Electronic Genealogy: Finding your Ancestors Online
http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/egenealogy.htm
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"Immigrants Touring Battery Park NY" |
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Note: Resources marked with 
require restricted to subscribers either through Cornell University or your
local public library.
Beginner's Guides to Genealogy
- Genealogy 101 from About.Com
- Very basic but useful site. Good search tips for some specific products such as Ancestry and SSDI.
- Where to Start
- Beginning tips from the LDS site. Good for understanding documentation and terminology.
- GenTutor
- From Rootsweb--see below. More of a collection of links--but laid out in a way useful for beginners, with some tips.
- Genealogy Lessons
- Good narrative-style approach to research with real life examples.
Essential Online Genealogy Resources
- Ancestry
Available through Cornell or a local public library
- This is the premier site for searching census records and viewing the schedules online. Also contains WWI draft registrations, passenger and immigration lists, SSDI, and much more.
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Heritage Quest
Available through Cornell or a local public library
- HQ has been scanning census schedules and then converting them into indexed and searchable texts. A good complement to Ancestry for the census. Also features indexes to tens of thousands of genealogy books and PERSI, an online index to genealogical journals.
- LDS site: Family Search
- This site has to be your first stop in beginning your online genealogical research. It has several major services, which can all be searched at once. This is also where you can download Personal Ancestral File (PAF), a very good and inexpensive genealogical software package. LDS includes: Ancestral File a database of approximately 35 million names; International Genealogical Index(IGI) index of birth and marriage registers from all over the world submitted by volunteers who transcribed information from the microfilms of original records collected by the FHS; SSI Index of records of the Social Security Administration; Family History Library an online catalog. Microfilm can be borrowed through a local Family History Center.
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Directories of Genealogical Web Sites
- Cyndi's List
- The largest collection of genealogical lists on the Web today, Cyndi's List is now almost the "official" Web genealogy site. It's so big it can be difficult to use, but perseverance pays off.
- Genealogy from the Yahoo Directory
- More manageable but not as inclusive.
- Source List for Genealogical Research
- This is a focused task-oriented list with links you would have difficulty in discovering elsewhere.
- RootsWeb
- RootsWeb is one of my
favorite sites. It's completely free (although now closely connected with Ancestry.com
and in the MyFamily.com group), and runs on volunteer labor. There is a lot to explore
here. Share Your Family History. "The primary purpose and function of RootsWeb.com is to
connect people so that they can help each other and share genealogical research. Most
resources on RootsWeb.com are designed to facilitate such connections." RootsWeb is the
supporting organization for thousands of surname discussion lists. It also features many
primary documents that have been transcribed or scanned by volunteers and made searchable in
the GenWeb Archive. These include obituaries, county histories, tax lists, cemetery lists, etc.
RootsWeb has a Soundex Converter for use with the census. - The USGenWeb Project
- A group of volunteers working together to provide Internet web sites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. The Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free access for everyone. It is organized by county and state, and this web site provides you with links to all the state web sites which, in turn, provide gateways to the counties. The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects at the national level and this web site provides an entry point to all of those pages, as well.
- The GenWeb Archive
- A collection of ongoing volunteer transcription projects: In June 1996, the USGenWeb Digital Library (USGenWeb Archives TM) was developed to present actual transcriptions of public domain records on the Internet. This huge undertaking is the cooperative effort of volunteers who either have electronically formatted files on census records, marriage bonds, wills, and other public documents, or are willing to transcribe this information to contribute.
- GenForum
- What RootsWeb is to discussion lists, GenForum is to bulletin boards. The list of names is impressive. This is a great way to find other people working on your family and to share information. Now a section of Genealogy.com.
- Ellis Island Records (1892-1924)
- This is a great place to search if you have immigrant ancestors who came through Ellis Island. Go ahead and register. There's no cost and registration allows you to view complete records.
- Records from Castle Garden (1830-1892)
- Castle Garden was the precursor to Ellis Island. Castle Garden offers free access to an extraordinary database of information on 10 million immigrants from 1830 through 1892, the year Ellis Island opened. Over 73 million Americans can trace their ancestors to this early immigration period. Although the great wave of European immigration began around 1880, many groups came earlier, for example the famine driven Irish emigration of 1848-1860.
Ethnic and Country Specific Web Sites
- JewishGen
- This is just one of many ethnic and country pages. I've listed a few more, but you'd have to use a resource like Cyndi's List (above) to see them all. Watch for various tutorials on ethnic genealogy offered by the major sites.
