Where To Find Genealogical And Other Historic Information

I consider myself pretty adept at Google-fu, but I tend to get distracted easily (ADD... look, a squirrel!) and end up winding around all over the Internet sometimes when all I wanted was a quick answer.

So what are your go-to websites for finding information, particularly on people or places?

Similarly, for our geneologically-inclined members, which sites do you use? Is a subscription necessary and, if so, how much?

Ancestry is a good one. That's what I (try) to use. I'm a paid subscriber so I can help you if you need it.

I've thought about trying out Ancestry.com because it seems to be the most comprehensive and popular. I may take you up on your offer, though, ILS - those old covers & letters I got in my "Idaho Box" seem to be from the same gentleman and I'd like to learn more about him.

Familysearch.org

I recommend Familysearch.org too. Ancestry is good but always seems to toss you to another 'pay' site. Check locally to see if your library system has any free access. Ours in Albuquerque subscribes to Ancestry and several other genealogy types of data sites and patrons have free full access as long as they use a library computer. Any data you DL can be placed upon a thumb drive so no problammy.

Also:
- archive.org for census data
- http://1940census.archives.gov/sear...se&year=1940
- http://www.cyndislist.com/
- http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/
- http://www.ellisisland.org

FWIW, part of my family came across the pond on the RMS Mauritania, which of course also has a stamp with its image upon it. Kind of a nifty tie in!

Thanks moldman! I've gone ahead and registered for familysearch.org and will start digging around there.

GrandpaJohn - thank you for the reminder about the public library! I'm smacking my forehead over here! I know that our library has a little area set aside for a genealogy section, so I will check it out. They could very well have access to Ancestry.com! I'll check out the other sites you've listed, too.

That is a VERY cool tie in. I'd love to find out something "topical" like that. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is an old story from my mom's side of the family about a great uncle of hers who died when he fell into a cotton gin... and Eli Whitney's on a stamp... Yeah, not the same.

As a genealogist as well as philatelist, I would strongly caution you to be wary of anything you find on such sites as ancestry.com. A huge percentage of it is garbage. Don't believe any fact you find that doesn't have solid documentation. These sites are great jumping off points, and I've found some good leads, but I've learned that you have to verify everything for yourself. Most "genealogy" over the eons has been passed down by word of mouth, legend, or wishful thinking. And now in the Internet age anyone and everyone can upload stuff to these sites, so you have to take it all with a grain of salt.

oldcrow74, that is very good advice. Reminds me of that insurance commercial where the gal says, "They can't put anything on the Internet that's not true."

Both my wife and I are very long term genealogists (although her interest in cover/stamp collecting is not nearly as intense as mine). Yes, there are some very good genealogy research sites that can be used. When researching an individual, you can also search google, particularly for family web sites. I have probably researched over 1,000 covers and found that some are easy to get info on and others I have placed on the extreme backlist for additional research!



While this statement is certainly true when researching for genealogy purposes, I have found it is not as critical when researching a cover, for example, when researching a genealogical relationship between two individuals, I need to prove 100% the relationship.
There is a lot of expertise available by the members of this forum, so do not hesitate to use that availability. Just show the cover and ask!

I also am available to help in researching covers for you (and anyone else), time permitting.

I am also an amateur genealogist and have subscriptions to both Ancestry.com and Geneaolgy.com. They provide access to a lot of information that would otherwise be hard to find and very expensive. The information that I find is the most untrustworthy are the family histories posted by other members. In some cases, they can provide great leads but many others are the work of amateurs and can be full of errors. As most professionals will say, you need to get as close to source documents as possible and you need to verify nearly every fact by getting an independent confirming source. This is not always possible, so common sense sometimes comes into play. But both of these services are very good and worth the money but only if you intend to use them a lot.

Hi to all

I agree with oldcrow74, a lot of sites are full of information that is not entirely accurate.
I am fairly lucky when it comes to genealogy, as my family has thousands of documents going back more than a thousand years.(Mind you they are spread over Europe) but several books have been written about my family as they have always been politically active and well known in Europe.

Nothing is better than primary sources if you can get hold of them.
Saying that, it is amazing some of the material that public Libraries and Historical Societies have on local families.(As an aside, one of my ancestors was at the Battle of Quebec with Wolfe, He raised his own army to take with him)
Regards
Horamakhet

Time for me to revive this thread... I've been poking around quite a bit online, and I've just started a family tree on familysearch.org. I'm thinking I might want to use some sort of software, though.

What kind of software do you use? Is it free? Do you have any experience with any free genealogy software? (I'll be wanting to use free software.)

I use ancestory.com and resources from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the "Mormons") who have the most extensive genealological records of any organization. Ancestory.com utilizes their resourses. There are two "price points" for ancestory.com...one for US only and one for "world wide". I would recommend starting with US only and take care of the "easy" stuff, and then, when you hit a snag and find out you have ancestors from "overseas" (which all of us do), then upgrade to the world-wide option. So far, I've gone back to 1675 in Germany...documented...