Virginia Land, Marriage, and Probate Records, 1700s-1900s

More than 135,000 Virginia settlers are mentioned in this collection of fully searchable abstracts of deeds, marriages, and wills. Every person is linked not only to a specific event but to a number of family members, associates, and friends who were also involved in the land record, marriage, or will administration. This information will help you establish relationships and approximate arrival times in the colony.

Listings Include:
- Name of every person listed in the record
- Relationship to the key person
- Residence
- Role in the event
- Date and place of event
- Record source

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Browse the World's Largest List of Surnames.

Family Reunion

Today more than ever, American families are scattered to the wind. Yet perhaps for this very reason, families have also been getting together for reunions in unprecedented numbers. 

Planning a reunion is a pleasurable but complicated undertaking that requires foresight and planning, and here to assist is Family Reuinion, an indispensable guide and sourcebook that shows how to organize and conduct four basic reunions: a Backyard Barbecue for siblings and cousins, a Homecoming Weekend, an Extended Family Reunion, and a Family Camp, which typically lasts a week and gathers up to 100 participants. 

Accessible and packed with ideas and information, the book shows how to create a workable timetable (18 months before a large reunion is not too soon to start planning), organize a committee, and set up a fund for expenses (and to help less-well-off members attend). There are chapters on location, including little-known church camps and family resorts; on scheduling activities for kids and adults, day and evening; on genealogy; on recording the event; and even on etiquette, including how to handle black sheep, in-laws, and stepchildren. With case studies of real-life reunions and duotone photographs throughout, this is the book that helps us connect...

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Family Reunion Idea

Looking for a great family reunion idea? Use that shared time with relatives to do some research on your family tree. Gather facts, tell stories, and share your research with your family members. Uncles, aunts, and cousins will all agree that it's a great way to spend time together at a family reunion.

To make the best use of your genealogy research time, share the family reunion idea with your relatives beforehand. Six to eight weeks before the reunion, send them a letter or email outlining your ideas. Here's a sample:

Since we'll all be together, let's work on building our family tree. Please bring all your favorite stories of our family, along with copies of any old pictures or documents you may have. With your help, I can put together one great family history. Next year at the family reunion, I'll share the results of my new research. I hope you like my family reunion idea.

Then list the various specific items you need:

• dates and places for family events such as birth, marriages, divorces, and deaths 
• family pictures, letters, and memorabilia 
• any remembered details of ancestors' lives 
• family Bibles or other treasured records 
• family customs, games, recipes, or other things that make your family special A week or so ahead of time, you may want to send a reminder email. You could even include a form to be photocopied and filled out, or downloaded and printed.

If you're looking for an even broader family reunion, go to OneGreatFamily.com. Home of the original online global family tree, OneGreatFamily.com can help you find your family's place in the world. A single new link can help you discover thousands of ancestors and entire new lines.

Pennsylvania Colonial Records, 1600s-1800s

Discover this significant collection of records comprehensive in their coverage of colonial Pennsylvania. Approximately 190,000 individuals are referenced within the newspaper abstracts, naturalization records, land records, court records, and family histories.

Much of this collection's importance stems from the fact that neither the State of Pennsylvania nor its counties had a centralized system of collecting vital information prior to the late 1800s. Among the unique resources, you'll find abstracts of Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette as well as the esteemed series known as Colonial Records - one of the cornerstones of early American record sources.

Books Included:
- Virginia Court Records in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Records of the District of West Augusta and Ohio and Yohogania Counties, Virginia, 1775-1780
- Index to Pennsylvania's Colonial Records Series
- Early Pennsylvania Land Records: Minutes of the Board of Property of the Province of Pennsylvania
- Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania, Volumes I, II, and III
- Names of Foreigners who Took the Oath of Allegiance to the Province and State of Pennsylvania, 1727-1775
- Persons Naturalized in the Province of Pennsylvania, 1740-1773
- Names of Persons who Took the Oath of Allegiance to the State of Pennsylvania Between the Years 1777 and 1789
- Abstracts from Ben Franklin's 'Pennsylvania Gazette,' 1728-1748
- Genealogical Abstracts from 'The American Weekly Mercury,' 1719-1746

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Early Tennessee Settlers, 1700s-1900s

Here you'll find 14 books comprehensive in their coverage of early Tennessee. The cemetery records, vital records, biographical sketches, family histories, probate records, census returns and pension lists reference approximately 165,000 individuals.

