Local Genealogy Societies

Depending on where your research is concentrated, you may wish to consider joining a genealogical society dedicated to the locale you are primarily working in.

One of the local ones to this region is the Genealogical Forum of Oregon.   They have a library with over 30,000 hard-copy titles, actively work to index records that aren't as publicly accessible, membership gives you access to Ancestry.com for a fraction of the price as buying Ancestry outright as well as they have seminars from time to time and personal help that you can request.

There are many others in Oregon, but I just use this for an example - for a list of genealogical organizations in Oregon, click HERE.


If you're stuck, look for a genealogical society to the locale you work with primarily and see what benefits they offer and whether membership is for you!

Looking For The Patriot: Colonial Wars & Records

Before America was an independent nation, a number of wars were fought on this continent between the European powers often called "Colonial Wars." Chances are pretty good that somewhere you're related to or descended from someone who fought in those wars on one side or the other. This is an overview of the wars with a bit of genealogy on some of the larger wars. For a complete listing of wars as well as some great resources, click HERE. What follows are some of the more notable wars.

COLONIAL WARS

• King Philip's War  1675-76 (History)
• King Philip's War Genealogy

 King Philips War was named after one of the native chiefs who was called "King Philip" It was very violent and the most devastating of all wars.  Nearly drove all the English out of the North American continent.  There were 90 English settlements, 52 attacked, 12 completely totally destroyed by the natives. In this war, the natives were using fire-arrows into the log cabins and they just BURNED!  As the people fled, the natives killed them, if they didn't flee, they went in and killed them.  King Philip was defeated ultimately.

• King William's War 1689-97(History)
• King William's War Genealogy

King William’s War (the first of the French and Indian Wars) began in New England as an extension of the war between England and France, when in July 1689 the French governor of Canada incited the Indians to brutally attack Dover, N.H., then known as Cochecho.

• Queen Anne's War 1702-13 (history)
• Queen Anne's War Genealogy Links

This time, France, England, Natives AND SPAIN on the American continent around the New York area. (Trivia: America used to be known as "Columbia" after Christopher Columbus, with the "ia" generally meaning "land of" - or land discovered by Columbus - eventually being called America in reference to the explorer Amerigo Vespucci).

• King George's War 1744-48 (History)
• King George's War Genealogy

 Back to between England, France and the Natives but up over the Acadian Peninsula this time, the fourth of a series of wars between France and England and the natives, while it ended in 1748, it left many unresolved territorial disputes that resulted in further wars such as the...



 

• French and Indian War 1754-63(History)
• French and Indian War Genealogy

The French and Indian War was a seven-year war between England and the American colonies, against the French and some of the Indians in North America. When the war ended, France was no longer in control of Canada. The Indians that had been threatening the American colonists were defeated. This war had become a world war. British Colonists wanted to take over French land in North America. The British wanted to take over the fur trade in the French held territory and colonists fully participated in this war. Both these facts were to have a profound effect on the future of the colonies.

British soldiers fought against French soldiers and Native Americans. Native Americans joined in the battle against the British because they were afraid the British would take over their land.

The War officially came to an end on February 10, 1763, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. France officially ceded all of its holdings in North America, east of the Mississippi; while regaining the Islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The most long lasting effect of the war was not negotiated between the parties rather, it was the effect the war had on the American colonies. The cost of the war and of controlling the newly acquired territories was high. The British looked to the colonies to help pay those costs. That began the long spiral of events that led to the Revolution.

However, lest the causes of the revolution be watered down to simply England expected colonists to pay taxes, and the colonists throwing a child-like temper tantrum refused, see the Declaration of Independence for a list of grievances that sparked the American Revolution.

• Revolutionary War: 1775-83(History)
• Revolutionary War Genealogy.

Was actually a civil war between English loyalists and English separatists or revolutionaries.  Those loyal to the King moved across the St. Lawrence river into Canada, some stayed permanently and others came back after a few generations, into Michigan and other northern states.  

