Family Research Help

Family Tree Software

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Free Family Tree
Family Tree Guide
Roots Magic Essentials
Family Echo
Family Tree Searcher

Free Charts

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Free Family Tree Charts
Misbach Enterprises
Free Family Tree Chart
Free Ancestral Chart
Family Tree Templates

About Family Research Help

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Thanks for stopping by. Family Research Help is a continuous work in progress with more information, links, and articles added daily. Please bookmark this site so you can visit often.
We'd love to hear from so if you have a comment, suggestion, link, or brick wall please post a comment to tell us about it.

Have a great day and happy hunting!

Best Genealogy Sites!!!

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Do you know and use a really good Genealogy Site that you think should be on this list? Please send a comment with the site and URL and if we agree we'll add it.

Ancestor Dig- Dig Your Roots! Free Research, Free Information, Free Genealogy

http://www.ancestryconnections.com/ Ancestry Connection Surname Registry

Obitcentral.com - Description: Obituary Central is your guide for obituaries, death records, obituary search, social security death index information, and cemetery search. Whether you're looking for obituary information in California, Florida, New York, or across the entire United States, Obituary Central offers a comprehensive listing of obituary records and vital records for marriage, death, birth, and divorce records.

AncestralFindings.com - Free Genealogy Look ups

http://www.free-genealogy.co.uk/ The free-genealogy site is a free listings site updated daily with helpful advice, articles and links all dedicated to the online genealogy sector.

http://www.genealogysearch.org/ No Frills, No Hype Everything you need for genealogical research online

GenWeb.com- Free Marriage Records Online Genealogy directory for marriage databases and marriage record links for the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~obitl/ Obituary Lookup Volunteers

http://www.rootssearch.net/ Free Genealogy! Our Roots to Your Roots!

http://www.gendir.com/ Welcome to GenDir.com, a great place to research your family tree, locate your ancestors, find geneology software and other geneology resources.

http://genealinks.com/ Here you will find a marriage records database, surname registry queries, and links to genealogy and history sites in a categorized genealogy directory of well-known and not-so-well-known genealogy and history sites. This free genealogy information is here to help visitors in their genealogy search to find ancestors and to find surnames.

http://www.usgenweb.org/ to provide free genealogy websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. This Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free genealogy access for everyone.

http://www.ancestorhunt.com/mormon_church_records.htm The Mormon Church (LDS or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) is well known for their collection of genealogy records. Search the Mormon Church's huge genealogy record collection in the free genealogy search

http://surnamesite.com Directory of genealogy sites with surnames, free genealogy database of wills, obituaries, birth records, and other documents posted by visitors, and surname queries

http://geneasearch.com/ Since 1999, GeneaSearch has been helping search for ancestors, build family trees and family history with free genealogy lookups, free genealogy sites, family surname newsletters, data, books from genealogy societies and individuals, surname queries, female ancestors, beginner's genealogy guide. Other genealogy resources are links, lists of societies, and a variety of tools for online research.. See our state genealogy pages for free genealogy databases and genealogy resources for each state.

http://www.ireland-information.com/ Ireland free information including history of Ireland reports, free screen savers, celtic clip art, Irish coat of arms, family crests, genealogy guides, Irish literature, gifts and more.

http://www.genealogysearch.org/free/forms.html Free Genealogy Forms and Charts

http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/ The National Archives offers insight into the lives of people, their families and our history. Because the records at the National Archives come from every branch of the Federal government, almost all Americans can find themselves, their ancestors, or their community in the archives. Knowing how a person interacted with the government is key to a successful search.

http://expertgenealogy.com/free/ How to find family records using the best free Internet resources

h ttp://www.familytreemagazine.com/forms/download.asp Getting organized and knowing the proper way to address government agencies and organizations can help you get quicker, more effective results. Family Tree Magazine has created forms that can help you access and organize your family history information. All our research forms are available in two formats: text and portable document format (PDF)

http://www.cs.williams.edu/~bailey/genealogy/ We have constructed the following forms we use in our own genealogy research. Please feel free to download, view, and print these forms using Adobe's Acrobat Reader. In return, why not send us a short message indicating who you're researching? We love hearing from all of you, and your searches around the world.