These unique resources include a virtual first census of Tennessee and a tombstone-by-tombstone account of local cemeteries. You'll also find record of Revolutionary and War of 1812 veterans as well as abstracts from state and national archives.

Books Included:
- Tennessee Records: Bible Records And Marriage Bonds
- Tennessee Records: Tombstone Inscriptions And Manuscripts
- Tennessee Soldiers In The Revolution: A Roster of Soldiers Living During the Revolutionary War in the Counties of Washington and Sullivan
- Some Tennessee Heroes Of The Revolution
- Twenty-Four Hundred Tennessee Pensioners, Revolution And War Of 1812
- Index To The 1820 Census Of Tennessee
- 1770-1790 Census Of The Cumberland Settlements: Davidson, Sumner, And Tennessee Counties
- Record Of Commissions Of Officers In The Tennessee Militia, 1796-1815
- Pioneers Of Davidson County, Tennessee
- Overton County, Tennessee: Genealogical Records
- Red River Settlers: Records Of The Settlers Of Northern Montgomery, Robertson, And Sumner Counties, Tennessee
- Sumner County, Tennessee Abstracts Of Will Books 1 And 2 (1788-1842)
- Tennessee Genealogical Records: Records Of Early Settlers From State And County Archives
- Henry County, Tennessee Old Time Stuff

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Browse the World's Largest List of Surnames.

Colonial Virginia Source Records, 1600s-1700s

Comprehensive in its coverage of colonial Virginia, this database references approximately 353,000 individuals in a unique collection of family histories, local histories,military records, court records, newspaper abstracts, tax lists, and marriage records.

The sources collected here are especially useful because they were collected from local sources and often cover a period of time before centralized record keeping was established. For example, although the first federal census was not taken until 1790, in Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-1787, you'll find a list of 34,000 early residents. In Early Quaker Records in Virginia you'll find an exact transcription of genealogical data in the oldest Quaker records in Virginia, the so-called Chuckatuck Record. Among the more unusual resources is a collection of abstracts from 18th century Virginia newspapers (found in the book Genealogical Abstracts from 18th-Century Virginia Newspapers).

Extracted from more than 7,000 issues of 80 newspapers, each abstract provides at least two pieces of genealogical data. This is an especially exciting resource for obtaining information on enslaved African-American ancestors since many of the abstracts are advertisements for the return of runaway slaves...

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Pallot's Marriage Index for England: 1780 - 1837

Pallot's Index to Marriages is essential for researchers with London ancestry, as it covers all but two of the 103 parishes in the old City of London. The dates span the time from 1780 to the onset of General Registration in 1837. The more than 1.5 million marriage entries come mainly from London and Middlesex, but also include entries from 2500 parishes in 38 counties outside of London-many not available in other sources. 

Also included are several records from counties in Wales. With indexing begun in 1813, several of the registers transcribed in Pallot's index no longer exist, having been destroyed or lost in the time since. The index slips were handwritten on paper, and indexing continued regularly over a period of more than 150 years. Each slip identifies the church or chapel in which the marriage was celebrated, the names of bride and of groom, whether spinster, bachelor, widow or widower and sometimes other detail along with the date of the event. 

The original paper slips of the Pallot Index are owned and held at The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, Canterbury, England. The Institute may have access to fuller details that may have survived among the original parish records. (www.ihgs.ac.uk) The Institute is a not-for-profit educational organization and researches in the records themselves can be arranged. Please visit their website for additional information about the services they provide...

