| Tool |
Description
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Examples |
| General research sites |
Many records sites also offer educational content and community services such as messages boards and forums.
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| Books, libraries and archives |
Before visiting a library, use these tools to see if a book you need is available online. Then you can focus your time on items available only on site. |
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Calculators
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Convert calendar dates, translate words and locate historical county borders in an instant.
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| Community sites and social media |
Facebook and Twitter may be all the rage, but “old-fashioned” tools such as message boards and mailing lists are still handy for asking research questions and keeping up with news. |
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Directories
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People-finders, city and business directories, and directories of civic and fraternal organizations help you find relatives.
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Education
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Find information about how to research the places, eras and topics you’re interested in.
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Family trees
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Post your data and find family history data posted by others. Verify information and sources before adding others’ data to your tree.
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Geni
MyHeritage
WeRelate
WikiTree
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Genealogy societies
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Many genealogy societies provide locality-specific research how-tos and free or members-only databases.
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Run a web search for a place and genealogy society or use Cyndi’s List. |
Maps
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Maps and atlases help you pinpoint family hometowns and formulate research theories.
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Newspapers
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Besides subscription sites, look for tools providing access to free historical newspapers.
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Search engines
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Look for both “big name” search engines and specialty engines related to genealogy, geographic areas or ethnicities.
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Vital records
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Online resources can help you learn what records are available and how to order them.
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Other research toolboxes
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Other online research toolboxes might have tools you can use.
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