Free Databases

* dMarie’s Time Capsule – www.dmarie.com/timecap
The "dMarie Time Capsule (tm)" is a historical database of facts from the
past that you can use to spice up heritage pages for friends or family.
Simply type in the date you're interested in (try your birth date!) and
click the button -- an instant page all about the year you were born --
what famous people share your birthday, how much a gallon of gas
cost that year, etc. Includes data for 1900 through about 1995.


* Ellis Island – www.ellisisland.org
Immigrant search resource.
 

* FamilySearch – www.familysearch.org
Search for ancestors – share information – Family History
Library System – sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

* Free BMD - www.freebmd.rootsweb.com
FreeBMD is an ongoing project, the aim of which is to transcribe the Civil
Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales,
and to provide free Internet access to the transcribed records. The recording of births, marriages and deaths was started in 1837 and is one of the most significant resources for genealogical research. The transcribing of the records is carried out by teams of dedicated volunteers and contains
index information for the period 1837-1983.
 

* Genealogy Library
www.genealogy.com/glsub.html?Welcome=1029904609
Genealogy Library is a growing collection of U.S.-focused family histories
and other historically significant texts. Currently containing over 100 million
records spanning five centuries, this searchable, printable collection adds
new, compelling resources every month to help you add depth to your family story. Place your family story in a rich historical context with this growing collection of personal family histories, newspaper articles and
other U.S.-focused resources including images from the 1850 U.S. Census.
Find names, dates, personal stories and other numerous details that
combine to create vivid family legacies.

* GeneaNet – www.geneanet.org
Welcome to GeneaNet - Our Mission: to make the power of the Internet
available to our users by setting up a universal register of all the world's
genealogical resources,whether Net-based or not, and whether free or
fee-paying.
 

* Heraldry on the Internet - http://www.digiserve.com/heraldry/index.htm
This site is designed to help you conduct heraldry research on the Internet.
I have compiled as many links as I can find to the various sources of
heraldic material available. You can look for a family name coat of arms
used by someone with the same surname as you. Search for coats of arms
for cities and towns or use Pimbley's Dictionary of Heraldry or one of the
other dictionaries or glossaries listed to identify the various charges and
symbols found on coats of arms.

* Online Genealogy Database Index - www.gentree.com/gentree.html 
The Online Genealogical Database Index contains links to all known
genealogical databases searchable through the Web. It is limited to
searchable databases and does NOT include links to sites devoted to
a family unless a database is available for searching.

* RootsWeb – www.rootsweb.com or www.boards.rootsweb.com  or www.userdb.rootsweb.com/regional.html#usa
The primary purpose and function of RootsWeb is to connect people
so that they can help each other and share genealogical research.

* The Olive Tree Genealogy – www.olivetreegenealogy.com
The Olive Tree Genealogy, created by Lorine in February 1996, is
committed to bringing you FREE genealogical databases. The Olive
Tree Genealogy site is a very large complex undertaking. There are
more than 1,700 pages (!!) full of free information to help you find
your brick-wall ancestors. All databases and records on Olive Tree
Genealogy are FREE for you to use to find that elusive ancestor.
There are so many choices of records that it can be overwhelming
unless you allow yourself lots of time to look around.

* The Time Capsule – www.the-time-capsule.com
See the important historical events that happened in past years on
the very day you enter - Sports, Politics, Music, Events, Inventions,
Entertainment, Technology. The Time Capsule is a snapshot of each
date -- from the gut-wrenching moments we've all lived through, to
the side-splitting weirdness of humankind, and our triumphs as a species.

* USGenWeb – www.usgenweb.com or www.USGenWeb.org
The USGenWeb is a group of volunteers working together to provide
Internet websites for genealogical research in every county and
every state of the United States. This Project is non-commercial and
fully committed to free access for everyone.

* What Happened On This Date
www.angelfire.com/ma2/massmarriages/history.html
Do you want to know all the important things that happened and
which known people were born on your birthdate? Get a detailed
list of things and events that happened any date ranging from the
one hundreds all the way up to the 1990's. Get your free comprehensive
report now!


<Back to Index of Genealogy Search Sites>
 

Getting Started

* Beginners Guide to Family History Research
www.dhc.net/~jw/guide.html
An excellent beginner's guide to family history research

* Family Tree Magazine – www.familytreemagazine.com
Family Tree Magazine is the new magazine about America's
fastest-growing hobby, genealogy—or, as Time magazine recently
called it, "roots mania." Family Tree Magazine is the first magazine
for beginner as well as more experienced family historians. It's also
the only magazine to cover all the areas of potential interest to
family-history enthusiasts, reaching beyond genealogy research
to also encompass  ethnic heritage, family reunions, scrapbooking
and historic travel. And it's the only magazine to give full coverage
to all the tools family historians use in their hobby: Web sites,
CD-ROMs, computer hardware and software, photography, books,
memory albums and craft supplies.