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North Carolina Wills, 1665-1900

The four titles reproduced here reference approximately 134,000 individuals who were authors of or mentioned in a will or inventory. Ranging from abstracts to full, unabridged texts of wills, these probate records can help you gain an understanding of North Carolina's industrial and social life by giving you insights about its citizens and their property. Probates, such as those indexed and collected here, are especially valuable because they often provide details not only property held by a person but on the nature of that person's relationships with family and friends...

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Early Quaker Records in Virginia

This is an exact transcription of genealogical data in the oldest Quaker records in Virginia, the so-called Chuckatuck Record. It is mainly birth, marriage, and death records in Nansemond and Isle of Wight counties, beginning in 1673, although a few entries relate to events of an earlier date. The birth and death records provide the usual names and dates, while the marriage records have the names of the parties to the marriage, the date, parents' names, and the lists of witnesses, many of whom were relatives of the bride and groom...

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Midwest Pioneers, 1600s-1800s

The twelve books on families in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan and Missouri. The records range from military and land to census schedules and family histories from a variety of states which makes it an especially valuable resource.

Many pioneers who traveled west in the early days of the United States sought adventure and the opportunity to own and cultivate their own land. One of the most influential factors in westward expansion was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, in which the fledgling U.S. government determined the criteria for a territory to become a state and provided new land for its citizens to settle with the promise of support from their government.

One of the determinations of the Northwest Ordinance was to afford a territory with more than 60,000 inhabitants the opportunity to petition for statehood. This population requirement for statehood was a powerful incentive for the territories to recruit immigrants and encourage settlement within their borders...

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United Kingdom and Ireland Records

Uncover the different generations of your family in census records from England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, covering every decade from 1841 to 1901. Plus, see their original records in our high-quality scans. The exact information varies from year-to-year, but you’ll discover fascinating details such as names of all the family, their ages, birthplaces, occupations and relationships. You can use these facts to delve further into their lives, using birth, marriage and death indexes, immigration records, occupation documents and much more. Our latest addition is the 1911 England & Wales Census Summary Books — we’ll be adding the rest of the 1911 Census over the next few months...

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Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929

The biographical information included in this database was extracted from the esteemed two-volume set titled Directory of Deceased American Physicians. Edited by Arthur W. Hafner and produced from a card file held by the American Medical Association, this database includes biographical and professional information on approximately 149,000 medical practitioners. The great variety of information included here will provide valuable clues to help you expand your research. By learning where your ancestor set up his or her practice, for example, you can get a general idea of where he or she lived. More fundamentally, the dates and locations of births and deaths may provide the clues necessary to locate vital records...

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Family Fun Night

It's instant fun. Activities to do in minutes. Super-quick games to roll out at a moment's notice. Filling a need that every parent of young children has, 324 Anytime, Anywhere Activities! for Kids is a perfect antidote to those "booooring" car rides, endless waits in the doctor's office, restaurant fidgetiness, and assorted child-unfriendly chores. And you don't need to bring along any special props.

Several years ago, Cynthia Copeland shared the wisdom of her three children in Really Important Stuff My Kids Have Taught Me, which has 356,000 copies in print. Now she's written a parents' survival guide for those times when kids seem more at wit's end than wise. In the car? Try Red Car, Blue Car, Old Car, New Car; How Far, How Fast?; Raindrop Race; or I Heard It!, where the first one to hear the secret word on the radio wins. While waiting for the pediatrician, try Sock' Em, Cents of Hearing, or Body Double--draw the outline of your child lying on the examination table paper, then let him or her fill it in. Stuck at the bus stop? Gather the kids to play Simon Does, Knot Happening, or Blind Man Walking. There are mind benders, story-telling games (including It Was a Dark and Stormy Night)--in all, hundreds of ways guaranteed to engage their imagination and lift their spirits. Not to mention yours...

