Revised and updated version (November) of the Best Genealogy Websites and Tools of 2014. Presentation given at Regina Public Library on November 22, 2014. Several new websites, including a new section on online genealogy courses, have been added to this presentation.

1. Best Genealogy Websites
and
Tools of 2014
REVISED AND UPDATED VERSION
Presented by May P. Chan
Prairie History Room, Regina Public Library
November 22, 2014
© 2014

2. Agenda
WWhhyy d doo I In neeeedd t thhisis t tyyppee o off l ilsistt??
How was this list compiled?
Online Search Advice
Best of 2014 List – 81 Resources
Bonus #1: Best Hidden Genealogical
Gems
Bonus #2: Best Online Genealogy
Training
Wrap-up

3. Why do I need this type of list?
Because as powerful as Ancestry and Google are,
they do not always provide you with the answers or
clues you need for your family history research!!!
This list is intended to help you cut through the “information
overload” by helping you to focus your research (saving
you time and money) and providing you with a toolkit of the
most authoritative and trustworthy genealogy websites
and research aids.

4. How Was The List Compiled?
 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
 Websites offers both paid ($) and FREE resources

5. Online Search Advice
Always check with your local library, archives and genealogical society to see
what online resources they offer with “membership”
Always read the “scope and content” information about the database to learn
how the data was gathered, what the database covers and what it does not
cover.
Treat genealogical resources, both print and online, with some scrutiny. Always
try to validate your sources!
Always record your sources even if it is online!
Learn how to utilize advanced search techniques to help you refine your basic
keyword search terms:
Learn how to utilize advanced search techniques to help you refine your basic
keyword search terms:
1
2
3
4
5
For example:
Soundex search is used to search all surnames with variant spellings
CHAN, CHEN, CHIN and CHINN
Wildcard and Truncation search is used to replace letter(s) with symbols (*, ?, $)
Sm*th for SMITH and SMYTH
Roosevelt, Franklin* for Franklin D. Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt

6. Best Big Genealogy
Websites
(Usual Suspects)

7. “Usual Suspects”
Ancestry.com (census, vital records, passenger
lists, etc.; www.ancestry.com) – $
FamilySearch (census, vital records, etc.;
www.familysearch.org) – FREE
MyHeritage (vital records, census, family trees &
Scandinavian records; www.myheritage.com) – $
World’s Vital Records (vital records, US census
and family trees; www.worldvitalrecords.com/) - $

8. Cyndi's List - FREE
www.cyndislist.com

9. Best Canadian
Genealogy
Websites

10. Canadian Genealogy
 Canadian Genealogy Centre (census, military,
immigration & directories; tinyurl.com/cangencentre)
- FREE
 Automated Genealogy (census;
www.automatedgenealogy.com/) – FREE
 Canadian GenWeb Project (portal;
www.canadagenweb.org/) – FREE
 Canadiana (historical materials;
www.canadiana.ca/en/home) - $

11. British Columbia City Directories 1860-1955 - FREE
www.vpl.ca/bccd/index.php

12. Canadian Genealogy continued
 Peel’s Prairie Provinces (newspapers & directories;
http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/index.html) - FREE
 The British Colonist 1852-1920 (newspaper;
www.britishcolonist.ca) - FREE
 OurRoots (local history books; http://ourroots.ca) -
FREE
 Glenbow Museum (CPR land sales index, school
districts index & historical materials;
www.glenbow.org/collections/search/) - FREE

13. Canadian Genealogy continued
 The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project (ON
county maps;
http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/searchmapf
rames.php) – FREE
 The Globe (Globe & Mail newspaper from 1844-
2011; www.proquest.com/products-services/
canada_heritage.html) - $
 Daniel F. Johnson’s New Brunswick Newspaper
Vital Statistics (index of BMDS; http://tinyurl.com/nb-danjohnson)
– FREE