You may find relatives from Ohio, Illinois, etc., who look like they came from "nowhere" - check the New England Register and see if they were there before the Revolution and then left for Canada.

Most important records from this war are the pension records.  Those pensions lasted a LONG time.  Often old ailing veterans would marry a 15 or 16 year old girl to care for him and when he died, she got the pension for the rest of her life which means a fifteen year old girl could marry a man who was a boy in the Colonial Militias as a drummer or other position, he might be 70 or so in the 1850's and then she live another sixty years beyond that.

Indexes to the revolutionary war records are found in the State Archives. You can get name, birth, serial number and physical description of individual veterans. Physical descriptions were used to identify corpses in the wars.

If you don't find the pension records, it may just mean that he didn't take the pension or didn't need it and he was healthy and went on his way.

No single archive is going to hold all the records.

Don't forget to check the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution Home Pages (On the right of this webpage). 

Three kinds of pensions were given:

• Disability/invalid - suffered physical disabilities in the line of duty.

• Service pensions - stayed in for a time - like a retirement

• Widows pension - for wives who's husbands were killed or he got it for a certain period of time and she was entitled to it for the rest of his life.

From 1776-1878 this law was changed on the widows 14 times. Widows were offered a pension if he was alive and in the service when married.  Examples of changes in the laws:

1838 - she received a pension if married before January of 1794
1848 - pensions were given if married before 2 January of 1800
1853 - all restrictions relative to date of widows marriage were eliminated (married in time?  She gets the money)

A fire in 1800 - destroyed almost all the pension records in the war department. Other records available however as talked about above.


New England Historical Genealogical Register: Contains all the records from the time the pilgrims landed at Plymouth until the Revolution.

General Military Terms

1. Volunteer - "Take me I want to go!"
2. Conscription - "I'm not going" "Oh yes you are!"
3. Draft - got a lot of volunteers by those who were trying to avoid certain duties imposed by the draft - i.e. if you don't want to serve in the Army in Vietnam you can volunteer for the Air National Guard Reserve as a secretary in a military library in Oklahoma, one weekend a month, two weeks a year.

For more military entries click on the tag "Military" on the right under "Tags n' Topics"

So! Where Ya From? Geography in Genealogy.

Um, not a good time in history to sound like you're from....um....anywhere...

Many of the same political considerations apply to geography as to names – it might not have been expedient to be named “Adolph” freshly from “Germany” at one point in history while job hunting. 

You're Irish with an Irish name? Pretty much blacklisted you at one point in American history.
 
So people might say they are from somewhere else with a different name.  Record keepers might not have known or cared what the difference was between two locales at some points and wrote down what was convenient or common. Or their friend answered the door and was dared to lie to the census taker or a child answered the door and was thinking of grandma instead of mom's place of birth, or they write down a place of birth just so long as it starts with an "I" (or pick a letter) even though its totally different than where they are actually from (Iowa vs. Indiana vs. Illinois...I find this sooooooo often on records.).  Sometimes I swear that the census takers swept through town and then wrote down the names and households and places of birth from memory the next day rather than at the time at the home they were at. 

Names of places change over time as well as well as spelling of them.  Towns disappear, get swallowed up, names get shortened.

For example, Dearborn Illinois is now Chicago!



Yamhill, Oregon used to be called Yam Hill, and the Nestucca Valley used to be called Nestockton here in Oregon.  Clark County Washington used to be Clark County, Oregon when Oregon was a territory extending up to Canada.

Entire country names change – Yugoslavia doesn't even exist anymore!  There are two Irelands.

Street names change, highways get re-routed, roads get lost, county names change, territories become states by different names, counties come into existence – geography can be challenging and very interesting to locate people by!

Also, remember, there are multiple places with the same name! All fifty states have a town/city called "Aurora" and there are thirty two "Springfields" outside the US in the UK/Commonwealth, and Wisconsin has FIVE towns by that name in different counties!

