Free Genealogy Search - I Dream of Genealogy

GENEALOGY***GENEALOGY***GENEALOGY

I Dream of Genealogy is a website that has unique free searches available. There are the 1870 & 1871 birth notices from Nevada. There is a tribute of sorts to the Xenia, Ohio tornado victims of 1974. Thirty-four people lost their lives either in the tornado or from injuries sustained from the tornado. Each victim is listed along with some family and burial info.

Search the obits from Kittitas County, Washington or check out the old graves and cemeteries from Long Island, NY.

There is a really neat section of lost and found. I buy a lot of items at auctions and many times will get home and find old family photos or death notices. These are the types of things you will find on this sight.

This website doesn't seem to have a lot of research variety available but what is offered is very interesting and unique. Check it out at http://www.idreamof.com/

Arizona Birth & Death Certificates

If you have ancestor's that were born or have died in Arizona the Arizona Department of Health Services has a easy to use genealogy website. Recorded births from 1855 to 1932 and recorded deaths from 1855 to 1957.

You can search the records of your ancestors by county or by several counties. This website is well worth looking into if any of your family lived or died in Arizona.

Check it out at: http://genealogy.az.gov/

Free Genealogy Search - Born in Slavery

Records of Black Americans are generally hard to research because the records for slaves are pretty much non-existent. There are 17 states that do have narratives by actual slaves from years ago. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

These biography's contain so much history that they should be read by every American. This free website is both interesting and informational.

Check out the Library of Congress Born in Slavery Website. These slave narratives were part of the Federal Writers Project from 1936-1939. You can browse by state or narrator, there are also photos by subject.

Check it out at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/

Free Genealogy Search - Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery has a free website offering information on burials, photos, stories, videos, history and biographies. If you have an ancestors buried at Arlington National Cemetery I highly recommend searching this website.

There are over 300,000 burials at Arlington so the website does not include every one buried there, however, there are many categories that are well worth checking.

Categories include, American Astronauts, Confederate Graves, Foreign Nationals, Prominent Civilians, Soldiers under Custer's Command, US Supreme Court and thousands of US Army, Navy, Marine Corp and Coast Guard Graves.

The biography section of the buried is especially interesting.

Check out this fascinating website at: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/

Free Genealogy Search - Alabama Genealogy

Alabama Genealogy and History Guide is a great place to check for family members from Alabama. They have online records scanned in for easy searching.

While this is a great site it is easy to click on a variety of topics and get redirected somewhere else. Some of the sites you might be directed to are free, others have a fee to use.

The scanned in census records are all free and they offer quite a few decades. I like searching the old census records because I always discover something new in my search. Keep in mind that the census takers of old were not the most educated people. Often times there are many misspellings in names but this was not always the census takers fault. Many people just couldn't read or write and had no idea how to spell their own names leaving the census taker with the only option of sounding it out.

If you have ancestors from Alabama this is a great free genealogy site to check out.

Free Genealogy Website- Shoe String Genealogy

Shoe String Genealogy is a little different than most genealogy websites. They offer chat sessions almost every night. These sessions only last about an hour and they are sponsored by different genealogical organizations. They offer discussions on a variety of topics, for instance, this week one of the chat sessions will be on researching "Female Ancestors". Another is a chat regarding the "New England States" and yet another topic is "Write your own Family History".

I believe this website originated in the UK so there are several topics regarding the UK but a great many of these chat sessions will benefit anybody researching their family history.

There is one scheduled chat this week that sounds very interesting, it's titled "Bastard" and covers researching illegitimate children from people of royalty and nobility. That's one I'm gonna tune in for just because I've never even gave that particular problem a thought. It should be very interesting & informational!

You can check out this free genealogy website at:

http://www.shoestringgenealogy.com/

Free Genealogy Search - Brigham Young University

There are free online independent study courses in genealogy offered by Brigham Young University. These courses are non-credit classes but are very helpful and educational.

Newbies just starting out will find these courses very useful. Seasoned genealogists will also find information to help them out as well.

Check out their web-site at http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/courses/freecourses.cfm

Free Genealogy Search - Gen-Gateway

Gengateway is a very interesting genealogy website with many free resources. There is an array of information to be researched on this sight.

Just a few examples include: The Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, The history of Detroit and Michigan, Fredericksbury, Virginia, The History of and Students of the University of Virginia. There are many, many more to check out!

