nashua Public Library has an online database called AncestryPlus.
- Abraham Lincoln Library: A collection of historical documents often found valuable to genealogists and researchers.
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