Presentation given on October 5, 2013. Presentation rounds up and examines the best genealogy websites of 2013 available for researchers to use. List includes paid and free websites.
2. Why do you need this list?
Selection criteria
“The Usual Suspects”
“Journey Around the World”
Canada, United States, UK,
Scandinavia, Europe, Australia and
New Zealand
Something Extra…
Conclusion
Outline
3. Why do you need this list?
Not all genealogy websites are the same
Paid (monthly vs per image) vs Free (search
vs full record)
Database vs Index
Nominal Searching vs Geographic Searching
Different Creators - Institutions vs Individuals
List of online resources is not meant to replace
“traditional” formats like books & microfilm.
Rather the list is meant to be used “in addition
to” and is meant to help save you time and
money
List features both paid ($) and free web
resources
4. Selection Criteria
Offers the most authoritative and
trustworthy websites to use for genealogy
How did I select the best genealogy websites
for you to use?
Annual “Best of” featured on the Family
Tree website
Magazines such as Internet Genealogy &
Family Chronicle
Various genealogy blogs
Tips from other genealogists
Personal experience helping patrons
5. “The Usual Suspects”
These websites consistently top the “Best of the
Best” online resources to use:
Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com or
http://www.ancestry.ca) - $
Helpful Tip!!! Check with your public library to see if
they provide access to Ancestry Library Edition
(library’s equivalent to Ancestry.com)
FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org) –
FREE
Cyndi’s List (portal; http://www.cyndislist.com/) –
FREE
World Vital Records (www.worldvitalrecords.com)
- $
6. Ancestry + FamilySearch = A
Very Good Combo!!!
Ancestry
largest paid genealogy resource
US census records
State census records
Vital records
England census records
Scotland census records
Canada census records
1921 Canadian Census!!!
Searchable only by location
at the present moment
Prairie census records
Incoming passengers lists
FamilySearch
largest free genealogy resource
Saskatchewan
Homestead files (look
under SK Provincial
Records!)
Probate Estate records
from 1887-1931 (SGS
volunteer project)
Other countries’ records!
Austria, Belgium, Russia,
South Africa, China, India,
Brazil, Argentina, etc.
7. Tip #1: Ancestry Insider Blog
http://www.ancestryinsider.blogspot.com
8. Another Great Site to Consider…
Internet Archive
http://archive.org/index.php
My favorite tool –
archived websites!
9. Internet Archive
Non-profit digital library offering books,
articles, movies, and audio recordings –
Best part, all of the content is FREE!!!
Hidden genealogy resources
US Census Records – 1790-1940 (not
indexed)
city directories
yearbooks
local and family histories
11. Oh Canada!
Canadian Genealogy Centre, Library and
Archives Canada (http://www.genealogy.gc.ca)
- FREE
Canadian GenWeb (portal; http://
www.canadagenweb.org) – FREE
Automated Genealogy (census; http://
www.automatedgenealogy.com) – FREE
Peel’s Prairie Provinces (newspapers & city
directories; http://www.peel.library.ualberta.ca) –
FREE
Manitobia (newspapers, maps & books;
http://manitobia.ca/content/en) - FREE
12. Oh Canada! Continued…
OurRoots (local history books; http://ourroots.ca)
- FREE
Canadian County Atlases (ON county atlases;
http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas) –
FREE
Canadiana (historical materials;
http://canadiana.ca/en/home) – $
Hudson’s Bay Archives (biographical sheets;
http://
www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/biographical/index
) - FREE
Google News Archives (http://news.google.com
/newspapers) - FREE
13. Oh Canada! Continued…
Olive Tree Genealogy (portal;
http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/index.shtml) -
FREE
Definitely check out the
site’s passenger lists
links!!!
14. America Land of Plenty
National Archives and Records
Administration (1940 census, military &
immigration records; http://www.archives.gov/
) – FREE
US GenWeb Project (portal; http://
usgenweb.org/) – FREE
HeritageQuest Online (census, local
histories, & Freedman Bank records; http://
www.heritagequestonline.com) - $ but FREE
access for Regina Public Library card
holders!!!
16. America – Continued…
Digital Public Library of America (newspapers,
photos & maps; http://dp.la/) – FREE
17. America – Continued…
Fold3 (military records, newspapers & city
directories; http://www.fold3.com/) - $ but
their War of 1812 Pension files are FREE
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR
lineage records; http://dar.org/) – FREE
Bureau of Land Management General Land
Office Records (land records; http://
www.glorecords.blm.gov/) - FREE
Find a Grave (cemetery records; http://
www.findagrave.com/) - FREE
18. Jolly Ol’ England
FindMyPast (http://www.findmypast.co.uk/) - $
but FREE with valid SGS membership
Note: FindMyPast recently added Canadian
history books to its World Collection!