If you wish to go further in your research, don't forget to use Google and Wikipedia – you can learn how to read a Township map among other things.

The internet is your friend!  However, too often we don't use it to our best advantage!  Do research while doing your research!  Take time to learn geography while doing your genealogy and keep these things in mind while you're doing your work.

What's In A Name? (Names in Genealogy!)

No comment....

CONSIDERATIONS: Genealogy may require a bit of above-average insight.

Examples:   A child may go by their full name in childhood, and then go by a nickname or even their middle name when they are older (or visa-versa).

For example – Jacob John Sturzenegger later becomes simply Jack Sturzenegger making it look like there are two separate people in the family.

HOWEVER:
If Jacob and Jack share the same date and place of birth
When Jack is around, Jacob John is mysteriously nowhere to be found on the documents
When Jacob is present, Jack is gone
We know that “Jack” is a nickname for Jacob
We might safely conclude (not assume!) they are one and the same. 

People making government records in times gone by are the ancient equivalent of going to the DMV to get high quality service.  They aren't paid that much and there's no real incentive to get it right and they hire whoever they can find.Without modern equipment, records were written by hand, sounded out according to their best ability according to various levels of education, filtered through languages and accents in a rush just to get the work done.Then it was stored on paper in non-watertight storage after being written with a smudgy quill/fountain pen and copied by hand with another quill/fountain pen by someone else with the same qualifications.
  

Additionally, you're “going back in time” on these documents and photos.  Names were very different than they are now in many cases.  Prediline?  Is a girls name, apparently.  Google can help you determine unusual names or unusual variants and their histories.

For one family, the surname “De la Mere” became “De la More” and then “More” and ultimately evolved into  “Moore.” Take your time to figure it out!
 

(Prediline is a girls....name?.....Predline?  Is that a "P"? A "T"?)

When deciphering handwriting on a document, if you come across an unusual letter or letters that you can't quite make out, or a name that is unfamiliar:

Compare it to other letters on the document in that document-writer's handwriting. Compare it in the context of other words you do know or can read so you can decipher what you're reading.

George Pleasants - Great! Know what a "P" looks like on this one!  It was a "P".

Immigrants to the US often changed their names to reflect their new citizenship. 

Various political winds (Such as World War II) might induce a family to change their name or go by a new alias.  Many Jews adopted German/French or other names in WWII.  

Alberto Georgio Carrara from Italy became George Albert Carrara from the United States!

Johan Freidrich Sturzenegger from Germany became John Fredrick Sturzenegger from the USA!

For example, I did find a census with a “John Chinaman” on the record of a set of prisoners (1870's here in Lafayette, Oregon).A further examination of the census listed him as a “prisoner” to the head of the home (One of my ancestors was a jailer who apparently “worked from home”).
His race was listed as “Chinese.”
Given the racial sentiments of the time, it is possible the white men couldn't pronounce his name, didn't care to, or given the cultural differences of the time – he wasn't talking and telling anyone his name. And so! Introducing: John Chinaman!

The name is John Wayne (Chon Wang)

Don't forget misspelled names! 

I've even seen Sturzenegger rendered Sturzengwyr – making searching for a name difficult.  Some of them way worse than this! Pay attention to variations and expand your search to include or account for them!

Very often you'll find ancestors listed in archives/records only by a first initial followed by a misspelled last name.

Try searching using just a first initial, or even just a last name or misspelled variant of the last name and see what results you bring up.
Very often:

L E S S  I S  M O R E

For example, while searching for Verne Millican in Yakima City, Yakima County, Washington, I might just search for a last name, first initial, in Washington and put the date of birth as “about” to see what comes up.  Sometimes I'll leave the location out to see if they pop up somewhere else!

Often if you're too specific in your searches, you won't turn up what you're looking for.


                                         Will the REAL Michael Bolton please stand up?

I'm the REAL Michael Bolton

 Just because the name is correct, doesn't mean you have the right person.

