The Internet is a Genealogy Playground
If you’re a genealogist, then the Internet is truly your playground. There is an absolute wealth of information on the Web and most of it is completely free. You just have to know where to look. Here are just a few of my favorite sites that you may not know about. I’ve tried to stay away from all of the obvious sites that I think everyone already knows about (with the exception of Rootsweb as it definitely bears repeating!) Hopefully you’ll find some new places to do your hunting!
Rootsweb – Owned by . Rootsweb is one of the largest, free genealogy sites on the Internet. If you find the site a little too overwhelming, then skip to Rootsweb WorldConnect Project at: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com. Begin by keying in the name of one of your ancestors and see what happens. It’s likely you’ll receive hundreds of results. You will have the option to narrow the search results down by entering in any other information you might have. Be warned that most of this information is unchecked and should only be used as a guideline, but it can open lots of doors and even better, along with the information is the email address of its submitter, so you can even meet distant relatives. http://www.rootsweb.com
The official web site of the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University. This is an amazing resource. There are thousands of files, including entire books, which you can download as PDF files. While it includes the diaries and journals of many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there are just as many biographies and journals of people of other religions and all walks of life. Also, if you have ancestors from Idaho, there is an extensive collection of vital records and Eastern Idaho history. http://abish.byui.edu/specialCollections/index.cfm
http://patriot.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/search.php
Ohio River Valley Families. Start with the ORVF Master Index to begin your Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia and Illinois genealogy research. Once you find your family, there is a small fee to join the site, but it’s so nominal for the amount of information they have available. Plus, as a member, you’ll also be able to download GEDCOM files on your ancestors. http://orvf.com/index2.html
The Virginians. Dr. William McCaddin Pritchett has built a wonderful site for anyone with ancestors in Virginia. It includes pedigree charts, wills and personal histories of thousands of Southside Virginia families. Everything is perfectly documented with detailed source information. http://www.virginians.com/index.htm
Colonial Ancestors Database. Includes Genealogy information and documents about ancestors in the thirteen original colonies. If you have Colonial Ancestors, this is a great site for you! http://www.colonialancestors.com/
Scotland’s People. If you have Scottish ancestry, you will love this site. There are more
than 50 million records available. You’ll be able to view the actual images of birth, death and marriage records. You’ll need to register but registration is free. This is such an amazing resource! http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
you might want to update this paragraph on your other page:
“The index also includes birth dates for several individuals who have not been born yet (62 are listed as being born after 1995) indicating the need to search combinations of years that an operator may have mistyped (e.g. you may want to search in 1986 for someone who you think died in 1968).”
wow. lots of kids who are newborn have to get ssn’s right away because their parent is on welfare. so this is ludicrous, and also looks very out of date.