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LOOK HERE!
Places to search for your ancestors - some require payment and some don't
Before looking in out-of-the way places, try the common, simple ones
first. www.ancestry.com is the
first place to look. All of the United States census reports are
searchable by name and you can see the actual page. And besides the
census, the military information can be helpful and the immigration
information can be fantastic! Besides the historical documents, there
are also the Family Information pages. People (just like you!) have
contributed the information that they have accumulated to share! You
can find someone (probably a cousin) who has more info than you do.
Of course, you need to verify any of the info you get this way. Some
people include their sources and some don't. There are other parts of
the site you might find helpful.
Another major player is Rootsweb. Because Rootsweb has been around
for such a long time and is FREE there is a good possibilities of
finding someone. www.rootsweb.com
The up-to-date Social Security Death Records is available here, also.
US Genweb www.rootsweb.com/~usgw
is also here. Many popular lists are based on Rootsweb. Check the
lists for your surname and the geographical area in which your
ancestors lived. You may have a cousin who has done the digging already.
Another good place to make connections with cousins who are also
working on your families is LostCousins. This is really easy! You
enter information on any relative who was included on the 1880 census
and then see who else enters that same person. www.lostcousins.com
If your ancestors came from Over There; then try the One-Step site www.stephenmorse.com
Steve has done an amazing job of making the Ellis Island, Castle
Garden and general immigration, ships, and a host of other really
cool sites accessible. He has stuff for Jewish research and
translation assistance, too.
The BYU project http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/
has digitized family history books. Yes! The whole BOOK! They are
continuing this project; so keep checking back to see what they have added.
Also, since your ancestors have probably been dead for some time, you
might find them in a cemetery. Try http://www.findagrave.com/
You can also place images and information here.
A great new site is Footnote - www.footnote.com.
This site specializes in historical documents, many that can not be
found anywhere, without traveling and special access persmissions.
And, you can post your own family's special documents, too.
If these haven't been that helpful you can look at www.cyndislist.com.
Cyndi has everything!!
Something different - RootsTelevision. Educational, amusing,
entertaining and inspiring. You have to see it to believe. www.rootstelevision.com
If this begins to look like more than you really want to tackle; but
you still want to have your family's history organized - call in a pro!
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