There is more than one “John Smith” in the world (No really! There are probably at least two!) and more than one “Michael Jordan.” Or even “Sr.” and “Jr.” in a family yet they may not have written “Jr.” or “Sr.” on every document. Beware of same names with similar birth dates and verify through other pieces of info such as birth place, parents' places of birth and so on. 

I'm the FAMOUS Michael Bolton

 Pay attention to birth dates and birth places and parental names when you start dealing with individuals with similar names.  Trust me, having the right name but wrong person can wreak havoc on a tree after you've done a ton of work on it, then you have to undo it, and depending on how you have them woven in, it may or may not be a lot of "fun" to undo.

Stuck on an incomplete name?  Try a “Wildcard character” such as a “*” or a “?” when using electronic media. 

For example, you know the first part of the name, but not the last part – or there are variations of the last part of the name – i.e. Millican/Milligan/Milliken/Milligen.

 For your search “Milli**n” or “Milli??n” or even “M*” (Depending on the software program you're using).

In the end, you'll develop a feel for names, people and places the more time you spend on this, but in the end?  SLOW DOWN.  Haste makes waste!  You'll get more done taking your time than you will running helter skelter down the wrong family limb and causing yourself to have to do more work later or creating work that you really can't use.  Slow down, enjoy the spirit, take in the scenery and have fun!

Getting (and keeping) Organized in Genealogy!

You're going to be dealing with a TON of paperwork, photos, documents and files (if you aren't already) you need to keep organized .

It won't take long before you see how organization is critical to your success in family history.

What follows are my recommendations for keeping organized in your work:

 Step 1:Choose a software program to do your work in.  Previously the church used Personal Ancestral File (PAF) however, that has largely gone by the wayside.  I recommend spending a few dollars on a bit of software to work on your family tree on, or you can download a free version (I prefer Legacy Family Tree Software because it is visually the most friendly of the ones I have tried using for me, but you be your own judge).  Some software sites are located on the right of the screen as well as a link to compare software kits.

Step 2: BACK UP YOUR WORK! NOW!
(Not after you lose it) I have several hard drives attached to my computer.  When I finish doing work on a session, I copy it to one of the other hard drives every time.   You're going to put a lot of work into this and re-doing it can be exhausting – sometimes impossible!! You can also set up a separate email account and email yourself your work from one email to the other when you're finished so your work is also stored online.  I've already had a hard drive crash and would have lost hundreds of hours of work had I not backed it up.

Additionally, there are cloud storage services you can subscribe to as well to move files off your computer hard-drive, and even Google has Google Drive with free limited (but pretty darned large for getting started) storage for your genealogical files.


 
Organizing Files
You're going to be dealing with multiple families with their own files.  Every time I start a new branch of the family tree I create a folder with that last name of the branch – i.e. Wilson, Millican, Smith, and so on.  I save any files related to that family in that folder so it is always easy to find.  Files related to unmarried women go under their maiden name.  Once they marry, I file under their married name.  If you wish to make folders for countries or states to further consolidate your work, that may help as well.

"Original" Sources

Any time I come across a source of information on the internet – if I can save a picture of it or take a screen-shot of it - I do.

Its faster, easier and more reliable than transcribing and taking notes.  I don't make mistakes, nothing gets forgotten or lost, everything that was in the source is now saved.





Sometimes the source won't be an image but you will want to make an image of it. An example would be a Death Index record off Ancestry.com

1) Open a paint program such as Microsoft Paint.

2) Go to the image you want to save on your screen and press CTRL+PRINT SCR(Control, Print Screen)

3) If needs be, expand your screen by pressing F11, press F11 when you're done to return the screen to normal

4) Go to the paint program and press CTRL+V (Paste) and paste the screen shot in there. 

5) Crop and save it so you have a screen-shot of the original.  VOILA! Original info – no errors made by you and was done quickly!

IMAGE FILES
There are various formats to save an image in that you create off the web.

When dealing with documents, detail is critical so you can decipher ancient handwriting.



