African American Genealogy

  • African American Lives
    African American Lives is the companion website to the PBS Special. Learn about your African heritage and about doing genealogical research on your family.
  • African Americans in Southeastern Ohio
    African Americans in Southeastern Ohio is a collection of databases, articles, and pictures about the African American experience in Southeastern Ohio. Some of the topics include the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, Notable African Americans, Slave Narratives, and links to other regional information.
  • Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938
    This site contains over 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. These narratives were collected as part of the Federal Writer's Project of the 1930's. For a list of the narrators just click on the browse narratives by narrator button.
  • Christine's African-American Genealogy Website
    This is a must-see site for the African-American family researcher. It has links to many sites dealing with African-American genealogy and history.
  • Freedmen's Bureau
    The Freedmen's Bureau was created in 1865 to assist freed slaves. This website is a great source for African-American genealogical research.

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Beginning Genealogy

  • Ancestors (PBS program)
    This is the companion web site to the PBS program. The site includes a series overview and viewer's guide, online course, and a teacher's guide. There is a section on beginning genealogy, FAQs, and other research help. There is even a section of printable forms to keep your research manageable.
  • Genealogy Classes
    An online step-by-step guide to getting started on doing your family history.
  • RootsWeb Guide to Tracing your Family Tree
    This is a beginners guide from RootsWeb, the largest collection of free genealogical data. It has a lot of graphics and links to various other genealogical webpages. Don't let the graphics fool you! This is a good overview of how to do genealogy.

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Columbus and Franklin County

  • Find A Grave: Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio
    Green Lawn is one of the largest cemeteries in Columbus, Ohio. This website will include more recent interments in the cemetery than another website Green Lawn Cemetery Burials Columbus, Ohio, also linked here, which includes burials up through 1981. Use both to get more complete information regarding burials at Green Lawn.
  • Green Lawn Cemetery Burials Columbus, Ohio
    Green Lawn is one of the largest cemeteries in the Columbus, Ohio, area. This site is an alphabetical listing (with birth and death dates) of those interred in the cemetery.
  • The Columbus City Graveyards
    Written by Donald M. Schelgel, this online book is a history of several graveyards once owned by the city of Columbus: the Franklinton, North, East, South and Colored graveyards. It includes listings of known burials or lot owners, many of which have been removed to Green Lawn Cemetery.

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German Resources

  • Germany GenWeb Project
    This webpage has a wide variety of information for those researching their German ancestors. The site includes information about doing research in Germany, the history of Germany, information about the various regions, plus much more.
  • Palatines to America-Ohio Chapter
    The Ohio Chapter of Palatines to America supports the goals and objectives of the National Palatines to America. A society that researches all German speaking ancestry. They offer education through workshops and seminars, maintain an Immigrant Ancestors collection
  • Palatines to America
    This site is dedicated to the study of ancestors from all German-speaking lands. The Society mainintains an immigrant ancestor registry. The society's library was moved to the Columbus Metropolitan Library in 2008. Best of all is that the Society is headquartered right here in Columbus!
  • Resources for German Genealogy on the Internet
    This website has a wide variety of information for the German-American researchers. The site includes information on immigration, history and culture, and guides to help you with your research.

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Great Britain

  • GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy
    England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are all covered in this website. The site has a large collection of genealogical material, from how to get started to FAQs.
  • Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry
    A good website to begin your Scottish research, with lots of links to the various record organizations and other sites to help with your search. There is also a section on names, clans, and tartans.

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Immigration and Migration

  • Ellis Island Immigration Records
    This database covers the records of 17 million immigrants who came through Ellis Island between 1892-1924. The records in the database list the name of the immigrant, the ship, departure and arrival dates, plus a U.S. contact.
  • Immigrant Ship Transcribers Guild
    The Immigrant Ship Transcribers Guild is a group of volunteers dedicated to transcribing ship's passenger lists. Click on one of the volume buttons on the left side to start your search. This site allows you to search by ship name, port of departure, port of arrival, and by surname.
  • Migrations
    The Migrations website was created to futher migrations research and develop a comprehensive database to help genealogists in their searches.
  • TheShipsLists
    TheShipsLists was established to assist those seeking information on the vessels which brought their ancestors to the United States, Canada and Australia.
  • U.S. Ports of Arrival and Their Available Passenger Lists (1820-1957)
    This is a list of nearly every port in the United States that has published immigration records from 1820-1957, organized by state. Included are some Canadian and Mexican border crossing records.

