I’ve already written a blog about the best free website for genealogical research. Today I’m going to list some other free websites that I love to use (or some that others love to use). I hope you will find them just as useful.
[Update: I have decided to update this post as I discover new websites, so check back once in a while!]
Cyndi’s list is a categorized & cross-referenced index to genealogical resources on the Internet, which publishes a list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online.
“The USGenWeb Project was established in 1996 by a group of genealogists who shared a desire to create free online resources for genealogical research. Originally beginning with online directories of text-based resources, their vision has grown into a network of over 3000 linked websites, all individually created and maintained by a community of volunteers. Today you may find a variety of unique county and state resources including photos, maps, transcriptions, historical documents, helpful links, and much more.”
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
“Search America’s historic newspaper pages from 1770-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.”
In my post, Lessons Learned: More (Mostly) Free Resources, I mentioned the Library of Congress’ online digital collection. This is part of that collection, but I wanted to point it out specifically as a possible free alternative to Newspapers.com, which is a subscription-based site. Just keep in mind that, like Newspapers.com, you are not going to find every newspaper. Also, the newspapers are only archived through 1963.
WikiTree’s tagline is “where genealogists collaborate,” and that is exactly what many people love about it because it is a highly collaborative community that fosters a positive, supportive environment for users.
Like FamilySearch, WikiTree involves one world family tree that anyone can edit; however, while “everyone is invited to enjoy the fruits of the tree . . . those who actively help to grow it must agree with our mission and our nine-point Honor Code.”
As you probably already know, I am not a big fan of public family trees as they are prone to error and inaccuracies. However, if I look at someone else’s tree, it will most likely be WikiTree’s since it’s more likely to be sourced by people who take their genealogy seriously. It’s not always sourced, and sometimes the source may be someone’s Ancestry family tree, but I have found it to be much more accurate overall.
Another feature you may like is the G2G (Genealogist-to-Genealogist) Forum.
“Find a Grave is a site used to look for burial and other final disposition information for your family, friends and famous people. The site provides tools that let people from all over the world work together, share information and build an online, virtual cemetery experience.
At Find a Grave you’ll find details about cemeteries and individual memorials for many people buried in those cemeteries. Memorials generally include birth, death and burial information and may include pictures, biographies, family information and more. Members can contribute what they know and can leave remembrances via ‘virtual flowers’ on the memorials they visit, completing the virtual cemetery experience.”
Find a Grave is a great resource for tombstone photos. It also can be a great resource for finding other information about your ancestors; however, my internet rule applies here: just because it’s published online doesn’t mean it’s true. As with family trees, you will need to check the sources of the information provided, and unfortunately most memorials are not sourced. I have found inaccuracies in unsourced information there, but I have also found legitimate unsourced information that I was able to corroborate using other sources.
“Reddit is a network of communities where people can dive into their interests, hobbies and passions. There’s a community for whatever you’re interested in.”
There truly is a Reddit community for everything on Reddit and genealogy is no exception. A few of my favorite communities for genealogy and communities that are genealogy-adjacent are:
- r/Genealogy and r/Ancestry, which are both wonderful for crowdsourcing information;
- r/23andMe and r/AncestryDNA for all of your genetic genealogy needs;
- r/AskHistorians is exactly what it says: you post your question, and you will get an informative, well sourced answer;
- r/TheWayWeWere is a place to post old photographs of the way we were; and,
- r/estoration is the place to go with those old photographs that need some restoration work. You simply post your picture, and there will probably be some kind redditor who will give it a shot. If someone does a really good job, feel free to tip them.
I have not even scratched the surface of wonderful communities there are to discover on Reddit. It’s definitely worth checking out, and I strongly encourage you to give it a try.
Also, while many people love the website, I much prefer the mobile app. I would suggest checking out both options, and see what works best for you.
Google is a genealogical workhorse.
- Are you just getting started on genealogy?
- Do you want to learn more about genetic genealogy?
- Do you want to know how to locate Michigan marriage records?
- Are you having trouble with a brick wall ancestor?
- Most of these free resources I have been sharing, I’ve found through Google over the years.
- I’ve had luck just googling an ancestor using their name and some of their information, or googling a family in a specific area.
- Does the search function on your favorite website stink (I’m looking at you, Reddit)? Use Google instead by typing site: followed by the domain and extension, like “site:Reddit.com.” Then, include your search query, and press enter.
- Are you trying to locate an old history book that’s in the public domain? Just google the title of the book, and you’ll find out where it’s available online or even where you can purchase a hard copy.
Chances are, if you get creative with your search, Google will provide you with some answers.
BLM General Land Office Records
This search engine provides “live access to Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States, including image access to more than five million Federal land title records issued between 1788 and the present. [They] also have images of survey plats and field notes, land status records, and control document index records.”
Veterans’ Administration National Gravesite Locator
With this search engine, you can search for burial locations of veterans and their family members.
International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
This site can help you decipher those illegible causes of death on death certificates. To use this resource:
- check for the year of death on a death record,
- check for the number code in the “cause of death” column of a death record,
- head to this website, locate the guide that would have been in use the year your ancestor died, click on it, and
- then search for the disease that corresponds with the numerical code(s).
In my example below, the year of death was 1926; the numerical codes are 90 and 92. The guide used would have probably been the 1920 revision, so I clicked on that. Then I looked at the diseases that correspond with the numbers.
I have never used RootsChat, but I heard about it on Reddit a while back. It appears like it may be fairly active, but I cannot personally vouch for that. I thought I’d mention it here in case one of you find it useful.
Facebook groups are supposedly great places for genealogy enthusiasts; however, I do not use Facebook a whole lot and cannot suggest specific groups to join. I merely follow a couple groups for surnames I am searching, a Michigan genealogy group, and some local historical societies. I spend the bulk of my social media time on Reddit.
RootsWeb: Rest in Peace
Years ago, RootsWeb used to be the place for genealogical research, and I wish I could recommend it, but it has been systematically destroyed by Ancestry over the past several years. Back in the day, the site boasted message boards, mailing lists, WorldConnect family trees, and hosted websites. The latter is the only “feature” left, and those hosted sites are nearly all old and outdated. Additionally, they will all become read-only early next year.
Unfortunately for all of us, there is not currently any website that offers all of the features that RootsWeb once provided for free.
Rest easy, RootsWeb.
Generations 
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