Links to Research Skills and Sources

Libraries and Archives

Search online library and archives catalogs.
Don't overlook manuscripts and Bible collections.

Sharpen Your Research Skills

Whether you are a beginner or a skilled genealogist
you will find something of interest here.

Other Goodies

Here are a few to get you started,
but be sure to check out the NDGenWeb page.

North Dakota GenWeb Archives. Contains transcribed primary source documents. It is now possible to search for your surname and locate it if it occurs in any of the documents filed in the North Dakota Archives.

USGenWeb Archives Table of Contents. Transcribed primary documents are being added daily. Check out your favorite states and counties and ENJOY!

National Archives and Records Administration. NARA's genealogy page provides information about many of the finding aids, guides, and research tools that can prepare you for a visit to one of our facilities or for requesting records from NARA.

DAR Library. Containing some 150,000 volumes, the Library was recently (1998) ranked the third most important of national institutions by publisher Heritage Quest.

Library of Congress now has an experimental search engine that will allow you to search for surnames.

Archival and Manuscript Repositories in the United States . From the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC).

WebCats. A directory of online library catalogs nationwide and worldwide.

Sharpen Your Research Skills

Genealogical research is more that just finding people who are researching your family line and downloading all the vital data they have collected. It is really great to make such contacts but the quality of the information we get from others depends ultimately on the records on which the information is based and the care with which the researcher copies and records his source of information. Original source material is the goal to strive for. Derived sources include things like transcripts, abstracts, extracts that have been processed and drawn from original sources. Derived sources may contain serious errors and you can spend a lot of time chasing someone else’s ancestors. While sharing information with others can provide many shortcuts to learning about your family, the careful researcher will search for original records to verify his information. It is with these thoughts in mind this section of skill building sites has been selected to help the beginning genealogist. However, even the more advanced genealogist will find helpful hints and short refresher courses developed by well qualified persons.

INTERNET GENEALOGY - WHAT'S GOOD! WHAT'S NOT! . . . AND WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? by Bettie Cummings Cook, CG. An excellent article on the dangers of Internet genealogy.

Are You a Genealogist, or a Collector of Genealogy?. Scott Simpson makes good points about "doing it right."

National Genealogical Society Standards for Sound Genealogical Research. Lists ten procedural steps designed to improve the quality of our research.

RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees has an excellent set of lessons on various topics of importance to genealogists.

The Learning Center. Developed by Linda Haas Davenport, this site has a nice variety of "how to" articles including census, military, land and other records. Also has other types of information including a time line of history, a list of old diseases, "rules for teachers," and more.

Skill Building Series from the Board for Certification of Genealogists. Excellent series of articles for all levels of proficiency.

Research Aids for the Family Historian. Includes information on calendars and dating practices, colonial occupations, family naming traditions, a really great western migration map, and much more.

Genealogy Resources. A list and links by Duane Bogenschneider.

Metes and Bounds Surveys. by Steve Broyles, Direct Line Software.

Numbering Systems in Genealogy. Richard A. Pence gives a good explanation of the various numbering systems used in genealogy.

AnimatedAtlas.com gives a brief narrative of the development of the United States from 1790 to 1950.

Treasure Maps. Excellent collection of general information and special tutorials on the "stone wall syndrome," deciphering old handwriting, and the U.S. Federal census.

National Archives and Records Administration Genealogy Page. This area provides many of the finding aids, guides, and research tools that can prepare you for a visit to one of the facilities or for requesting records from NARA.

Roots-L Library. Designed to accompany the Roots-L database, but contains helpful sections on specialized sources including Native American, Jewish, African-American, Quaker, and adoptees.

Other Goodies

The Genealogy Page developed by the National Archives and Records Administration. Lots of good stuff on what is available at NARA.

United States Town/County Database. Interactive search helps locate the county in which a town is located and provides links to information in that area.

Migrations. They came for a season, they left and went where? Why did they go and who went with them? So many questions about the migrations of our ancestors.

USGenWeb Links Page. Designed especially for USGenWeb users this super site contains links to such categories as miscellaneous, land search & maps, newspapers and books, military, queries, genealogy software, other genealogy-focused orgainizations and more.

Newspaper Abstracts. The purpose of this site is for the submission of newspaper abstracts (or links to other sites with newspaper abstracts) from United States newspapers published prior to 1923. This excellent site is growing by leaps and bounds.

Find-a-Grave.

USGenWeb Census Project. This project transcribes federal and state census records. Check here to see how you can help. Completed transcriptions can be viewed in the USGenWeb Archives or here.

TopoZone. Online topographic maps---free.

Obituary Central strives to locate, categorize, and present obituaries and other forms of vital data for your convenience.

Map Collection from the Universitiy of Texas Perry-Castañeda Library. Excellent collection of historical maps.

U.S. Digital Maps Library. State and County map as well as Indian Land Cessions to the United States Treaty Maps.

US Military Records Resources 1776 - WWI

Bureau of Land Management. This project offers researchers a single source of information on lands that were once in federal ownership; which federal agency has jurisdiction over the land surface; and what individuals or entities first received that land from the federal government. Also California, Texas, Missouri, and Kentucky database.

Where to Obtain Land Patents/Warrants. State-by-state information excerpts from The Source ...; abstracted by Linda Haas Davenport (May 1998) and updated periodically.

Passenger Lists. A project in progress to transcribe passenger lists, from the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild.

Directory of Catholic Parishes. Search by parish name, zip code, area code, diocese, or city/state.

Funeratnet. National directory for cemeteries and funeral directors.

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet. The Bible for locating sites of interest to genealogists.

Zip Express is a Windows based software utility allowing easy look up of U.S. zip codes and their associated cities, states, counties, area codes, time zones and current time.

Time Capsule. Enter a date between 1900 and 1997 and see the headline news and economic data for that time period.

Tutorials for Reading Old German, French and English Handwriting; Naming Sytems. Some good basic stuff.

Vital Records Information. Where to obtain vital records from each state, territory and county of the United States.

10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained. An attempt to answer common myths about copyright seen on the net and cover issues related to copyright and USENET/Internet publication, by Brad Templeton.

Popular Songs in American History Includes tunes, lyrics and historical background dating from the 17th century.
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