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Lineages of Hereditary Society Members, 1600s-1900s

Uncover significant evidence of your family's place in American history! Because membership requires exceptional documentation, hereditary societies' lineage records are especially valuable. These 27 volumes contain detailed lineages for members of such hereditary societies.

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Within this collection you'll find information on approximately 440,000 individuals. The hereditary societies represented include, among others:

• The National Society of the Sons and Daughters of Pilgrims
• The Colonial Dames of America
• The National Society of Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America
• The General Society of the War of 1812

Books Included:

• Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants, Volumes I-III
• Lineages of Members of the National Society of Sons And Daughters of the Pilgrims, Volumes I-III
• Index of the Rolls of Honor (Ancestor's Index) in the Lineage Books of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Volumes I-IV
• Founders and Patriots of America Index
• Ancestral Records and Portraits: Colonial Dames of America, Volumes I and II
• Some 'Colonial Dames' of Royal Descent: Pedigrees Showing the Lineal Descent from Kings of Some Members of The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and of the Order of the Crown
• Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors
• The Order of Americans of Armorial Ancestry, Lineage of Members
• Ancestor Lineages of Members Texas Society/National Society Colonial Dames Seventeenth Century
• The Roster and Register of the General Society of the War of 1812
• Three Hundred Colonial Ancestors and War Service
• Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Delaware, Register of Members, Nos. 1 Thru 338
• Seventeenth Century Colonial Ancestors, Volumes I-III

Early New England Settlers, 1600s-1800s

Within the lineages, family histories, vital records and historical essays compiled and indexed in this database, you'll find information on approximately 190,000 individuals. The 22 titles reproduced here are expertly sourced and comprehensive.

Often, you'll have the opportunity to learn not only of your immigrant ancestor's voyage to America but of his or her new life once they settled in New England. Among the resources, you'll find:

- Biographical sketches of early settlers
- Historical essays on early New England life
- Journal entries detailing the daily struggles of early New Englanders (including entries composed by John Winthrop and compiled by James Savage)

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Paging the Dead (Family History Mysteries)

When a professional genealogist who teaches classes in family history scrapbooking is implicated in the murder of her client, she starts her own investigation to clear her name—and avoid jail! 

Genealogist Sophie McClure spends much of her time researching the histories of families. With the help of her business partner and medium, Esme Sabatier, she is able to achieve extraordinary results in tracing family histories, which she translates into archival-scrapbooking. When one of their clients ends up dead and the evidence in the crime scene points to them, Sophie and Esme are immediately suspected of foul play. To clear their names they need to channel all of their investigative efforts—with the help of their scrapbooking club—into finding a murderer...

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History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of West Virginia

History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars is an account of the various expeditions in the west, previous to 1795. The early history of the west is full of most lively interest to readers, both at home and abroad; and that which relates to Western Virginia and its borders is so in an especial degree. Here it was that Washington received those severe lessons in war which prepared him for the great achievements he so gloriously performed in after life, and here was struck the first great blow in the struggle for American Independence. One of the better early histories of what is now West Virginia. (One of the Big Four--Chronicles of Border Warfare, Border Settlers, Notes on the Early Settlement.) Illustrated by numerous engravings...

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Virginia Colonial Records, 1600s-1800s

Within the lineages, family histories, vital records and historical essays compiled and indexed in this database, you'll find information on approximately 190,000 individuals. The 22 titles reproduced here are expertly sourced and comprehensive.

Often, you'll have the opportunity to learn not only of your immigrant ancestor's voyage to America but of his or her new life once they settled in New England. Among the resources, you'll find:

- Biographical sketches of early settlers
- Historical essays on early New England life
- Journal entries detailing the daily struggles of early New Englanders (including entries composed by John Winthrop and compiled by James Savage)

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Jumpstart Your Genealogy Research

Do you want to trace your Family Tree?