14. OurOntario - FREE
http://ourontario.ca/
OurOntario Newspapers Portal
http://news.ourontario.ca/result
s?q=+

15. Canadian Genealogy continued
Bibliothèque et Archives and Nationales du
Quebec (notaries & civil registers;
http://tinyurl.com/banq-genealogy) – FREE
The Olive Tree Genealogy’s Canada Ships
Passengers Lists (portal, definitely check out its
links for passenger and immigration records!;
http://tinyurl.com/59cgo) – FREE

16. Best American
Genealogy
Websites

17. Library of Congress - FREE
www.loc.gov/

18. American Genealogy
 National Archives and Records Administration (1940 US
census, military & immigration records;
www.archives.gov/) – FREE
 USGenWeb Project (portal; http://usgenweb.org/) –
FREE
 HeritageQuest Online (census, local histories & PERSI
index;
www.heritagequestonline.com/hqoweb/library/do/index) -
$
 Find a Grave (cemetery records;
www.findagrave.com/index.html) - FREE

19. Death or Obit Indexes
Death Indexes - FREE
www.deathindexes.com
Obituaries Help -FREE
www.obituarieshelp.org

20. American Genealogy continued
 GenealogyBank (newspapers;
www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/) - $
 Afrigeneas (slave records, BMDs and census schedules;
http://afrigeneas.com/) – FREE
 Bureau of Land Management – General Land Office
Records (federal land records; www.glorecords.blm.gov/)
- FREE
 Fold3 (military records, newspapers & city directories;
www.fold3.com/) - $

21. Atlas of Historical County Boundaries - FREE
http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/

22. American Genealogy continued
Distant Cousins (city directories & school
yearbooks; http://distantcousin.com/) – FREE
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR
lineage records; www.dar.org/) – FREE
Ellis Island (immigration records for NY from
1925 to 1957; http://ellisisland.org/) – FREE
Castle Garden (immigration records for NY from
1820 to 1892; www.castlegarden.org/) - FREE

23. Best UK & Irish
Genealogy
Websites

24. The National Archives - FREE
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
Check out their very
handy research guide
on how to locate
people:
www.nationalarchives.g
ov/uk/records/looking-for-
person/

25. UK & Irish Genealogy
 FindMyPast (census, BMDs & newspapers;
www.findmypast.com) - $
 Free BMD (UK civil registration; www.freebmd.org.uk/) – FREE
 Genuki (portal; www.genuki.org.uk/) – FREE
 Deceased Online (cemetery records; www.deceasedonline.com)
- $
 Historical Directories of England & Scotland (directories
covering years 1760 to 1910; http://tinyurl.com/ukhistdirectories)
– FREE
 The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913 (criminal court
records; www.oldbaileyonline.org/) - FREE

26. The National Library of Wales - FREE
www.llgc.org.uk/
Welsh Wills prior to 1858
http://tinyurl.com/ksw83tz
Welsh Newspapers 1804-1919
http://tinyurl.com/abk3h64

27. UK & Irish Genealogy continued
 ScotlandsPeople (census & BMDS;
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/) - $
 Scottish Post Office Directories (directories from 1773 to 1911;
http://digital.nls.uk/directories/) – FREE
 British Newspaper Archives, 1700s-1900s (newspapers;
www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/) - $
 Times of London Digital Archive 1785-2008 (newspaper;
http://gale.cengage.co.uk/times.aspx/) - $
 RootsIreland (BMDs, census & passenger lists;
http://rootsireland.ie) - $
 Origins Network (Griffith’s Valuation, wills & probate records;
www.origins.net/) - $

28. National Archives of Ireland – FREE
www.genealogy.nationalarchives.ie/

29. Best Continental
European
Genealogy
Websites

30. Continental European Genealogy
Danish Demographic Database (Danish census &
church records; http://ddd.ddda.dk/ddd_en.htm) –
FREE
Digitalarkivet (Norwegian census, probate & parish
records; http://arkivverket.no/Digitalarkivet) – FREE
Wie Was Wie (Dutch census & civil registers;
www.wiewaswie.nl/) – FREE
Arkivdigital (Swedish church records, court records
& estate lists; www.arkivdigital.net/) - $