- African American
- AfriGeneas is an excellent African American site with a full range of services: chat, message boards, surname lists, etc.
- Ireland
- GENUKI is one of the best umbrella sites for Ireland and, in fact, all of the British Isles.
Historical Newspaper Databases at Cornell
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Historical newspapers online
Available
through Cornell or a local public library
- Palmer's index to The Times [London], the Official index to The Times, and the Historical index to the New York times in electronic form. This resource enables searches of early issues of the New York times and the Times of London across years and across subjects which would be immensely time-consuming, if not impossible, with the printed editions.
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Paper of record
Available through Cornell or a local public library
- Paper of Record is an historical archive of full-page newspaper images dating from the 1700's - a collection that increases the value of individual or institutional offerings. This digital archive gives "old news" new life by facilitating access to the wealth of fact and opinion captured by historical newspapers. With Paper of Record, the major, minor, national, global, and local events of the last several centuries are available to explore.
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ProQuest historical newspapers
Available through Cornell or a local public library
- This database offers full-text and full-image articles for newspapers dating back to the 19th century. For most titles, the collection includes digital reproductions of every page from every issue, cover to cover, in downloadable PDF files. The database is an ongoing project. The New York Times, 1851-2001 -- The Wall Street Journal, 1889-1987 -- The Washington Post, 1877-1988.
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Early American newspapers, 1690-1876
Available through Cornell or a local public library
- Cover-to-cover reproductions of hundreds of historic newspapers, providing more than one million pages as fully text-searchable facsimile images" -- Newsbank home page. Based largely on Clarence Brigham's History and bibliography of American newspapers, 1690-1820, concentrating primarily on those papers that began publication before 1820. Web-based archive of Americana that features images and full-text content from many historical newspapers.
- Land Ownership Maps
- These maps of counties and towns from the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century show who actually owned property. Now available online through Ancestry.
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Sanborn Map Collection
Available through Cornell or a local public library
- A collection of historic fire insurance maps. Detailed maps of thousands of localities in the US over successive years.
Deeds, Patents, and Land Records
- The Bureau of Land Management
- A very useful site for locating persons who might have homesteaded or taken out land patents. Eventually the actual document will be available.
- Illinois Land Patents
- This site from Illinois also presents land patent data.
- The National Archives (Archives.gov)
- ARC currently contains descriptions of 45% of the National Archives traditional holdings. Many of the records are described broadly at the record group and series levels. For some series, ARC includes specific descriptions at the file unit and item levels. This site can be used to locate microfilm rolls. The archival search engine, ARC, is of limited utility for surname searches but useful for broader searches.
- Military personnel records can be ordered from NARA.
- Making of America
- Contains the War of the Rebellion and Official Records of the Union and Confederate armies.
- Use
Heritage Quest
for Revolutionary War records.
- State Archives
- Many state archives are now putting their material on the web. Maryland is a good example. The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut provide another approach--an online index. Similarly the Massachusetts State Archives.
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- OCLC WorldCat
Available through Cornell or a local public library - OCLC WorldCat
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OCLC, the nearest thing we have to a national online catalog, is also available from most public and academic libraries. WorldCat recently became freely available to anyone in the world:
For material you discover that is not available at your local library, talk to local reference staff about placing an interlibrary loan.
Try OCLC's helpful guide to using online library catalogs for genealogy.
- Library of Congress
- One of the great genealogical collections in the world. Access, however, is mostly local, although some material is online, and the catalog is available over the internet.
- Making of America
- Search the full-text of dozens of 19th century magazines, history books and the War of the Rebellion; Official Records of the Union and Confederate armies!
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Archives USA
Available through Cornell or a local public library
- ArchivesUSAŽ is a current directory of 5,550 repositories and 149,218 collections of primary source material housed across the United States. Powerfully integrated with detailed subject indexing, this research tool is a central collection of descriptive archival information.
Databases that can be used to find archival material:
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ArchiveGrid
Available
through Cornell or a local public library
- ArchiveGrid provides easy access to the archival holdings of The Research Libraries Group (RLG) and affiliates. A friendlier interface than RLIN Eureka.
- American Memory
- American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical collections.
- The National Archives (Archives.gov)
- ARC currently contains descriptions of 45% of the National Archives traditional holdings. Many of the records are described broadly at the record group and series levels. For some series, ARC includes specific descriptions at the file unit and item levels. This site can be used to locate microfilm rolls. The archival search engine, ARC, is of limited utility for surname searches but useful for broader searches.