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/ Native American Indian Genealogy

http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ Are you hunting for your ancestors? Search for your family origins and immigrant ancestors! Free searchable databases are at your fingertips. Adding another branch to your family tree has never been easier.

http://www.misbach.org/pdfcharts/index.html Misbach Enterprises houses one of the largest collection of downloadable genealogy charts. All of our charts have been designed with over 40 years of genealogy chart making practice.

http://www.indians.org/Resource/resource.html One of the most complete listings of Federally Recognized Tribes (listed by State) in the United States and Alaska.

http://www.censusfinder.com/index.htm Census records are among one of the best and most often utilized tools for genealogy research. Many are recorded or transcribed online. Locating free census records online can present a challenge. With a bit of patience, you will find thousands of census links to free census transcriptions, census indexes and census images in our categorized directory.

FREE Web Based Family Tree Creators

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"Web Based" means family tree software and information is kept on the website you choose to use. You are not buying software to download to your computer.

Here are 4 of my favorite primarily free web based family tree programs. Each offers a free sign up and lets you create your tree for free. See which one best fits your needs. I like web based programs rather then buying a family tree software program to download to my computer. I have had a software program in the past and spent endless hours inputting names and data on it. I didn't back up it up or save the information some place else and all my names, data, and information that I had was a complete loss when my computer was infected by a virus. That can't happen if it is a web based program. Not only that but finding time to work on my family tree was and is always difficult. It is nice sharing the family tree with other family members and having help.

TribalPages
Geni
MyHeritage
Ancestry Online Tree Maker

If you use a free web based family tree maker and think it should be included on this list please post a comment.

Where are we from?

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Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday I read someone's Footnote.com spotlight on their Revolutionary ancestor. I've tried to go back and find the actual post so I can put a link to it but I can't remember how I stumbled on it in the first place. So I will just have to tell you about it. If I ever do find the post again I will link it to this blog.
A lady had just found out that her ancestor had fought in the Revolutionary War. She was very excited to find him in the Revolutionary War Service Records. She had always been told that side of the family was from Germany but since she found out he was in the Revolution she now realizes he's not from Germany because he is from NJ and has been from there the whole time.

I wish I could be more like her when it comes to my own families research. I too have an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War. That is where our similarities end. My ancestors family is from somewhere. We were told Holland and that we are Dutch. Maybe that is right? We believe we have found a good match as to who his parents are and we know who his siblings are. We have done everything imaginable to find where they are from including three different Genealogy DNA tests by two different companies. We think we are are connected to another family with the same name that lived somewhat close by but can't find any documents to link our families together and no one from their family has taken a DNA test. Where are we from? We may never find out. I wish I could be like the lady who wrote her spotlight on footnote.com. and think we are from NY and have been from there the whole time.

Potters Field

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Brick Wall. Two very small words that are so dreaded by anyone researching their family tree. At some point in time everyone will hit a brick wall in their research. Most who research expect it but it is never welcomed and most people keep searching for ways and information around their brick walls.
The two little words that evoke so much frustration and yes, I admit a true feeling of anger. Not at anyone just the lack of being able to find the information I need or I should say want.
Nothing can be more frustrating then to start your research with a brick wall and find all roads of information lead no where quickly. That is how it is for people who find their family members are presumed to be buried in a potters field. I say presumed because of the lack of information that goes along with a potters field. Some depending on where they are might have a little more information then others but usually it isn't much. If anyone reading this has first hand insight as to what researching is like for you please comment.

Search Free Cemetery Records Database

Free Immigration Records

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FREE SEARCH :

Ellis Island Records 1892 to 1924

Castle Garden 1820 to 1913

German Passengers 1850 to 1897

Irish Passengers 1846 to 1851

Italian Passengers 1855 to 1900

Tips To Find Your Census Records

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Spelling surnames correctly wasn't important like it is today and people would change a letter or complete spelling on a whim. Maybe it was with great thought for some but for others it may not have been. Either way it can be quite a task to track our ancestors down when no match is found for a person that should absolutely be there. Some times its best to try the first letter or the first two letters then the first three letters and so on. Try different spellings and other family members such as a sibling, spouse, and even a child.