There are several free site searches that will keep you busy for hours. I find that many times some tidbit of information just from reading history will answer questions to my own genealogy questions and problems especially when trying to understand the different era's.

Take a little time and do some reading on these articles on this site, it is well worth your time and perhaps will help your family research progress. http://www.gengateway.com/

Free Genealogy Search - Pennsylvania Civil War

The Pennsylvania Civil War website is full of great information. Regimental rosters and histories, POW information and regimental death lists are just wonderful genealogy tools. This website also has diaries, letters and newspaper articles that are pretty interestering.

Information is sorted by county and regiments so searching is pretty easy. If you have any Pennsylvania ancestors that lived during the civil war period it's well worth a look! Check it out at http://www.pacivilwar.com/

Free Genealogy Forms & Worksheets

If you are trying to organize your genealogical information Lineages.com has several free forms and worksheets you can download and print out. Family group worksheets, marriage, death, census, contact info, pedigree charts, and much more.

Organization is always a key element when researching genealogy. A couple of notebooks, and some of these forms will help immensely when trying to sort through pages and pages of ancestral information.

You can check this out at Lineages.com You must have Adobe Reader in order to download these forms.

Free Genealogy Search - Distant Cousin

Distant Cousin is a website with archives of old records, many of which are scanned in.

A Variety of information awaits you at this website for several different states.

Check out this wonderful free genealogy resource at http://www.distantcousin.com/

Free Genealogy Search - Pennsylvania Genealogy

I have found the Pennsylvania Genealogy Website full of great free information on my Pennsylvania Ancestors. This website will take you to other websites but is very helpful if any of your family actually came from Pennsylvania.

There is history, census records, court records, military records, wills, newspapers articles, etc. All kinds of information that all genealogist search for but focuses on Pennsylvania genealogy.

Just lots of free Pennsylvania search information on one page. Check it out at http://www.pennsylvaniagenealogy.org/

Free Genealogy Search - Native American Nations

Native American Nations is a website dedicated to helping people in their genealogy quest who have American Indian Ancestors. It is a website full of interesting information covering several different tribes. Native American Nations provides information on rolls, treaties, history and census.

There are sections with photographs that are quite interesting. Many of the laws that were created and enforced in several US States are available to educate you.

If you do have Native American Ancestors this website has many free resources to check out at http://www.nanations.com/.

I do not have Native American ancestors, however, I did stumble across this site and found it quite interesting.

Free Genealogy Advice on Brick Walls

Sometimes Genealogy can be mind numbing. Just when you think your are progressing beyond your own expectations you hit a brick wall. On the other hand you usually find the best information in totally unexpected places.

When you do come across those brick walls it's best to walk away, go on to something different for awhile then go back to it. It does get more thank a little frustrating!

Check out this music video by Ray Stevens, it's fun and a not so far fetched as you first might think. It will help clear your head of your own problems for awhile. I believe he's experienced a few brick walls in his own research of his ancestry to be able to come up with this one.

Free Genealogy Search - Death Indexes & Records

Online Searchable Death Indexes and Records is another free genealogy website. You can search death records and death indexes in all 50 states.

Other genealogy searches on this website include obituaries & death notices and cemetery and burial records.

This website is the type that has lots of click-able topics that will take you to another website. I found it quite frustrating to click on something interesting only to end up on Ancestry over and over again. I did find lots of information on this website, I’m just not a big fan of Ancestry. You just have to take you time and weed through it for the best results.

The Searchable Death Indexes and Records website can be located at this web address: http://www.deathindexes.com/

Free Genealogy Search - Ancestor Hunt - Past Sheriffs of the US

Ancestor Hunt is a free genealogy search website with many unique informational searches. There is a section called Past Sheriffs of the US and one called Police officers of the past. If you have ancestor's that were part of law enforcement this site can give you insight on the history of a variety of police stations. There are also many names and pictures that are quite interesting.

Another interesting search you can make is for genealogical prison records. If you have a black sheep in the family you just might get to know them a little better. There is information on prisons such as Folsom, Alcatraz, Yuma Territorial, plus much much more.

Photographs, lists of executions and prison census records are just some of the listed prison record searches . This website is absolutely fascinating, informational and free.