Imagine how you'll feel at the next family gathering when you present your Family Tree research to all your living relatives. What an awesome gift. You'll blow them away! 

Maybe you can tell a touching story about your grandfather and how during the depression he walked ten miles to save a nickel that bought a Christmas present for your mother. Maybe your name could be traced back to royalty! 

Could your family have come to America on the Mayflower, or include famous explorers like Louis and Clarke, or even the Outlaw Jesse James! Could your ancestor have been a Revolutionary War Hero or a Wild West Madam?

Genealogy Research may seem complicated but it can be easy when you know where to start! This book will help you learn the basics to get you on your way and give valuable tips to the intermediate genealogist. 

Don't struggle alone - learn the easy steps that will get you on your way to becoming a great Genealogist! 

'Jumpstart Your Genealogy Research' - will help you do just that. History is an important part of our culture and values. Our ancestors gave us a legacy. We should be good stewards of that gift. 

You can keep their stories alive! This is the first step to creating permanent ties between the past and the future for you and your family. 

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Massachusetts Probate, Town, and Vital Records, 1600s-1900s

Between 1630 and 1642, approximately 30,000 people left England for Massachusetts. By the time of the American Revolution, nearly everyone still in Massachusetts could trace their ancestry to one of those 30,000 people. This database lists more than 160,000 individuals in probate records, town histories, and vital records. This variety of records allows you to piece together quite a comprehensive record of your Massachusetts ancestors.

Each of the following towns or counties has at least one volume dedicated to it in this Family Archive: Barnstable, Bristol, Duxbury, Eastham, Fairhaven, Haverhill, Middleborough, Orleans, Plymouth, Sandwich, Scituate, Stoneham, and Suffolk. This material may also be of interest to those with early Rhode Island ancestors since Massachusetts' Bristol County included the Rhode Island towns or areas of Bristol, Warren, Barrington, Little Compton, and Tiverton until 1747. 

Since its early settlement, Massachusetts has been collecting vital records (births, marriages, and deaths) at the town level. Because these records have been kept locally, however, accessing them today for your research can sometimes be inconvenient. Six of the volumes included here deal specifically with vital records. Some of the titles, such as Vital Records of the Town of Plymouth, are collections of the work of renowned Mayflower scholar George Bowman who methodically transcribed the official records of Massachusetts' town clerks. Vital records usually contain the full name of the individual involved in the event, the date of the event, and the town in which the event took place...

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Immigrants to Pennsylvania, 1600s-1800s

Pennsylvania's most influential early settlement was organized by a Quaker, William Penn. Chartered in 1681 by King Charles II, Penn's colony was primarily made up of English Quakers but also included German, Dutch, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish. Over the next century, Penn's "Holy Experiment" attracted huge groups of immigrants to Pennsylvania.

Taken from passenger lists, records of indenture, oaths of allegiance, and studies of Quaker immigration from Germany, Holland, and Ireland (including the travels of William Penn), the records compiled here are comprehensive. Included among the ten volumes is the most important work on the mass immigration of Germans to Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania German Pioneers...

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The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy

Navy Muster Rolls, 1939-1949

WWII Navy Muster Rolls are now being added to Fold3’s World War II Collection. With a full title of “Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, compiled 01/01/1939 - 01/01/1949,” these are reports of enlisted personnel formally attached to ships, stations, or other commands (known as “activities”). They are assembled every quarter from reports of status changes, and may also include records of passengers aboard a vessel.

A forwarding sheet accompanies each quarterly roll. It includes the name of the ship, number of pages in the report, the date, signatures of the executive and commanding officers, and from where the report was issued. Report of Changes forms, created monthly or whenever a major change in personnel took place, are an integral part of the muster roll. Men listed at the top of each form are referenced by the same number at the bottom where their circumstances are detailed and an explanation for the change is printed. In addition to duty transfer, a status could also include desertion, death, hospitalization, and change in rating. If passengers were aboard, they were identified in reports of Non-enlisted Passengers.

