Genealogy resources on the Internet

Listing of genealogy resources on the Internet.

For the Beginner

Three of the best tutorials on the Web are:

Portals

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet [4]
An amazing site of thousands of links, categorized and cross-referenced in over 50 categories. Extensive and easy to use.

Access Genealogy [5]
One of the largest compilations of genealogy data.

Genealogy Today [6]
Resources and how-to-information are categorized.

GeneaNet [7]
Their mission is to make the power of the Internet available by setting up a universal register of all the world's genealogical resources, whether Net-based or not, and whether free or fee-paying.

National Genealogical Society [8]
Includes information about the organization, guides to genealogy on the Internet, and a searchable calendar of genealogical events from around the world.

Genealogy Gateway [9]
Allows searching for a specific surname as well as site-searching capabilities, including specific types of sites (ethnic, military, etc.).

WeRelate.org [10]
WeRelate is a free web search engine and wiki for genealogy sponsored by the Foundation for On-Line Genealogy, Inc., in partnership with the Allen County Public Library. They are "the world's largest genealogy wiki with pages for over 2,000,000 people and families and growing."

Mega Sites

Ancestry Library Edition [11]
"The World's #1 Genealogy Web site." Includes a collection of searchable databases. Access to Ancestry Library Edition is available at any Kansas City Public Library branch.

FamilySearch [12]
Maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, this allows access to not only genealogical records, but their comprehensive library catalog.

Rootsweb [13]
Large list of links as well as searchable databases and support for online genealogy activities.

Genealogy.com [14]
A source for the beginning and advanced genealogist. Includes links to free databases, step-by-step guides to genealogy, "tips of the day," and a comprehensive site-finder [15] and a family-finder [16].

USGenWeb [17]
The United States Genealogical Web, a volunteer effort to provide a single entry point for genealogical data from all the counties in the U.S.

Missouri

Afro-Americans in Missouri [18]
Extensive collection of links to sources of information about African Americans in Missouri. Part of the Missouri portion of the USGenWeb project (see below).

Clay County, Missouri, Recorder of Deeds [19]
Search the database for three types of records. Real estate land records (July 1, 1986 - present), most images can be viewed and printed online; marriage licenses (January 1, 1930 - present), images not available online; and military discharges (February 1, 1967-present), images not available online.

Cyndi's List of Missouri Genealogical Sites [20]
The Missouri portion of Cyndi's list.

Jackson County Census Online [21]
Scroll down to Jackson County. This has the 1830, 1840, and 1850 census as well as the 1859-60 city directory for Kansas City and a roster from 1923 of the sophomore class of the Kansas City School of Law.

Jackson County Marriage Records [22]
Search this database to find marriage licenses issued in Jackson County, Missouri.

Kansas City Health Department for Vital Records [23]
You can request a Missouri birth or death certificate from the Kansas City Health Office online or by mail, phone, or fax.

Kindred Trails: Worldwide Genealogy Sources [24]
A good place to start for online records, not only for Missouri but all the world.

Missouri Birth and Death Records Database [25]
Abstracts of birth, stillbirth, and death records recorded before 1909 and some death records post 1910.

Missouri GenWeb [26]
The Missouri portion of the USGenWeb project, providing a wealth of information at both the state and county levels.

Missouri Place Names, 1928-1945 [27]
The date in the title is misleading. The Ramsay Place Names Files were compiled by students of University of Missouri professor of English, Robert L. Ramsay (1880-1953) during the first half of the twentieth century but reference names used in the early 1800s. Names of schools, churches, as well as towns are included. A good place to look for something that no longer exists.

Missouri WWI Service Cards Database [28]
Includes information from the service cards of over 145,000 Missouri soldiers.

The State Historical Society of Missouri [29]
Offers information about their services and collections and a useful online Directory of Local Historical Societies, Museums, and Genealogical Societies in Missouri [30]. Their Missouri newspaper collection [31] on microfilm is extensive.

Kansas

Cyndi's List of Kansas Genealogical Sites [32]
The Kansas portion of Cyndi's List.

Digital Cemetery [33]
Hosted by the Johnson County Library, the Digital Cemetery features burial records, location information, and headstone photographs for every cemetery in Johnson County.

Kansas Heritage Group [34]
Links to many sites with photographs as well as Kansas Heritage Interactive Genealogy [35] which includes surname searches and a section called Research Kansas Family History On-line, as well as others.

Kansas State Historical Society [36]
A good place to begin researching your Kansas roots. Includes links to the state censuses.