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Irish Resources

  • Information Wanted: a Database of Advertisements for Irish Immigrants
    The Boston Pilot from 1831-1921 ran a column called Missing Friends. The column was a way for people to find friends and relatives who had emigrated from Ireland to the U.S. This database indexes all the advertisements from the column and can be a wealth of information for Irish research.
  • Ireland Genealogical Projects
    This is the local Irish resource index page for online research in Ireland.
  • Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
    The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is the offical depository of public records in Northern Ireland. This site is a how-to guide to researching information at the Records Office. There are also some useful links listed.

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Military

  • Civil War Records
    The National Archives and Records Administration has extensive information of the Civil Wars. This page is a guide to what types of records our ancestors may have created while part of that conflict and where to find them.
  • National Cemetery Administration
    Looking for an ancestor that was buried at a National Cemetery? Try this Department of Veterans Affairs website. To search for individuals, use the National Gravesite Locator. To find a cemetery, click on Cemeteries.

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Native American Resources

  • How Do I Trace Indian Ancestry?
    This website, from the U.S. Department of the Interior, provides a short introduction on how to do Native American genealogy research. It also talks about how to go about enrolling in a tribe.

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Ohio Genealogy

  • Ohio Genealogical Society
    This site gives general information about the society and how to join. It talks about their library and special projects that may help the genealogist researching their Ohio ancestors.
  • Ohio Historical Society Library
    The Archives/Library of the Ohio Historical Society collects, preserves, and makes available to the public written and graphic information concerning Ohio's history, including genealogical resources.
  • State Library of Ohio
    On the State Library of Ohio's website you can search their catalog and see what special census microfilm they have. The site also explains what materials they own, their hours, and contact information.

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Ohio Genealogy: Obituary Indexes

  • Cleveland Necrology File
    This database is a collection of death notices from various Cleveland newspapers and other sources. The database covers roughly the time period from 1847-1975. It is by no means complete, but is a good starting point for finding obituaries. All you need to do is type in the name you are looking for and press the arrow button.
  • Hayes Presidential Library's Obituary Index
    If you are searching for relatives in Northwestern Ohio you may want to try this obituary index. The core of the index is the Fremont papers from the 1830s to the present. Many other parts of the state are also represented.
  • Newsdex by the Cincinnati Public Library
    This is an index to the local Cincinnati paper. It is also a great place to search for current obituaries.

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Tools

  • Abbreviations Found in Genealogy
    In some of the documents you come across in your search for your ancestors, abbreviations may pop up. This website has an extensive list that can help you make sense of them.
  • Birth Date Calculator
    This calculator is a useful tool for genealogists. It is designed to calculate the birth date when the age at death and the date of death are known.
  • Deciphering Old Handwriting
    Can't read the family Bible or your ancestor's will? This site has some tips to deciphering old handwriting.
  • Genealogical Glossary
    This site will give you some of the more common genealogical terms and their definitions.
  • Genealogy Terms
    A list of terms that you may encounter in your genealogical research.
  • Relationship Chart
    This is a neat chart that nicely explains family relationships, such as, 2nd cousin once removed and so on.

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Tools: Free Forms

  • Family Search Free Forms
    Lots of free forms to help you keep track of all your family research.
  • Family Tree Magazine Free Forms
    Take a look at all the free charts and forms that can be found on this site. With all the forms found here, you should be able to organize your family history in no time.
  • Genealogy Charts
    This site has free pedigree, fan, and many other types of charts that are available for downloading.

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United States Census

  • Finding Treasures in the U.S. Federal Census
    The United States Census, taken every 10 years, is a great tool for family researchers. This site explains what the census is and what information you can find on the different years. It also explains how to use the Soundex, which is the index for the 1880 and 1900-1920 censuses.
  • MortalitySchedules.com
    In 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880, census enumerators were directed to secure--in addition to the required data--information on persons dying 12 months preceding the time of the census. Known as “Mortality Schedules,” they are just one more possible avenue to search for your relatives. On these Schedules you can find name, date of death, and cause of death.
  • Obtaining EDs for the 1900-1940 Census in One Step (Large Cities)
    For most of the 1930 U.S.Census there is no index. If your ancestor lived in a large city and you know their address in 1930, you can find their Enumeration District with this website. With the ED you should get close to your ancestor's entry.

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Vital Records

  • Vital Records Information
    This site contains information about where to obtain vital records such as birth, death, marriage, and divorce records from each state and county of the United States. It also has links to foreign vital records sites.

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