Genealogy Web Sites
List created by Family Tree Magazine September 2019
BIG Sites
$Ancestry (www.ancestry.com) Six months of global access costs $149. Add subscriptions to Ancestry owned Newspapers.com and Fold3 for another $50. An Ancestry DNA test costs $99
Family Search (familysearch.org) Family tree app helps you explore “the world’s largest online family tree,” with 1.2 billion ancestors. Contains 6 billion searchable historical records
$Find my past (findmypast.com) Strong in British Isles records, has expanded its North American offerings, is now partnering with the British based genetic genealogy company Living DNA. 2 billion records. $240 per year
HeritageQuest Online (heritagequestonline.com) Powered by Ancestry seen as “Ancestry lite.”
$My Heritage (myheritage.com) Data subscription - $189/year, Complete subscription ($299/year, DNA test - $79. 9.6 billion records includes World Vital Records database
American History
$American Ancestors (americanancestors.org) from the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 450 collections with over 1.4 billion names. $94.95/year
Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records (glorecords.blm.gov) Searchable images of more than 5 million federal land title records issued beginning in 1788.
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database (nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm) Union or Confederate ancestors with 6.3 million servicemen from both sides
eHistory (ehistory.osu.edu) Timelines, Maps and Guides. Includes 128 volume Officials Records of the Civil War
$Fold3 (fold3.com) Specializes in US military records. Subscriptions cost $79.95 per year – Ancestry subscribers get a discount.
USGenWeb (usgenweb.org) State and County pages, fully volunteer site. Includes special projects that shouldn’t be missed.
GEDmatch (gedmatch.com) Free registration lets you play matchmaker with others who’ve shared their autosomal DNA results from AncestryDNA, 23andme, My Heritage DNA or Family Tree DNA
Tools for Sharper Focus
Cyndi’s List (cyndislist.com) Categorized index to genealogy sites online – 221 categories and more than 337,000 sites.
Google (google.com) – Don’t just search on Goole. Explore books – books.google.com, Maps – google.com/maps, Earth – google.com/earth or Translate – translate.google.com
RootsTech (rootstech.org) – can’t afford a trip to Salt Lake City – this video packed site lets you view highlights of past sessions of the premiere high-tech genealogy confab.
Finding Dead People
Find a Grave (findagrave.com) this site has been uploading cemetery records since 1995 and now is home to more than 170 million.
Nationwide Gravesite Locator – (gravelocator.cem.va.gov) Veterans and their family members in Veterans Affairs’ (VA) National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries and other locations.
Immigrants –
Castle Garden (castlegarden.org) Arrivals at the port of New York in the years before Ellis Island 1820-1892
Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island (libertyellisfoundation.org) some pre-Ellis Island arrivals dating back to 1820. 1892-1954 over 12 million immigrants came to the US through Ellis Island (genealogybranches.com/arrivalports.html) list of ports where ancestors might have come through
Newspapers
Chronicling America (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) 15 million digitized pages from newspapers spanning 1789 to 1963
Other Libraries
Library of Congress (loc.gov) Catalog of printed works to digital collections including photos, Sanborn fire insurance maps and local history.
WorldCat (worldcat.org) Search more than 2 billion items from of catalogs of 10,000 of the world’s libraries. Then WorldCat locates your finds at a library near you.
List created by Family Tree Magazine September 2019
BIG Sites
$Ancestry (www.ancestry.com) Six months of global access costs $149. Add subscriptions to Ancestry owned Newspapers.com and Fold3 for another $50. An Ancestry DNA test costs $99
Family Search (familysearch.org) Family tree app helps you explore “the world’s largest online family tree,” with 1.2 billion ancestors. Contains 6 billion searchable historical records
$Find my past (findmypast.com) Strong in British Isles records, has expanded its North American offerings, is now partnering with the British based genetic genealogy company Living DNA. 2 billion records. $240 per year
HeritageQuest Online (heritagequestonline.com) Powered by Ancestry seen as “Ancestry lite.”
$My Heritage (myheritage.com) Data subscription - $189/year, Complete subscription ($299/year, DNA test - $79. 9.6 billion records includes World Vital Records database
American History
$American Ancestors (americanancestors.org) from the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 450 collections with over 1.4 billion names. $94.95/year
Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records (glorecords.blm.gov) Searchable images of more than 5 million federal land title records issued beginning in 1788.
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database (nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm) Union or Confederate ancestors with 6.3 million servicemen from both sides
eHistory (ehistory.osu.edu) Timelines, Maps and Guides. Includes 128 volume Officials Records of the Civil War
$Fold3 (fold3.com) Specializes in US military records. Subscriptions cost $79.95 per year – Ancestry subscribers get a discount.
USGenWeb (usgenweb.org) State and County pages, fully volunteer site. Includes special projects that shouldn’t be missed.
GEDmatch (gedmatch.com) Free registration lets you play matchmaker with others who’ve shared their autosomal DNA results from AncestryDNA, 23andme, My Heritage DNA or Family Tree DNA
Tools for Sharper Focus
Cyndi’s List (cyndislist.com) Categorized index to genealogy sites online – 221 categories and more than 337,000 sites.
Google (google.com) – Don’t just search on Goole. Explore books – books.google.com, Maps – google.com/maps, Earth – google.com/earth or Translate – translate.google.com
RootsTech (rootstech.org) – can’t afford a trip to Salt Lake City – this video packed site lets you view highlights of past sessions of the premiere high-tech genealogy confab.
Finding Dead People
Find a Grave (findagrave.com) this site has been uploading cemetery records since 1995 and now is home to more than 170 million.
Nationwide Gravesite Locator – (gravelocator.cem.va.gov) Veterans and their family members in Veterans Affairs’ (VA) National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries and other locations.
Immigrants –
Castle Garden (castlegarden.org) Arrivals at the port of New York in the years before Ellis Island 1820-1892
Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island (libertyellisfoundation.org) some pre-Ellis Island arrivals dating back to 1820. 1892-1954 over 12 million immigrants came to the US through Ellis Island (genealogybranches.com/arrivalports.html) list of ports where ancestors might have come through
Newspapers
Chronicling America (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) 15 million digitized pages from newspapers spanning 1789 to 1963
Other Libraries
Library of Congress (loc.gov) Catalog of printed works to digital collections including photos, Sanborn fire insurance maps and local history.
WorldCat (worldcat.org) Search more than 2 billion items from of catalogs of 10,000 of the world’s libraries. Then WorldCat locates your finds at a library near you.