Johnson County Genealogical Society [37]
Information about the organization; includes roster of members and member surname index.

Johnson County (Kansas) Archives [38]
Public records, photographs, maps, cemetery records and more for Johnson County, Kansas.

Kansas GenWeb [39]
The Kansas portion of the US GenWeb project, providing a wealth of information at both the state and county levels.

Territorial Kansas Online [40]
This site has hundreds of personal letters, diaries, photos and maps from the early settlers of Kansas.

Oklahoma

Chronicles of Oklahoma [41]
The Index is particularly helpful in finding specific names and topics as well as being able to search. Volumes 1-21 (1921-1942) of the quarterly journal of the Oklahoma Historical Society are online and searchable. Volumes 22-40 (1944-1962) are searchable but are in pdf format. Volumes 41-80 (1963-2002) have the Table of Contents. The Missouri Valley Room has the journals from volume 1-60 (1921-1960).

Military

Civil War Rosters by State [42]
This is a directory of Civil War Rosters/Muster Rolls that have been found on the Internet. Since only 50-60% of all rosters are on the Internet, some units will not be listed.

The Kansas State Historical Society [43]
The Society maintains a web page with links to various military databases.

Military Service and Pension Records [44]
Research the National Archives site for military personnel from the American Revolution, War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish American, Boxer Rebellion, World War I, World War II, Korean, and Vietnam.

Missouri State Archives Soldiers' Database [28]
The Soldiers' Records: War of 1812-World War I database "is a comprehensive database abstracted from the individual service cards and listing more than 576,000 Missourians who served in the military from territorial times through World War I. It includes entries for twelve wars and military engagements in which Missouri soldiers took part. These range from well-known wars, such as the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, and World War I, to the battles that were peculiarly Missourian, including the Heatherly War of 1836, the Mormon War of 1838, and the Iowa (Honey) War of 1839. The bulk of the service cards, over 380,000 of them, record the fractured history of Missouri during the bloodiest of all American wars - the Civil War."

National Parks Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database [45]
A computerized database designed by the National Parks Service containing basic facts about over 5.4 million servicemen who served on both sides during the Civil War.

Revolutionary War [46]
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) maintains this site with a free lookup service in the DAR's Patriot Index of Revolutionary War soldiers and others who served the cause of liberty.

Ethnic

Africana Heritage Project [47]
Documents names and lives of slaves, fred persons and their descendants.

AfriGeneas [48]
A terrific starting place for African American research. See also African Americans in Missouri [18].

In-Motion: The African-American Migration Experience [49]
This site provides a context for fashioning family histories, and background for understanding the unique histories and contributions of immigrants from Africa, Haiti, and the Caribbean.

Digital Library on American Slavery [50]
The Digital Library is a searchable database of detailed personal information about slaves, slaveholders, and free people of color that includes more than 150,000 individuals, 80,000 slaves and 8,000 free people of color.

The Freedmen's Bureau Online [51]
Another site for African-American research from the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands known as the Freedmen's Bureau and established in 1865.

Midwest Afro-American Genealogical Interest Coalition (M.A.G.I.C.) [52]
The coalition, with headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, meets once a month to promote black genealogy.

Asian Countries [53]
Part of the WorldGen Web Project, the AsiaGen Web provides links to most of the Asian countries.

Hispanic Genealogy [54]
Begin Hispanic roots quest here.

Center for Jewish History [55]
The center maintains online databases that include records from the Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum and the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of the City of New York, plus WWI soldier questionnaires, and more.

JewishGen [56]
Find your Jewish ancestors by searching this mammoth family tree with data on two million
individuals.

Native American Genealogy [57]
Access to many of the Indian rolls, including the Dawes, as well as links to individual states and their Indian records. Census Finder [58] includes Native American census records.

Native American Genealogy Helper (Carolyne's) [59]
A major portion of this site focuses on Native American history and genealogy resources. Includes some "how to" articles for Indian research.

Native American Records at NARA [60]
Indian censuses from 1885 through 1940 and the Dawes Rolls, applications for enrollment in the Five Civilized Tribes taken between 1896 and 1914.

Swedish Roots [61]
Most Swedish genealogy sites charge fees, but this one by the Federation of Swedish Genealogical Societies "is packed with free info, much of it in English."

Immigration & Passenger Lists

Castle Garden [62]
This was the port of entry for many immigrants from 1830 through 1892, the year Ellis Island opened. Search the database of 10 million records.

