The internet is a great resource for genealogical research. The essentially disorganized nature of the internet, however, often frustrates novice researchers. This guide briefly describes some of the types of genealogy websites, in an attempt to help researchers pursue more effective search strategies. It is intended as an introduction to research methods rather than an exhaustive list of genealogy websites, such as CyndisList.
When the world wide web first appeared, many individuals began creating web pages about a particular county or surname. Genealogy researchers quickly realized the need to co-ordinate and organize such efforts, and created several non-profit genealogical directories.
USGenWeb took on the task of organizing volunteer efforts into a hierarchy of national, state and county pages. It is a useful site for providing reference information and genealogical data for paticular geographical regions.
RootsWeb, which grew out of an early genealogy electronic mailing list, is also a useful non-profit genealogy resource. Among other projects, it maintains a lengthy surname e-mail list. Researchers can subscribe to the e-mail listservs for their particular surnames or research topics and participate in e-mail exchanges.
Besides U.S. Genweb, there are also some ethnic genealogy co-operatives, including JewishGen and AfriGeneas.
One of the great advantages of computer research is the ability to rapidly search large amounts of data. State agencies, libraries and hobbyists have begun to take advantage of this capablity by placing searchable databases of genealogical information on the internet. For example, many states have created vital records databases which can now be searched on-line. There are several Chicago databases for those with ancestors from that city.
Links pages are essentially lists of genealogical websites. The largest such site is Cyndi's List, run by a genealogist named Cyndi Howells. Her site is arranged in topical categories, and also contains a search engine.
The Family History Library run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) has collected a large amount of genealogical data that researchers can access through their FamilySearch website. The main FamilySearch page contains a search engine that will query the LDS genealogical databases, Ancestral File and the International Genealogy Index. Ancestral File is a database of family trees submitted to the Family History Library. The International Genealogy Index is a name index of ecclesiastical and civil records collected by the Family History Library. The search engine will also query a growing database of genealogical websites. Each of these databases can also be searched separately. In addition to the searchable indexes of genealogical data, the FamilySearch website also allows allows genealogists access to the catalog of the Family History Library.
There are a number of private companies that offer genealogical resources for a fee or subscription basis. Sites such as Ancestry.com, Lineages.com and Everton.com offer their customers access to genealogical databases, research services, and mailing lists. They also offer some free resources.
In addition to the genealogical websites described above, there are other geographic, bibliographic, and miscellaneous reference tools on the internet which can make family history research easier.