 DOCUMENTS
When scanning and uploading your own documents, scanning in a .pdf format is preferred.  PDF stands for “Portable Document Format”.

PDF allows certain programs to interact with the text and read the document you scanned.  If possible, it is the ideal format for document scanning.





BMP - Bitmap. This is generally medium-high quality but produces larger file sizes and is good for simpler graphics.  If you save a file in a bitmap image you're likely to lose data.

Bitmap image blown up = loss of data

JPG, JPEG. (Joint Photographic Experts Group). Became popular with the invention of the digital camera.  High quality images and huge compression allows for big resolutions but small file sizes. This is the most common image format, especially for photos (Family photos?).  However, the compression means that some detail is “lost” when you blow it up and this can make reading some documents difficult at close zoom.  However, this is the file you want to use if you have to email stuff because it will compress the picture down so it isn't too large for an email program.

Getting close on JPEGS reveals distortion

GIF. (Graphics Interchange Format - 1987)
This format was created mainly for internet uses, mainly for its small file size, however it has lower quality though it can be used in animation images. I don't recommend saving in this format.
Or doing either of these activities.

 PNG. Portable Networks Graphic. PNGs produce very high quality images with high resolution but do produce large file sizes. There is one file type that has zero resolution lost, but most genealogy programs will allow PNG while not all allow the TIFF file, though this is changing.  If you have to, go PNG in order to upload stuff, but otherwise.....

pretty....

TIFF - Tagged Image File Format - zero loss, largest file size, but ideal for genealogy so you don't lose any info.

prettier!

 I would recommend saving images in the TIFF format, but for this demonstration, if you don't know, here's how to save an image in TIFF (same for PNG, or JPG, or BMP)

To save an image in TIFF:
1) Right-click on the image and then click “Save image as.”
2) On the file type select “TIFF Image” and click “save”- if this is not possible, select “All Files”
3) Name your file and put the extension “.tiff” on the end of it
4) click “Save.” VOILA! High quality image saved! It won't be higher quality than you got it – but you won't lose much data either.

NAMING FILES!!!!

Some types of files are going to be more common than others such as censuses, draft cards, obituaries, marriage certificates etc.

When you accumulate a large amount of work, being able to quickly find what you're looking for is necessary, so standardizing the names of your files so you can quickly find what you need will help significantly.

Here's one way to do it.

Say you have a census from 1900 for a husband (George W. Sebecki) and his wife & you know her maiden name (Amelia M. Neugebauer) and where the census was taken - you might name the file thusly:

• Census 1900 George W and Amelia Magdalene Neugebauer Sebecki and family, District 32, Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, Unitedstates.tiff

Now you know what, when, where and who is in the file without even having to open it and can verify that Amelia was alive with George in 1900 in Portland and can do "research" from your files without even having to open them up to look at them! (note the file extension names with the documents).

A draft registration?

•  WWI Draft Registration George Sebecki Dallas, Polk, Oregon.tiff

Obituary?

• Obituary William Burton Millican 1953 Oregonian Newspaper Portland, Multnomah, Oregon.tiff

Marriage?

• Oregon marriage index 1946 Albert and Arlene Hazel Lippert Millican, Portland, Multnomah, Oregon.tiff

Then when it comes time to search for a particular file, date, individuals, you can quickly scan your files to find what you need!


Here's an example of my files:

As you find people and are able to document the information sufficiently and verify it, enter it into your family tree software.  Some programs will allow you to attach photographs and documents to the trees as well, though I found this sometimes troublesome if I had to use the program from another disk, the software couldn't find the location of the files, so I just quit attaching them and kept saving them and storing them as mentioned earlier.

 

Original Sources (Books, Certificates, etc.)– Hard Copies!