Ellis Island [63]
Search the records for those who passed through Ellis Island and the Port of New York between 1892 and 1924. Steven Morse [64] has developed a "one-step" form for searching the Ellis Island database as well as the 1930 census.

Naturalization Records [65]
A guide to finding naturalization records. For Missouri [66], the state archives has a database covering the years 1816-1955. If you find the person you are seeking, you will need to write and request the form.

Passenger Lists on the Internet [67]
Links to other sites with passengers and ships lists.

The Ships List [68]
Includes links to passenger lists as well as photos of ports and vessels.

What Passenger Lists Are Online? [69]
Includes links to Internet sources for transcribed passenger records and indexes. Some links require payment.

Records

Bible Records Online [70]
Over 718 Bibles representing 2,431 surnames can be searched.

Federal Land Patent Records [71]
From the Bureau of Land Management of the U.S. Department of the Interior. "This site offers researchers a source of information on the initial transfer of land titles from the Federal government to individuals" between 1820 and 1908.

Clues in Census Records for 1789-1840 [72] and Clues in Census Records for 1850-1930 [73]
The National Archives discusses types of "hidden" information that can be gleaned from census records.

Census Online [74]
This most complete and easiest-to-use guide to online census pages that contains more than
36,000 links.

Census Finder [75]
This work in progress has over 11,684 links to free census information including the United States, the United Kingdom, Native Americans, Canada, Norway, and Sweden. Some links go to subscription databases, but it also has a lot of free information. Check back frequently for added sites.

Social Security Death Index [76]
The Social Security Death Index contains death records of 51 million individuals for whom a Social Security death benefit was claimed. With the information found from search results, you can order a copy of the original application for Social Security which gives a great deal more information than that found in the database.

Online Searchable Death Indexes and Records [77]
This directory of online death indexes listed by state includes death certificate indexes, obituaries, cemetery burials and probate records.

Find A Grave [78]
Search 4.1 million grave records or look for specific cemeteries.

Interment.net [79]
This site has more than 3.2 million records from nearly 7,000 cemeteries worldwide.

Obituary Central [80]
Thousands of links to online obituaries; cemetery inscriptions; birth, marriage and death
notices; and divorce records arranged by state and county.

US Funeral Home Directory [81]
Find current funeral homes for all the states.

Vital Records Information [82]
This is for the United States with links to each state, and then a link to each county in the state.

United States Vital Records Information [83]
Another vital records site with links to states and counties.

The Olden Times [84]
This impressive site has obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, ads and cartoons all scanned from the Webmaster's collection of 18th-, 19th-, and early 20th-century newspapers from the United States, British Isles, and Australia.

Libraries and Archives

Allen County Public Library [85]
The premier U.S. public library genealogy collection. Owner of all journals indexed in PERSI, Periodical Source Index, they will provide reprints of articles from that database/index via copies of their online order form [86].

Family History Library [87]
Search the catalog [88] of the extensive collection of genealogical materials held by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Find a Family History Center [89] near you to order and view material from the main library.

Library of Congress [90]
The Library of Congress online catalog has pretty much everything ever printed and is home to the American Memory [91] project with many images including maps and photos.

Midwest Genealogy Center [92]
Former Genealogy & Local History Branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library system in Missouri, the Midwest Genealogy Center, opened June 2008 and is one of the top ten genealogy libraries in the United States.

National Archives and Records Administration [93]
NARA provides guides for genealogists.

NARA's Access to Archival Databases System (AAD) [94]
Includes a selection of nearly 50 million historic electronic records created by more than 20 federal agencies on a wide range of topics. Native American records [60] (Indian censuses from 1885 through 1940 and the Dawes Rolls, applications for enrollment in the Five Civilized Tribes taken between 1896 and 1914) can also be found here.

Miscellaneous

DeadFred [95]
The original online genealogy photo archive.

Deciphering Old Handwriting [96]
Provides clues into the art of making seemingly illegible handwriting legible.

Genealogy Forms [97]
Charts and records forms available for downloading.

Heartland Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists [98]
Search for members of APG in the Kansas City area who will do in-depth research.

Naming Traditions [99]
Procedures used in the past for naming children.

Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection [100]
Historical maps including topical ones such as military conflicts, territorial growth, westward migration, and early Indian tribes.

Relationship Charts [101]
How to determine who is your third cousin, twice removed, and other complex familial relationships.

ROOTS-L Home Page [102]
Mailing list for persons interested in genealogy. Also includes a searchable surname list, a Civil War Units File, and a page (with links) for every state in the U.S.