Website: Genealogy Resources: Home

Intro to genealogy

Searching for family history can be rewarding, disappointing, and horrifying. When researching family, keep in mind that some histories were hidden for specific reasons and living relatives may not be willing to discuss painful stories. Be respectful of their wishes.

When searching:

1. Keep an open mind about what you might find.

2. If possible, ask living relatives first.

3. Family stories may or may not be accurate. Do not dismiss them, but try to find something that will confirm the story. Give consideration as to why a story might have been changed.

4. Documents are lost due to war, fire, floods, poor management, etc. . . . Accept that what you are looking for might not exist.

5. Bureaucracy is your friend. This includes governments, religions, and large associations.

6. WRITE DOWN WHERE YOU FOUND THE INFORMATION. You might not be able to find it again.

7. When searching use the target language. For example: research for information from Mexico should be done in Spanish. In areas where multiple languages or dialects are used, search using all possible spellings.

8. If the region of interest was once the colony of another country, check in the colonizer's archives as well.

9. If the area has changed countries (for example, Austria-Hungary - A region that included Austria, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, and the Balkans - ceased to exist following World War I) check all modern countries that might contain materials.

General Genealogy Research Sites

American Ancestors
Supported by the New England Historic Genealogical Society
Ancestry Library
AncestryLibrary helps you understand your genealogy with the world’s largest collection of online records, including birth and death certificates, vital records, census records, military records, and other historical records.
Central Archives of the History of the Jewish People
The Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) were established in 1939. They hold the archives of hundreds of Jewish communities, as well as of local, national and international Jewish organizations and the private collections of many outstanding Jewish personalities. The Archives now hold the most extensive collection of documents, pinkassim (registers) and other records of Jewish history from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Cyndi's List
A large variety of genealogy categories with links.
Family Search
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides FamilySearch free of charge to everyone, regardless of tradition, culture, or religious affiliation.
Fold3
Free access with a Boyle County Public Library Card (Centre students may get a card for free). U.S. military records.
Heritage Quest
Free access with a Boyle County Public Library Card (Centre students may get a card for free). With more than 4.4 billion records, it delivers an essential collection of genealogical and historical sources—with coverage dating back to the 1700s—that can help people find their ancestors and discover a place’s past.
JewishGen
The Global Home for Jewish Genealogy. An Affiliate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Immigration to U.S.

Angel Island Immigration
Immigration station located near San Francisco.
Ellis Island
Contains approximately 65 million searchable immigration records.

Other Resources

Volume 5: Genealogy and Knowledge in Muslim Societies : Understanding the Past
Sarah Bowen Savant & Helena de Felipe, editors

This volume originates from a 2008 international seminar organised at the Universidad de Alcalá (the University of Alcalá), Spain, by Helena de Felipe. The seminar was sponsored by the same university together with the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) (HUM2006-27941-E/FILO) and the Aga Khan University, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations. Each of the nine chapters addresses a case in which genealogy has been recorded, studied, developed and formed into a resource in one or more Muslim societies.

Graves and Obituraries

Billion Graves
A crowd sourced website of burials from all over the world.
California Digital Newspaper Collection
Newspapers from California.
Chronicling America
Digital newspaper collection created by the U.S. Library of Congress. Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1777-1963
Find-A-Grave
A crowd sourced site of burials with over 210 million entries.
Newspapers.com
A large collection of newspapers (mostly U.S. and Canada). Dating back to the early 1700s.
Ryerson Index
The Ryerson Index is a free index to death notices appearing in Australian newspapers. The date range covered extends from the Sydney Gazette of 1803 up to newspapers published within the last week or so. The Index also includes many funeral notices, and some probate notices and obituaries.

National Archives

List of National Archives
The Wikipedia list of National Archives. Archives ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both analogically and digitally, for the government itself, researchers and generations to come.
U.S. National Archives
Resources for genealogists and family historians.

Genealogy Societies

American Jewish Historical Society
Established in 1892, the American Jewish History Society provides access to more than 30 million documents and 50,000 books, photographs, art and artifacts that reflect the history of the Jewish presence in the United States from 1654 to the present.
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies
The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) is an organization of organizations formed in 1988 to provide a common voice for issues of significance to its members, to advance our genealogical avocation, and to coordinate items such as the annual International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.
List of Societies in the U.S.
From Family Search - List of genealogical societies in the U.S. Genealogical, historical, lineage, veterans, and ethnic societies are especially helpful because of the records and resources they collect, transcribe, and publish. Often their records contain birth, marriage, death, and biographical information.
National Genealogical Society
The U.S. based National Genealogical Society (NGS) is here to help individuals learn about their family history. We are a non-profit organization headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia. For the past 118 years, we have been the leader in the field in teaching genealogical research skills and providing a pathway to scholarly work.
New England Historic and Genealogical Society
Founded in 1845, the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is the country’s leading resource for family history research. We help genealogists of all skill levels improve their knowledge and understanding of their family and its place in history.
Society of Australian Genealogists
The Society was formed in 1932 and is the oldest family history society in Australia.