Free BMD (UK civil registration; http://
freebmd.rootsweb.com) – FREE
UK National Archives (immigration, wills and
military; http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) -
FREE
Origins Network (wills; http://www.origins.net/) - $
Genuki (portal; http://genuki.org.uk) – FREE
19. Jolly Ol’ England – Continued…
Historical Directories of UK (http://
www.historicaldirectories.org/hd) - FREE
Deceased Online (cemetery records; http://
www.deceasedonline.com) - $
British Newspaper Archive, 1700s-1900s (http://
www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/) - $
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (British
Commonwealth; http://www.cwgc.org/) – FREE
The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913
(Criminal law proceedings,
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/) - FREE
20. Let’s not forget about Wales…
The National Library of Wales
Wills (http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=487) -
FREE
Welsh Newspapers Online (http://
www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=4723) - FREE
21. Scotland to “Emerald Isle”
ScotlandsPeople (Scottish census &
BMDs;
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) - $
Scottish Emigration Database
(immigration; http://abdn.ac.uk/emigration)
- FREE
National Archives of Ireland (Irish census;
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/) –
FREE
Irish Family History Foundation (census &
BMDS; http://www.rootsireland.ie) - $
22. “Land of the Vikings”
Digitalarkivet (Norwegian census, probate &
parish;
http://arkivverket.no/eng/content/view/full/629) –
FREE
Swedish National Archives (Swedish census;
http://www.svar.ra.se) – FREE
Arkividigital (Swedish parish records;
http://www.arkivdigital.net) – $
Finnish Family History Association (FFHA)
(Finnish church & census;
http://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/index_eng.htm) –
FREE
23. “Land of the Vikings”
Danish Demographic Database (Danish census &
church; http://www.ddd.dda.dk/ddd_en.htm) - FREE
26. “Europa” - Continued
PolandGenWeb (portal; http://
www.rootsweb.com/~polwgw/polandgen.html) -
FREE
Black Sea German Research (family trees &
maps; http://blackseagr.org) – FREE
Atlas of the German Empire by Ludwig
Ravenstein (1883 German map;
http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/ravenstein) –
FREE
Bremen Passenger Lists, 1920-1939
(Germany; http://passengerlists.de/) - FREE
27. “Down Under”
Trove, National Library of Australia (newspapers;
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper) - FREE
Nice feature –
geographical interface!
28. “Down Under” - Continued
Australian Cemetery Index (http://
austcemindex.com/) – FREE
Australian War Memorial (military indexes; http://
www.awm.gov.au/) - FREE
Papers Past (New Zealand newspapers;
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast
)– FREE
Websites of New Zealand Cemeteries (
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~
) - FREE
29. “Something Extra”
General Reference – Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
The Canadian Encyclopedia (
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com) – FREE
Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan (
http://www.esask.uregina.ca/) – FREE
Rudy’s List of Archaic Medical Terms – (
http://www.antiquusmorbus.com/) - FREE
General Reference - Maps
Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/) – FREE
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection (
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/) – FREE
FindMyPast - $50 value add membership with SGS/annual; $10 day pass; Site offers tons of British records including the complete English Census from 1841-1911 as well as passenger lists Origins Network – site specializes in hard-to-find records including National Wills index; 1841, 1861 and 1871 censuses; Griffith’s Valuation tax census and 1841 & 1901 Dublin city censuses – Irish genealogy
Digitalarkivet – offers census and parish records; the place to begin your Norwegian genealogy research; The 1910 Norwegian census is now available at this record-packed site from the National Archives of Norway, joining the enumerations from 1801, 1865, 1875 and 1900 Swedish National Archives – offers the 1880, 1890 & 1900 census records Arkividigital – nearly complete collection of Swedish parish records Finnish Family History Association – images of original church records (communion books)
Danish Demographic Database – “Emigrants” section offers searchable list of Danes who left Denamkr from 1869 to 1908; site also offers census records - Here you can search nearly 13 million census records and 400,000 emigration records, 1868 to 1908
HalGal - Genealogy of Halychyna/Eastern Galicia; starting point for anyone doing genealogical research in Western Ukraine/Eastern Galicia EastEuropeGenWeb – free online data repository for queries, family histories & source records
Federation of East European Family History Societies – organized in 1992; website contains a resource directory with links to organizations, databases & an extensive online map library (free to view)