The Muster Roll of the Crew is a quarterly snapshot, identifying all personnel at a particular location, with full names listed alphabetically by surname. It provides service number, rating (rank), date of original enlistment, and when each person was received on board.

You can create memorial pages from any name listed on the WWII Navy Muster Rolls and the Pearl Harbor Muster Rolls. Move your cursor to the appropriate line on the document image, click on the box that appears, and then on the sailor’s name. This will take you to a page where you can leave a tribute, upload photos, or add details about that person’s life.

Explore the growing collection of WWII Navy Muster Rolls on Fold3.

Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, 1850 Census Microfilm Records

With images of the actual census pages (in the census taker's actual handwriting) linked to a heads-of-household index, this database provides unprecedented access to the Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont portions of the 1850 federal census. Approximately 369,000 heads of households are included in the index and approximately 1.2 million individuals can be found within images of the actual census pages.The 1850 census is an especially valuable one for genealogical research because it enumerates every member of a household rather than just the head of it. So, once you find a member of your family, you'll find information about that person and their entire household...

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Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, & Mississippi, 1850 Census Microfilm Records

Approximately 337,000 heads of household listed in the 1850 federal census from four southern states. It includes 123,322 individuals from Alabama, 40,238 individuals from Arkansas, 96,813 individuals from Louisiana, and 76,709 individuals from Mississippi. This database is especially valuable because it includes not only an index to these four states' portions of the 1850 census in their entirety but also images of the actual census pages - in the census taker's own handwriting.Often referred to as the first modern census, the 1850 census employed improved techniques for collecting information. For the first time, enumerators were provided printed instructions that explained their responsibilities, census procedures, and the intent behind census questions. These instructions accounted for a greater degree of accuracy in the census record. If you find evidence of your ancestors in this database, you may be able to determine their property value, marital status, education, location of residence, occupation, and the names of other household residents...

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101 of the Best Free Websites for Climbing Your Family Tree

California, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, & Utah, 1850 Census Microfilm Records

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West Virginia Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff

Your round-trip ticket to the wildest, wackiest, most outrageous people, places, and things the Mountain State has to offer! 

Whether you’re a native West Virginian, a recent transplant, or just passing through, West Virginia Curiosities will have you laughing out loud as Rick Steelhammer takes you on a rollicking tour of the strangest sides of the Mountain State. 

Enter the Mystery Hole to witness gravity-defying feats, such as balls rolling up ramps, people sitting in chairs that cling unsupported to a wall, and fellow visitors walking at a forty-five-degree slant. 

Learn how a roadside breakdown led Elkhorn Creek to be a haven for trophy trout—but think twice before eating your catch. 

Meet Jesco White, the mountain-dancing cult figure who’s gone from performing on a doghouse roof to dancing onstage with Hank Williams III...

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Tennessee, 1850 Census Microfilm Records

This data set includes an index to the 1850 census and scanned images of the actual records themselves — in the census taker's own handwriting! In the index, you'll find approximately 200,000 Tennessee heads-of-household, and on images of the actual census pages you'll find information on approximately 960,000 individuals. 

Often referred to as the first modern census, the 1850 census employed improved techniques for collecting information. For the first time, enumerators were provided printed instructions that explained their responsibilities, census procedures, and the intent behind census questions. These instructions accounted for a greater degree of accuracy in the census record...

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Cemetery Research on the Internet (A Genealogy Guide)

Ohio, 1780-1970 County & Family Histories

This data set is unique because it provides not only family histories but county histories as well. You can learn, for example, not only that your ancestor was married in Fulton County in 1800 but what Fulton County was like in 1800. With this information you are able to gain a more complete understanding of your ancestors and the times and locations in which they lived...

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Cemetery Research on the Internet (A Genealogy Guide)

Tennessee Marriages, 1787-1866

Search this invaluable collection of marriage records produced with the Genealogical Publishing Company. Resources included were compiled almost exclusively by Edythe Whitley, who spent a lifetime studying the genealogical records of Middle Tennessee.

