Ancestors for Free - Discover Where to Find Ancestors for Free

Find Ancestors Land Records with BLM and Google Earth (VIDEO)

Kimberly — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:38:38 +0000

I’ve created a little video for you that shows you how to take the results from your search at the BLM-GLO website and view them live in Google Earth!! I show you how to take the township and range information, input it into a conversion tool and voila – instant map of your ancestor’s land! [...]

Who Do You Think You Are? TV Series premieres March 5

Admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:57:44 +0000

I thought you’d like to know about the new hit show “Who Do You Think You Are?” premiering March 5, 2010. The NBC series features Lisa Kudrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Spike Lee, Matthew Broderick, Susan Sarandon, Emmitt Smith, and Brooke Shields, and takes each celebrity on a heart-warming journey back in time as they discover [...]

FamilySearch.org – A gold mine of free ancestry records!

Kimberly — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:11:23 +0000

Perhaps the best and largest free ancestry search tool available today on the Internet is FamilySearch.org. This website is a non-profit service provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This Church is also known as LDS and their followers as Mormons. The LDS Church believes strongly in the sacredness of family and [...]

Use a Genealogy Forum to Get Your Questions Answered!

Kimberly — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:46:05 +0000

By it’s very nature, the Internet allows people from all over the world to connect with each other. For genealogists, this opens up a wide variety of possibilities. Genealogists love to talk with each other about research and exchange stories about their ancestors. One of the places you can REALLY get down to specifics and [...]

Historical Maps Online – Trace Your Ancestor’s Footsteps

Kimberly — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:51:56 +0000

It’s truly amazing how much information is available online now. I started searching for genealogy online back in 1999 or so and I was stunned back then! Not only can you find transcribed records these days but there is a wealth of other information to help you create a “picture” of your ancestors. Where they [...]

Social Security Death Index – Free Genealogy Database

Kimberly — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:18:44 +0000

Your Social Security Number is how you are tracked by the Federal government from the time you are born until the time of your death. This number is used everywhere from your health insurance, employment, and taxes to your utility bills and driver’s license. It is a unique number that will forever and always belong [...]

Castle Garden Immigration Records – Free Immigration Records for the Port of New York

Kimberly — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:56:29 +0000

Castle Garden in New York City was one of the processing centers where immigrants from all over the world passed through when they immigrated to the United States. Castle Garden immigration records are available for the 10 millions plus immigrants to the United States passing through this port even before Ellis Island was opened. [...]

Free Genealogy Templates – Forms and Charts to Keep You Organized

Kimberly — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:02:13 +0000

Once you’ve started making progress in your genealogy research, you will quickly start to notice that you have a growing pile of papers and notes that will need to be organized. Early on in your research, you should locate some free genealogy templates to help you keep track of the families in your tree. Genealogy [...]

Find Ancestors for Free in Ship Passenger Lists – Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild

Kimberly — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:48:13 +0000

The most well known site on the Internet for finding your ancestors in free passenger lists is the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild (ISTG). The ISTG has been online since September 1998 with a few volunteers who transcribed passenger lists. The ISTG now has over 500 volunteers who are completing this important work to be published [...]

Free Family Tree Builder at Ancestry.com

Kimberly — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:07:04 +0000

You have most certainly run across Ancestry.com in your online genealogy research. It’s pretty hard not to – they have the largest genealogy record collection on the Internet. Did you assume is was only a subscription-based genealogy site? Most people would think so. Well, I’m here to tell you that surprisingly, Ancestry.com does offer quite a bit of [...]

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness can knock down your brick wall!

Kimberly — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:18:21 +0000

If you have not run across the site Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) while searching your ancestors for free online, you are in for a real treat! The RAOGK has over 4000 volunteers who are willing and able to perform a variety of genealogy research tasks for free! The volunteers donate their time just [...]

Free Genealogy Searches at Rootsweb

Kimberly — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:21:13 +0000

Rootsweb is perhaps the largest and oldest free genealogy community online. It used to be entirely run by volunteers but in 2004 was acquired by Ancestry.com which provides the funds to support it. Never fear, however, as all of the genealogy records on Rootsweb still remain free to access by anyone. If you haven’t made [...]

Virginia Genealogy Treasures at the Library of Virginia

Kimberly — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:17:01 +0000

Family Tree Magazine recently recognized Virginia as one of the top 10 states for genealogy research. Once you visit the Library of Virginia online (or in person) you will agree that it is one of the best free Virginia genealogy resources available to you. Virginia can be called the ancestral home of millions of Americans [...]

Free genealogy resources abound at the USGenWeb Project

Kimberly — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:50:13 +0000

The USGenWeb Project is another wonderful free ancestry resource to tap into as you search for genealogy resources online. Their tagline is even “Land of the Free…Genealogy”! The USGenWeb Project is a large organization of a group of volunteers who maintain genealogy websites for each of the 50 states and each of the counties in [...]

Plat Maps Give Your Family Tree Research the Edge!

Kimberly — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:05:46 +0000

Plat maps are an underutilized resource for genealogy researchers. Plat maps show ownership of land in rural areas. Plat maps were (and still are) used in the states that adopted the Public Land Survey System which for all intents and purposes is a “square” system. Township and Range is the unit of area in the [...]