* Genealogy Today – www.genealogytoday.com
Whether you’ve been working on your family history for several
years or just getting started, Genealogy Today has resources to
help you with your research.
 

* Gengateway.Com
http://www.gengateway.com/index.cfm?GID=2
This is a terrific source of information for anyone beginning
genealogy. Numerous topics.

* The Five-Step Genealogy Research Process
www.genealogyforum.rootsweb.com/gfaol/beginners/5step.htm
The 5-step genealogical research process is described here to help
you begin your family   history project. This excellent description
of each step will make getting started easier, more efficient, and
keep you better organized.


<Back to Index of Genealogy Search Sites>
 

Government Agencies

* Bureau of Land Management – General Land Office Records
http://www.glorecords.blm.gov
In 1989, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with some
project funding from the Department of Energy, began a project
to computerize on compact disks, by means of optical scanning,
all of the land patents in the BLM for the states east of the
Mississippi River. The project began with the patents for the
public lands in Arkansas, that part of the project
being completed in January 1990. The records are indexed in
various ways and enhanced copies of the patents themselves
can be retrieved and printed almost instantly. The BLM is anxious
to build a genealogical index into its system in order to facilitate
greater use by genealogists. They are working with the LDS Family
History Library to provide space in each record to insert the library’s Ancestral File number. The numbers could be inserted later by
library volunteers or other genealogists as the identities of the
patentees are verified. If adequate support for the project from
Congressional leaders is forthcoming, the BLM anticipates that the
records for the Western States can also be included, as well as local
land records. The project had some exciting possibilities, and
genealogists should watch it with interest.
 

* Social Security Death Index - http://ssdi.rootsweb.com 
Social Security benefits were instituted in 1937. Each employed person
filed an application for a Social Security number. The application form
asked questions concerning birth date and place, parents' names,
spouse's name, and residence address at the time of the application.
To receive benefits, individuals were also required to document their
births, even if their birth states had not required birth registration. The
1880 and 1900 census enumerations were partially or fully indexed to
help provide this documentation, and, during this time, many delayed
birth certificates were issued by counties when individuals submitted
family information such as Bibles to the court. The resulting information
was kept in the individual's Social Security files and is now available
from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Social
Security Administration through the Freedom of Information Act.

The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is generated from the
U.S. Social Security Administration’s Death Master File. Search
the SSDI by entering one or more fields in the form and clicking
the ‘submit’ button. Keep in mind that the more fields you fill
in, the more restricted your results will be. The SSDI is updated
monthly. The updates include new entries and corrections to existing
entries. Updates are generally posted three or four weeks after the
end of the month. For example, the March updates would be posted
in mid-to-late April. Indexes to the Social Security files are also
accessible through the Social Security Death Index of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Family History Library (FHL) in
Salt Lake City and through its branch family history centers. It is
available for purchase on CD-ROM as part of the FHL Family
Search program.

The FHL's Social Security Death Index includes approximately
60 million deceased people who had Social Security numbers and
whose deaths were reported to the Social  Security Administration
between 1962 and 1993, soon to be 1994. A few earlier and
later deaths are also included, and the list is updated periodically
as further information is received. The index lists names first by the
surname, then the given name, then the year of birth. It does not
specify the birthplace or provide the names of the spouse or children,
so sometimes several entries fit the individual being sought.
While the place or residence and year of birth are helpful in
determining the correct person, this data is not required to access
the index. To find an individual, look for the person's name as used
for legal purposes at the time of death. Thus, married women
are generally found under their last married names, and if a
person changed his or her name, the final, not the original, name
would be indexed. In a few cases, a married woman may be found
under her maiden name, especially if she worked only before
her marriage and never informed the Social Security
Administration of her marriage.  Sometimes nicknames are used,
but more often the formal, first Christian name is the one found in
the index. In cases in which a first attempt to locate the individual is
unsuccessful try alternate spellings, as they may be indexed by
different codes. The Social Security Index can also be found:

* Online on CompuServe
* For purchase in nine track tape format on 9- or 12-inch reels from
the Social Security Administration
*On CD-ROM from Cambridge, Inc. 
* Through the "Social Security Death Benefit Index" portion of the
Banner Blue (BB) Division of Broderbund's Master Name Index,
which is included with their Family Tree Maker computer program,
or as "Family Archives," a  separate program on two CD-ROMs.

If you don't find an individual in the index, you may still be able to
obtain copies of the Social Security file by locating his or her death
certificate which often includes the Social Security number. This can
then be used to request the records. Remember that the individual
may not be in the index because: he or she never received a Social
Security number; because relatives did not report the death to the
Social Security Administration; because the individual died before
1962, when the records were computerized; or because of an error in
issuing or reporting the Social Security number.