31. Continental European Genealogy continued
 FranceGenWeb (portal; www.francegenweb.org/) –
FREE
 Genealogie.com (civil status records & BMDS for
France; www.genealogie.com) - $
 GeneaNet (family trees, forum & BMD indexes for
Western European countries; www.geneanet.org/) –
FREE
 Europeana (digital library of books, photos &
newspapers; www.europeana.eu/portal) - FREE

32. Volksbund – FREE
www.volksbund.de
Cemeteries

33. Continental European Genealogy continued
 German Roots German Genealogy (portal;
www.germanroots.com/) - FREE
 Foundation for East European Family History Studies
(portal; http://feefhs.org/) - FREE
 Polish Roots (portal; www.polishroots.org/) – FREE
 Name Adoption and Other Lists (Jewish adoption lists;
www.a-h-b.de/AHB/links_e.htm) – FREE

34. Genealogy Indexer (historical directories)
– FREE
http://genealogyindexer.org/

35. Best South East Asian,
Australian and New
Zealand Genealogy
Websites

36. Families in British India Society (census,
civil service, etc.) – FREE
www.fibis.org

37. Australian & New Zealand Genealogy
 Trove, National Library of Australia (newspapers, books &
maps; http://trove.nla.gov.au/) - FREE
 British Convict Transportation Registers Database 1787-
1867 (convict passenger lists;
www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/family-history/convicts) -
FREE
 Papers Past (New Zealand newspapers;
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast) - FREE
 New Zealand GenWeb (portal;
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nzlwgw/resources.html) -
FREE

38. Best Genealogy
News
Websites

39. Genealogy News
 The Ancestry Insider (blog; www.ancestryinsider.org/) – FREE
 Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter (newsletter;
http://blog.eogn.com/) – FREE but $ for premium edition
 Genealogy Guys (podcasts; http://genealogyguys.com/) –
FREE
 GenealogyInsider (blog;
http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/) – FREE
 Canada’s Anglo-Celtic Connections (blog; http://anglo-celtic-connections.
blogspot.ca) - FREE
 CanadaGenealgogy, or, ‘Jane’s Your Aunt’ (blog;
http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/) – FREE

40. Best Tech/Social
Media Tools

41. Best Tech/Social Media Tools
Evernote (online note taking;
www.evernote.com) – FREE
Dropbox (cloud storage; www.dropbox.com) –
FREE
Trello (project management; https://trello.com) –
FREE
LiBib (home library management system;
www.libbi.com/) FREE

42. Best Tech/Social Media Tools continued
 GenSoftReviews (genealogy software;
www.gensoftreviews.com) – FREE
 Google Translate (language translator;
http://translate.google.com/) - FREE
 Greenshot (screen capture tool;
http://getgreenshot.org/) – FREE
 Calibre (ebook management tool; http://calibre-ebook.
com/) – FREE

43. Best Tech/Social Media Tools continued
 Facebook (social media; www.facebook.com) –
FREE
 Pinterest (bulletin board; www.pinterest.com) –
FREE
 Flickr (online photo sharing; http://flickr.com) – FREE
 HistoryPin (online exhibits; www.historypin.com) –
FREE
 Twitter (micro-blogging; www.twitter.com) - FREE

44. Bonus # 1
Best "Hidden
Genealogical Gems"

45. Internet Archives – FREE
https://archive.org/index.php

46. WorldCat – FREE
https://worldcat.org

47. WolframAlpha – FREE
www.wolframalpha.com/

48. Google Newspaper Archives - FREE
http://news.google.com/newspapers

49. YouTube – FREE
www.youtube.com

50. Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center - $
www.ebscohost.com/public/hobbies-crafts-reference-
center

51. Best Online Genealogy Training
Legacy Family Tree Webinars (online courses;
www.familytreewebinars.com/index.php) – FREE
for live webinars but then $ for archived webinars
Dear Myrtle’s Genealogy Blog (blog and online
webinars; http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/) – FREE
RootsTech Conference (annual genealogical
conference offering live streaming of some of its
sessions; https://rootstech.org/?lang=eng) - FREE

52. THANK YOU!
Contact: May P. Chan
maychan@reginalibrary.ca
www.slideshare.net/maychan
(for a copy of this presentation)