best genealogy websites of 2013

Best Genealogy Websites of 2013

May P. ChanPrairie History Librarian, Regina Public Library

Presented October 5, 2013SGS Conference, Moose Jaw, SK

© 2013

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

Why do you need this list?

Not all genealogy websites are the samePaid (monthly vs per image) vs Free (search

vs full record)Database vs IndexNominal Searching vs Geographic SearchingDifferent 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

Selection CriteriaOffers the most authoritative and

trustworthy websites to use for genealogyHow 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 ChronicleVarious genealogy blogsTips from other genealogistsPersonal experience helping patrons

“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) - $

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 momentPrairie census recordsIncoming 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.

Tip #1: Ancestry Insider Bloghttp://www.ancestryinsider.blogspot.com

Another Great Site to Consider…Internet Archive

http://archive.org/index.php

My favorite tool – archived websites!

Internet Archive

Non-profit digital library offering books, articles, movies, and audio recordings – Best part, all of the content is FREE!!!

Hidden genealogy resourcesUS Census Records – 1790-1940 (not

indexed)city directoriesyearbookslocal and family histories

Henderson City Directory – Saskatoon 1911

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

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.html) - FREE

Google News Archives (http://news.google.com/newspapers) - FREE

Oh Canada! Continued… Olive Tree Genealogy (portal;

http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/index.shtml) - FREE

Definitely check out the site’s passenger lists

links!!!

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!!!

America – Continued…

Ellis Island (immigration; http://www.ellisisland.org) – FREE

Castle Garden (immigration; http://castlegarden.org) – FREE

Distant Cousins (city directories & school yearbooks; http://www.distantcousin.com) – FREE

Chronicling America (newspapers; http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/) – FREE

GenealogyBank (newspapers; http://www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/) - $

America – Continued… Digital Public Library of America (newspapers,

photos & maps; http://dp.la/) – FREE

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

Jolly Ol’ England

FindMyPast (http://www.findmypast.co.uk/) - $ but FREE with valid SGS membershipNote: 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

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

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

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) - $

“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

“Land of the Vikings” Danish Demographic Database (Danish census &

church; http://www.ddd.dda.dk/ddd_en.htm) - FREE

“Europa”

WieWaeWie (Dutch census & civil registers; https://www.wiewaswie.nl) - FREE

Greek Genealogy (portal; http://www.greekgenealogy.org) – FREE

JewishGen (cemetery; http://www.jewishgen.org) - FREE

HalGal (portal for Western Ukraine & Galicia; http://www.halgal.com) – FREE

EastEuropeGenWeb (portal; http://www.rootsweb.com/~easeurgw) – FREE

“Europa” - Continued

Federation of East European Family History Societies (portal; http://feefhs.org) – FREE

“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

“Down Under” Trove, National Library of Australia (newspapers;

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper) - FREE

Nice feature – geographical interface!

“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/~shipstonz/cemeteries.html) - FREE

“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

“Something Extra” - Continued

Keeping OrganizedFree Genealogy Forms and Charts (http://www.genealogysearch.org/free/forms.html) – FREEGenSoftReviews (genealogy software; http://www.gensoftreviews.com) – FREECNET (software and hardware; http://www.cnet.com/) – FREEDropbox (cloud computing; www.dropbox.com) - FREEEvernote (online note taking; www.evernote.com) - FREEOnline-Convert (file conversions; www.online-convert.com) - FREE

“Something Extra” - Continued

Staying Up-to-Date Dick’s Eastman’s Newsletter (http://blog.eogn.com/) – FREE Genealogy in Time Newsletter (http://www.genealogyintime.com/index.html) - FREE Dear Myrtle (http://blog.dearmyrtle.com) – FREE Genealogy Blog Finder (http://blogfinder.genealogue.com/) – FREE

Staying Up-To-Date – Continued…Genealogy Guys (http://www.genealogyguys.com)

- FREE

Contact:

Email: maychan@reginalibrary.ca

http://www.slideshare.net/maychan

Thank-you!