- State Archives
- Many state archives are now putting their material on the web. Maryland is a good example. The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut provide another approach--an online index. Similarly the Massachusetts State Archives.
- New York State Library
- There are many primary documents available at the New York Public Library. This link to their genealogy research room will give you an idea. But be sure to check out their Vital Records Indexes. This is an extraordinary accomplishment as anyone who ever attempted to use the paper death certificate indexes can attest.
- Allen County, Indiana, Public Library. Genealogy Section
- The Fred J. Reynolds Historical Genealogy Department of the Allen County Public Library was organized in 1961 by the library director for whom it was named. The department's renowned collection contains more than 300,000 printed volumes and 314,000 items of microfilm and microfiche. This collection grows daily through department purchases and donations from appreciative genealogists and historians.
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OCLC WorldCat
Available through Cornell or a local public library
- OCLC, the nearest thing we have to a national online catalog, is also available from most public and academic libraries. OCLC has a useful guide to using WorldCat for genealogy, and by extension other online catalogs, for genealogy.
- Steele Memorial Library
- A local resource in Elmira NY with a large genealogical collection. Particularly noteworthy is the collection of NY State and US census microfilm.
- Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints Family History Center (Ithaca NY)
- Microfilm of FHC records can be ordered here. 114 Burleigh Dr. Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 257-1334
- National Genealogical Society
- One of several national societies
- New York Genealogical and Biographical Society
- The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, popularly known as the "G & B," was founded in 1869. As a non-profit educational institution, its purpose is to collect and make available information on genealogy, biography and history, particularly as it relates to the people of New York State.
- New England Historical and Genealogical Society
- Extraordinary collection from which they will lend to members. In fact, membership is required for almost all access.
Selected Books and Guides to Genealogical Research
The Source: a guidebook of American genealogy. Edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. Salt Lake City : Ancestry, c1997. (Olin Library Reference CS49 .S65x 1997)
Genealogy Online For Dummies by Matthew L. Helm and April Leigh Helm. 2nd Edition (May 1999)
The Genealogists Virtual Library : Full-Text Books on the World Wide Web Thomas Jay Kemp, 2000
Virtual roots : a guide to genealogy and local history on the World Wide Web. Kemp, Thomas Jay. Wilmington, Del. : Scholarly Resources, 1997.
- Legacy 6
- A very full-featured commercial software program absolutely free. The "Pro" version is one of the highest ranked in the "Report Card."
- Software Reviews and Comparisons
- A useful comparison site "Genealogical Software Report Card" from the National Genealogical Society. It will give you an idea of what kinds of features to look for in a software package. Macintosh users might consider Reunion 8; more Mac options at Cyndi's List.
Start with what you know. Collect as much information from relatives as you can, then get it organized, preferably with some genealogy software package, before turning to the internet. When you're organized you'll be able to take advantage of what the internet offers.
Evaluate everything you find! Nowhere is the computer adage GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) more true than in online genealogy. Almost all the material must be double checked. Many web genealogies are strings of wishful thinking repeated from other strings of wishful thinking. This includes information from LDS's Ancestral File, FTM's World Family Tree and Ancestry's Ancestry World Tree. Very few online genealogies are documented. Treat online information as hints to guide further research, not material to copy blindly into your genealogy. Follow the advice in Evaluating Web Sources and Standards for Genealogy Research
Don't fire off e-mail with general questions to historical societies, libraries, discussion lists, etc. Many organizations (academic libraries) will not do genealogical research, but will help you use or locate material that is unique to them. Lurk on discussion lists and observe the traffic and how queries are phrased. Often there are specific rules for subject lines. Some common surname lists may distribute dozens of messages a day. A subject line such as "Got anything on John Smith?" will get some surprising answers.
Don't ignore print resources! Electronic resources are useful portals to information--but often you will still have to order microform, photocopies of records, etc. Many print resources will not appear online for many years. Don't wait!
- Genealogical Research at Cornell
- This is Olin Reference's guide to doing genealogy in the libraries at Cornell. Much of the information will be useful and transferable to other libraries.
Bob Kibbee (rk14@cornell.edu); Virginia Cole (vac11@cornell.edu)
Updated October
22, 2007 (VC)
Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University, Ithaca
NY 14853
PSA: Public Services and Assessment
Information and reference: 607-255-4144, okuref@cornell.edu
Circulation: (Olin) 607-255-4245, (Uris) 607-255-3537, olincirc@cornell.edu