I don't do as much research from original sources as much now that things are digitizing and people are scanning and indexing them. However, if you do get information from an original source or can scan a document from it, make sure your files or notations include:Title, Author, Publisher, Year, Volume,Page and where you got the source in case you need to go back so you can quickly locate the original or corroborate it if needs be.If the source is a book such as “Families of New England: 1620-1750” note where the author's source is from the back of the book for their info.   This isn't just for you.  You're going to get to a point where others start asking you for copies of your research so you're going to be helping others as well.  Treat it like a college bibliography and document your sources!!!!

Name your file just as you would any other file so you can find it.

Beware that photocopying documents/items can damage them and exposes them to chemicals which can be harmful to delicate documents - whereas scanning only occurs once and the data is more easily duplicatable.  If possible - SCAN!

Consider making a timeline/chronology to keep yourself organized.  Most genealogy software programs will generate a timeline for you.  Consider putting world events in your timeline to help you gauge the political winds and trends that can be a clue in further research.  It can also help you keep track of where you are. This can be done by hand until you figure out where you want to go with software and such if you desire.

CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK!!!!

I do not recommend putting anything in your family tree as hard fact that you haven't had a chance to verify and prayerfully consider yourself.  You will find people online often put dates, locations and names but don't cite a source or verify their own work.  You can use their dates and information to check and conduct your own research, however, I find often the information is incorrect.  Even if I find the work has been done before I got there, I check their sources to verify the work before I move on.  This can be a major help to organization because, believe me, going back to undo work makes for a very disorganized mess.

Genealogy Sources & Resources

So you've started with yourself and are ready to branch out!   Now, what?  Where?  WHO?

Well, the "who" and "what" are up to you.

Who do you want to work on?  Who do you feel you should work on?  Who is going to be the easiest?

There's tons of genealogy to go around, and in terms of getting ordinance work done, I always recommend starting with the easiest people first - the ones who have the most info on them. Start with prayer.

Then when you have decided that, working on the internet is one of the easiest places to start that allows the most work for the least effort.  Although there are times when gathering actual research is necessary and desirable, internet research is one of the easiest places to start.

First you need to know there are holding periods on certain documents that you won't easily have access to right away - for example, censuses are released 72 years after they've been compiled. In the State of Oregon, all birth records have a 100 year restriction on them, meaning unless they were born 100+ years ago, you won't be able to get them, and death records have a 50 year restriction on them. (Click here for other states' rules)  Neither of those are really a problem because we can't submit names for those born less than 110 years ago unless we are the closest living relative.

So where do we start?  All of the following links are on the right of the page so you don't have to go through here again to find them.  I recommend bookmarking these on your web browser to make it easier to find them and use them.


Probably the best and most versatile resource for family history that you will pay for.  An excellent investment. Costs ~$150/year or ~$23/month for access to US records, more for overseas (But VERY worth it!!!! Every penny!) Available for free at LDS family history centers.
*Allows you to download photographs of documents
*Order copies of the original documents
*Print documents
*Link to others' works on your family tree
*Create a family tree others can see online.

New Family Search often will have links or trees of you family already completed by others who've done work before you.  There are also a host of other records available for free.

While I find I upload more into New Family Search than I download, I have had some fantastic success with New Family Search – both on the research side and on the temple records side. To access the research side click “Family Search Web Site” on the main page.

Rootsweb is primarily a message/research board that allows genealogists to connect with one another and post info.  Great place when you're stumped to post a question and find some info, also you can sign up for mailing lists by surname so you are notified anytime someone has a find related to a particular family/branch/name.

More information than you can possibly sort through.  (HUGE!  You *will* get lost in here it's so large and comprehensive and huge and huge and huge and huge and HUGE!)‏ Free – BUT may cost money to access links. It links to the resources that store the info you're looking for – (e.g. Maryland Vital Records, Tillamook County Historical Records, personal published family trees)

The United States Newspaper Program is a cooperative national  effort among the states and the federal government to locate, catalog,  and preserve on microfilm newspapers published in the United States from the eighteenth century to the present.  Your local library may have collections of newspapers as well.  Definitely try the Multnomah County Library link at right.

