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The "Best" Genealogical Reference Tools
on the Web
Family Search
http://www.familysearch.org
Family Search is provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (Mormons). The Mormon Church is an
international leader in genealogical research and has the
world's largest collection of family history records.
Searchable databases at this site include compilations of
ancestors, census records, family histories, military records,
surnames, family organizations, and vital records.
USGenWeb
http://www.usgenweb.com
This site is the project of a group of volunteers working
together to provide Internet websites for genealogical research
in every county and every state of the United States. Site also
has helpful research hints and information about caring for old
documents, repairing old books, preserving old photographs, etc.
RootsWeb
http://www.rootsweb.com
This site has a RootsWeb Surname List (RSL) which is a list or
registry of more than 1 million surname entries. There is also
information about how to contact the person who submitted the
surname. Although much of this site is free, some additional
services are available for a fee. World Connect is often
mentioned as being one of the most useful of the RootsWeb sites.
American Family
Immigration Center
http://www.ellisislandrecords.org
This is often referred to as the Ellis Island site. There is
information here on people other than just those that came
through Ellis Island.
Vital Records Information
http://www.vitalrec.com
This site is where you go to find information on how to obtain
vital records – birth, death, marriage – in the United States
and its territories.
Cyndi's List of Genealogy
Sites on the Internet
http://www.cyndislist.com
Site contains over 240,850 links, of those, more than 235,950
are categorized and cross-referenced in over 150 categories.
There are a variety of helpful indexes including a Category
Index. This site has won many awards and is very useful to
beginners and experts, but can be daunting at first.
Genealogy Sleuth
http://progenealogists.com/genealogysleuthb.htm
This reference site is compiled by a consortiuim of professional
genealogists of their most often used databases. Also provides
international genealogy web sites.
Castle Garden
http://www.castlegarden.org
This site contains information on 10 million immigrants who
arrived in New York from 1830 through 1892, the year Ellis
Island opened.
Linkpendium
http://www.linkpendium.com
Compiled by the same two former RAND research staffers that
started RootsWeb (and sold it to Ancestry.com). This mega-site
(similar to Cyndi’s List) focuses on resources by geographic
location and by surnames. According to their website they have
nearly three million links to resources.
Family Genealogy
and History Internet Education Directory
http://www.academic-genealogy.com/
This is a mega-portal and may have many broken links. But you
also may find some treasures and hidden gems!
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