Birth dates and ages are another way to make someone pull out their hair. So you have the right name and possibly some of the family members match even though the names are wrong and maybe some of the birth dates on the children are close. Before you quickly decide that this can't possibly be the person you were searching for I have great news to tell you. I have found through my own research that a great percentage of people gave incorrect birth years, dates, and ages on census records. I can't blame them really. If someone comes to their door and asks them how old they are without needing to show them any proof of their age why not be 5-10 years younger or more? So when conducting your research don't count on age as 100% if the person is in the right place at the right time with matching family members and the age is within 10 years plus or minus then you've got some more researching to do to either count the person in or out of your tree.

Nicknames oh how I love them except in the census. I was researching a family with an unusual family name so I thought it should be fairly easy to find all of their census records. Yes, it would have been easy except for the very strange names given to all the family members except the head of house hold. It wasn't even a middle name. Just cute made up words that they called all the children. That turned into a very long research case but I finally was able to figure out what their names really were.

Middle names can be just as complex when researching Census Records. Especially when you only know a first and last name. That is when you will need to really be a detective and investigate them forwards and backwards to determine if the name you have found could possibly be a middle name of the same person.

When researching let the documents point you in the direction and always keep an open mind. Sometimes its easier to think that a person isn't in your family then to prove they are. An open mind and following the documents will help you determine what the answer truly is.

Census Records

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Search Census Records Today

I highly recommend anyone with family in American from 1850 to 1930 to research their families Census Records. The amount of information can be quite astounding. Census Records are available from 1790 to 1840 but since they only name the head of house hold and a / in box by age and gender is can be quite complex to figure if that family belongs in your family tree. The 1850 Census changed all that. They began listing everyone in the house including servants, boarders, and laborers. How wonderful it can be to find another family member listed as a servant or laborer in a relatives house and have them listed as how they are related to head of house hold. In my own family there was a story about a family member who had moved away and our family passed down stories and theories of what had become of him and his family. Through Census records we found they were all well and both father and then son had become inventors. That wasn't even close to what the family who stayed behind had thought. Now we get to chuckle at the the old stories and how they could have come up with the stories they did.

Naturalization Records

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Is our ancestor a naturalized citizen? That's a very common question families ask. The question then becomes how do I find out? It's really not that impossible to find out. Well maybe if you are a little lucky and have some determination for some. Others will be more lucky and with a few key strokes of their computer poof all the information they are seeking is at their finger tips.
Here is some information that might be helpful to know. Immigration records/ ships logs are interconnected to naturalization records. When looking for naturalization records you probably will need your persons ships logs. It's not always necessary but since the two are tied together it makes finding your naturalization records easier. There were three steps to become naturalized. "Intent to Naturalize", "Petition to Naturalize", and "Naturalization Record" The first two documents were given to the individual and a copy was placed in the court house were they applied and could still be at the courthouse or now placed at the National Archives closest to where that courthouse is located. The third document the actual Naturalization Document was not copied and the one and only document was given to the person directly. If you no longer have that paper and are not sure if your family member was naturalized the only other way to find out is by checking census records. In the 1930 census one of the questions asked was if they were naturalized and the year they immigrated.
You may contact the NARA (National Archives) to request your ancestors Naturalization Records.

Keep in mind you must contact the archives closest to where they lived.

Have as much of the information below as possible before submitting a request. Once your documents have been found it will cost about $15 to copy and send them to you.

Whole name (including spelling variation)
Date of birth
Place of birth (origin)
Ship came over on along with dates
Port of departure and arrival
Name of parents (if known)
Name(s) of anyone who traveled with your person
Address of where they lived in America

To submit your request to the New York State Archives please put in subject "Naturalization Look Up Request" newyork.archives@nara.gov

Good Luck :)