-- Most complete coverage of Tennessee marriages in 21 counties - time periods vary by county
-- Approximately 278,000 individuals referenced
-- Many early Tennessee marriage records have not survived or are extremely difficult to track down. In some cases, these records seem to be all that exist for particular counties and time periods.

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The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy

Cemetery Research on the Internet (A Genealogy Guide)

There's little a genealogist loves more than tramping through an old cemetery. That's because of our insatiable desire to learn more about our ancestors, when and where they lived, and their final resting place. In today's modern world, so many people live hundreds or thousands of miles from their 18th or 19th century ancestral homes that on-site cemetery research often has to wait for a family vacation or business trip.

How frustrating to find a clue about a family burial plot, only to be prevented by distance to visit in person.

For genealogists, cemeteries can contain a treasure house of clues for further research: The inscription on just one stone can contain a maiden name, a place of birth, the names of children or wives, and cause of death. The carvings and artwork on the stone itself contains symbolic clues to religious beliefs or the family’s expression of grief. Thanks to the Internet, the possibility of locating family burial sites without leaving home is excellent. Instead of indefinitely postponing cemetery research, you can now search the Web for cemetery transcriptions, headstone records, and even volunteers who will go to a cemetery and take photographs for you.

This One-Hour Genealogist guide contains the best free websites for doing cemetery research, resources for finding a cemetery photographer and how to get great tombstone photographs when you're doing in-the-field research. It also contains the author's favorite free website for discovering information about old cemeteries...

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Marriage Index: Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington, 1727-1900

Approximately 154,000 individuals who were married between 1727 and 1900 in select Western states and counties. 

Marriage indexes can save you research time by telling you that a particular marriage record containing your ancestor's name exists. With the information provided, you may be able to find a newspaper announcement, which may provide more details about the bride, groom, and their families... Request a Free Lookup From This Database...

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The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual

Family historians depend upon thousands of people unknown to them. They exchange research with others; copy information from books and databases; and write libraries, societies, and government offices. At times they even hire professionals to do legwork in distant areas and trust strangers to solve important problems. But how can a researcher be assured that he or she is producing or receiving reliable results? This official manual from the Board of Certification for Genealogists provides a standard by which all genealogists can pattern their work...

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Marriage Index: Maine, 1743-1891

This database contains information on approximately 230,000 individuals who were married between 1743 and 1891 in select Maine counties. Fully indexed, it is a valuable resource because it brings together previously uncollected marriage records and gives you easy access to information that you would otherwise have to obtain from local sources. Information was collected from a variety of sources including the Family History Library and the Maine State Archives... Request a Free Lookup From This Database...

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101 of the Best Free Websites for Climbing Your Family Tree

The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy

In every field of study there is one book that rises above the rest in stature and authority and becomes the standard work in the field. In genealogy that book is Val Greenwood's Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. Arguably the best book ever written on American genealogy, it is the text of choice in colleges and universities or wherever courses in American genealogy are taught. Of the dozens of textbooks, manuals, and how-to books that have appeared over the past twenty-five years, it is the one book that is consistently praised for setting a standard of excellence. The Researcher's Guide has become a classic. While it instructs the researcher in the timeless principles of genealogical research, it also identifies the various classes of records employed in that research, groups them in convenient tables and charts, gives their location, explains their uses, and evaluates each of them in the context of the research process. Designed to answer practically all the researcher's needs, it is both a textbook and an all-purpose reference book. And it is this singular combination that makes The Researcher's Guide the book of choice in any genealogical investigation. It is also the reason why if you can afford to buy only one book on American genealogy in a lifetime, this has to be it. This new 3rd edition incorporates the latest thinking on genealogy and computers, specifically the relationship between computer technology (the Internet and CD-ROM) and the timeless principles of good genealogical research. It also includes a new chapter on the property rights of women, a revised chapter on the evaluation of genealogical evidence, and updated information on the 1920 census. Little else has changed, or needs to be changed, because the basics of genealogy remain timeless and immutable. This 3rd edition of The Researcher's Guide, then, is a clear, comprehensive, and up-to-date account of the methods and aims of American genealogy--an essential text for the present generation of researchers--and no sound genealogical project is complete without it...