OBITUARIES – Obituaries are an excellent source of info as they list churches, family, occupations, where born, where died, years of immigration and much much more! land recordedStuck?  Try an obituary! Definitely try the Multnomah County Library Link at the right.






LAND RECORDS!  Land records can help you establish time lines of residence, and other family life events & locations including schools, cemeteries, work – you name it!  People “lived” around where they lived! Got one of your immigrant family members who claimed they came to the US to meet a brother on 5th street in Chicago that nobody can find anything on? (I do!) Land records can help you with things like this! (Heck, you can build a legacy just off land records alone!)


The National Archives specifically has veterans records on file that you can request.  You can order medals – you name it!  In addition there are other genealogical resources, historical documents and more.  Another invaluable resource to use online or at one of the centers (If you're near DC, Atlanta or Anchorage).

There are no records of Indian genealogy before American record keeping began.  At some point in your genealogy, if your family has been in the US for any length of time, you're likely to come across a branch going back into “Indian Territory.”  While going “back” may not be possible, you can “branch forward” and “out” - it needn't be a “dead” end.

Looking to find what happened to your family in the civil war?  Civil war records can provide insight into pensions and family benefits and can be an indirect link to other family members.  Also if you can find where someone may have been killed in the war, you might find where they were buried.  You can also find survivor's records and enlistment papers.  A veritable smorgasbord of info!

Daughters/Sons of the American Revolution are lineage based membership organizations for women/men who are descended from a person involved in the American war for independence.  Like other sources, this can be used to establish identity or secure more information to spread your search out.  Given that many revolutionary patriots were first and second generation Americans, these can take you back overseas and provide a missing link!  I've found some impressive pedigree information off of DAR/SAR applications often going back seven and eight generations.

Millions of Americans came to the Land of the Free through Ellis Island.  The Ellis Island Foundation has links to ship passenger lists, immigration lists and records of entry. Operation as an immigration inspection station began in 1892. Wanna find out when someone got here and how they got here, or where they came from and branch back overseas? Try the Ellis Island Foundation!

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS!  
Another resource on just about anything you might like to look up. This can even include historical documentation on notable persons in your lineage who might have records on file here.

Museums, Libraries and Historical Societies.
Many museums and libraries have genealogy libraries in them.  You will often find original documents from local history.  If you call a museum to ask what they have, ask if they know anywhere else to look in your quest.  I've even found artifacts on display that belonged to my family in some museums I've been to! 

 Bring cash to pay for copies, paper or a laptop to take notes, if you have a portable scanner that hooks up to your laptop – that's just fantastic!  Plan on spending some time and go early because you'll probably have to do your research there and you'll get sucked into the work.  Be prepared to make an appointment.  Other times, you'll meet others working on the same family line and can compare notes or the librarian can help you network resources. Often they have many books particular to the genealogy of the region that branch back into other parts of the world.  Some resources are available only at that library and may not be available online, so going to a museum or library can be a worthwhile trip.

Can be used to research topics or garner sources in greater detail on various historical events, places or people.  Statistically said to have fewer errors than Encyclopedia Britannica.  Use it to learn about censuses, towns you are researching, particular names, battles, events - Wikipedia is an amazing resource!

Is a volunteer program to put genealogy resources onto the web to make them easier to find for free.  more links to county, city and state genealogy resource websites for free.

Provides links to the state archives of each state – including adoption records, probate records, you name it!  You may have to pay for the resources once you locate them. But, once you receive a document – scan it – and put it out on the web for others!

And here's where you can put it! Consider documenting your progress on the world wide web and putting your research where others can find it. Blogger will allow you to create a free blog.  I write about progress on my family history, upload photos and other information here that are a bit more difficult to find. It helps me keep track of where I am if I set my genealogy aside for a while.  It also allows me to write things easier than I might be able to otherwise such as stories from my family. (www.blogger.com).

These are just a few of the resources to use and is by no means the end, this is just the start, but it should put you on your way!