Even if you don't have a black sheep jail-bird in the family tree or a Sheriff who helped tame the wild west you can't help searching the information on this website. Check it out at: http://www.ancestorhunt.com/past-sheriffs.htm

Free Genealogy Search - Connecting Family Dots

Connecting Family Dots is a free genealogy search website that has a variety of information on people particularly in the Ohio area.

Connecting Family Dots has categories such as surnames, obituaries, births, deaths, marriage, military and bio’s.

This easy to use website and has lots of information, I highly recommend using it especially if you have ancestors from Ohio.

Check it out at http://www.connectingfamilydots.com/

Free Genealogy Search - Ellis Island Record Database

The Ellis Island Record Database is a must try for any genealogy researcher. If you have ancestors that immigrated to the United States between 1892 – 1924 it's a strong possibility they passed through Ellis Island. Over 12 million people passed through this immigration station in it's heyday, it is estimated that 40% of the US population today are descendants of Ellis Island immigrants.

The Ellis Island Record Database is well worth checking out. There are several ways you can search including name, year of arrival, or ship. If you only have a ancestor's name it's a strong possibility you will get information regarding their gender, age, nationality, marital status, last residence, date of arrival, and which ship they sailed in on.

This easy to use website is very educational and informative and you can spend hours searching both online or if you are in New York you can go to the Ellis Island American Family Immigration History Center. Check out the website at: http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/

Free Genealolgy Search - Access Genealolgy

Access Genealogy is a interesting free genealogy website that offers a variety of information. I really like this site as it is very easy to use and it has loads of information.

You can search assorted Census Records, Military Records, Native American Records, Bible Records, African American Records, Naturalization Records and so much more.

There are some very interesting biography's and old letters, none of which had anything to do with my genealogy, however, they bring me a little understanding of how people spoke and things they did. It's not only interesting but educational to read about people who lived in past centuries. Reading old articles or letters gives me a glimpse of both major and minor concerns of people, daily routine, education, community awareness & involvement in days long past.

Getting a grasp on how our ancestors lived their lives is a part of researching. Names and towns are just more interesting with a little history behind them. Check out Access Genealogy, it's another free genealogy website. http://www.accessgenealogy.com/

Free Genealogy Search - Genealinks

Genealinks is a free website that offers free genealogy searches. Genealinks provides a huge Marriage Records Database which includes 30,000 names.

You can look up surnames, connect with other researchers or just spend hours going through all the records. Worth a look for all you fellow reseachers! Check it out at http://www.genealinks.com/

Free Genealogy Photo Site - Ancestor Archive

Like Family Old Photos another website featuring old photographs is Ancestor Archive. Many of the photographs are either user donated or have been bought at flea markets, antique stores or estate sales. There is a special section with old school photo's and a mystery section where people are seeking info on pictures they have posted.

If you are lucky enough to make a connection many of the user's that have donated photo's are eager to communicate and share information with other ancestors. E-mail addresses are available for many of the researches seeking family.


Ancestor Archive offers free searches that are definitely worth checking into! http://ancestorarchive.com/

Free Genealogy Photo Site - Family Old Photos

Family Old Photos is a viewer submitted site with lots of old photogaphs that users submit with information about each photo. There is a section on this site that has unidentified photo’s but also many user submitted photos complete with name and a brief history. Some of the unidentified photo's are bought in flea markets or antique stores and others are from that huge box of pictures many of us has with no identification attached. These photo's are scanned in with the hopes of being found by the right ancestors.

I spent several hours on this site going through pictures hoping to find a long lost relative. I never did find any ancestors but it was quite interesting and fun to look over all these old pictures. We never know when or where we’ll find tidbits of ancestors, most of the time it in unexpected places. Check this website out, you might get lucky! http://www3.familyoldphotos.com/

Free Genealogy Site - USGenWeb Project

The USGenWeb Project is a free website for researcher interested in Genealogy. It is organized by state and county, if you have ancestors around the world check out worldgenweb.

The USGenWeb Project is a volunteer run website so some of the states and some of the counties are so much more organized and offer so much more than others, you just have to try it to see what benefits you. I usually take one family name and try every state I know that is associated with that family. Somedays I feel like I've struck gold and others I feel like I've wasted my time and energy but that's how it is with everybody who researches their genealogy.