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Selected U.S./Internat'l Marriage Records, 1340-1980

This database contains marriage record information for approximately 1,400,000 individuals from across all fifty United States and thirty-two different countries around the world. These records, which include information on more than 500 years of marriages, were compiled over thirty-four years of family history research by professional genealogist Bill Yates. This unique collection of records was extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases. Originally, the information was derived from an array of materials including pedigree charts, family history articles, queries, letters, Bible records, wills, biographies, and manuscript genealogies...

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Marriage Index: New York #2, 1740s-1880s

This database indexes nearly 100,000 individuals who were married in the state of New York from the mid 1700s to the late 1800s. The marriage records indexed in this database have been collected from a variety of sources including church records, newspapers, census records, and state vital records...

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Marriage Index: Selected Areas of New York, 1639-1916

This database contains marriage information from selected areas of New York for approximately 152,000 individuals. This database contains some of the earliest known church and government marriage information, from 1639, and continues through the 18th and 19th centuries. Marriage information may not be comprehensive for the time and region covered... 

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Marriage Index: Ohio, 1789-1850

This database contains indexes to approximately 303,000 selected marriage records from 85 counties in the state of Ohio. Fulton and Monroe counties are not included, as records from these counties were destroyed by fires. Records indexed may not be comprehensive for the time and region covered...

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101 of the Best Free Websites for Climbing Your Family Tree

I’ve been ancestor-hunting since I was about 8-years-old.

Back then, I didn’t know anything about GEDCOMs, pedigree charts, census data or compiling sources. But what I did know was I had an insatiable curiosity about the people who came before me - - thanks, in part, to the family stories spun by both my grandmothers.

One of them regaled me with tales of her own grandfather - a Civil War veteran of the Battle of Shiloh, while the other captivated me with stories of Indians in the wilds of Missouri. More importantly, both of them started me on a life-long path that has taken me to abandoned cemeteries, courthouse attics, out-of-the-way museums, and some of America’s most hallowed ground.

During the journey - particularly in the last five years - I’ve discovered some of the best free genealogy and history sites on the Internet. These are the ones I use in my own research, and the ones I hope you’ll find as valuable as I have.

Although you can find these same sites on your own, it’s my hope that by finding, testing and compiling the best-of-the-best it will save you all of the time it’s taken me to put this resource together - - and free you up for what you love best - - Finding Ancestors!

The first 50 sites are grouped by category: 

• military
• social history
• immigration
• databases
• miscellaneous

The next 51 are by state, with one outstanding site per U.S. state. (And because there were some sites just too good to be left out, you’ll find another 10 sites at the end)

The 50 best sites contain an overview of the site, why I recommend it, and any search strategies for making the most of your time on the site... Read More

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Explore US Military Historical Records by War.
http://www.ancestralfindings.com/fold3.htm

Marriage Index: District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 1740-1920

This data set contains information on approximately 250,000 individuals who were married between 1740 and 1920 in select Mid-Atlantic states. Marriage indexes can save you research time by telling you that a particular marriage record containing your ancestor's name exists. With the information provided, you may be able to find a newspaper announcement, which may provide more details about the bride, groom, and their families. 

Once you have the details provided by the marriage index on this resource, you may be able to contact the county in which the marriage took place to request a copy of the original marriage record. Original marriage records can often provide you with more information, such as the names and birthplaces of the bride's and groom's parents, addresses of the bride and groom, information about previous marriages, and witnesses' names.

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http://www.ancestralfindings.com/cd399.htm

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