I have personally spent hours on this site and recommend giving it a try. For US Genealogy check out
http://www.usgenweb.org/ or for countries other that the US, check out http://www.worldgenweb.org/

Free Genealogy Site - Census Diggins

Census Diggins is a free website with a huge variety of free information. If you are searching ancestors from Texas there are several old articles from Texas Newspapers such as the Fort Worth Gazette, The Dallas Times Herald and the Dallas Morning News. These articles are from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. You’ll find marriage and death announcements, court cases and land transactions among other things.

There is a great section on Civil War Prisons with deaths and burials of many of the soldiers in these Prison Camps: Alton Prison, Camp Chase, Camp Douglas, Camp Randall, Elmira, Fort Delaware, Fort Jefferson, Fort McHenry, Old Capitol Prison, Point Lookout, and Rock Island.
There is also a Civil War Records Database, there is a database with Native American, Irish and Scottish Genealogy, Texas Orphans, these are all free resources.

I really enjoyed searching this website, there are plenty of free searches but all is not free, there are some area’s I wandered into that wanted fees or subscriptions but it is definately well worth a try, I spent a week at this site researching their free information. Check it out: censusdiggins.com

Free Genealogy Site - Shadows of Time

There is a variety of free genealogy searches for New Zealand at a very nice easy to use website called Shadows of Time. I found these categories were very helpful for searching ancestors in New Zealand.

Early New Zealand Settlers
Dominion Post Births & Deaths
Early Mayors of NZ: 1862-1931
New Zealand Wars 1860-1870
NZ Military Pensions
NZ Teachers 1906NZ School Records
NZ University Records
Ankara, NZ Cemetery
Shipping Index: Passenger Lists & Information
Military Lists

There are also several other free searches that are quite interesting. Check it out! http://shadowsoftime.co.nz/

Free Genealogy Site - Interment.net

Interment.net is a free online library of burial records. Searches for the several cemeteries in the USA, Australia, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Brazil, Italy, Poland, Finland, France, Japan, Mexico, West Indies, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Belgium, and Antarctica.

Many of the cemeteries listed are volunteered compiled and submitted so if you'd like to share a local cemetary near you the folks at Interment.net makes it easy for you to download your information.

http://www.interment.net/ is a site dedicated to helping people locate the burial sites of their ancestors and friends. I have personally found people in graveyards that I haven't been able to locate anywhere else. With a burial place and a map I was able to find and search surrounding towns and locate a few of those brick walls we all run into. This site is well worth checking into and the best part - it's free.

Free Genealogy Site - Rootsweb

Rootsweb is a free genealogy website which allows assorted free searches such as the Social Security Death Index and Death Records for California, Texas, Kentucky and Maine. There are several free databases to search as well as some user provided information sites.

I recommend searching the Meta Search site. I received 6 different resources on the first name I put in including some records in the World War 1 Draft Index and some Civil War records under the web site search category.

You could literally spend hours on this site but be careful, it is owned by Ancestry.com and I can't tell you how many times I ended up on their site accidentally. Rootsweb.com is really one of the best free genealogy resource web sites out there.y. http://www.rootsweb.com/ is really one of the best free genealogy resource web sites out there.

Free LDS Church Family Search

The Church of Latter Day Saints - Family Search is one of the best free websites to search for family genealogy. Information is not for church members only. The LDS Church members were and have always been great information gatherers. I was very surprised to find many of my family members listed in different categories and not one of them was a Mormon. This site is free and easy to use, there are also LDS family libraries in most states which has tons of information, research is free but appointments are necessary. Check out their website http://www.familysearch.org/. To find a library near you click on the Library tab then click on the Family History Centers tab and fill in your location and it will bring us the closest one.



• The main library in Utah has a collection that includes over 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical records; 742,000 microfiche; 310,000 books, serials, and other formats; 4,500 periodicals; 700 electronic resources. The Family History Centers has access to all this information.

• The Ancestral File database has more than 36 million names linked to millions of families.

• The International Genealogical Index database contains approximately 600 million names of deceased individuals. An addendum to the International Genealogical Index contains an additional 125 million names. These names have been patron submitted or extracted from thousands of original birth, christening and marriage records.

• The Pedigree Resource File database contains over 80 million names that are linked into families.• Records available are from the United States, Canada, the British Isles, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

• A majority of the records contain information about persons who lived before 1930.

• Records have been filmed in over 110 countries, territories, and possessions.

• The collection includes over 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical records; 742,000 microfiche; 310,000 books, serials, and other formats; 4,500 periodicals; 700 electronic resources.